A king at war with his own people
Charles I's relationship with Scotland was catastrophic from beginning to end. Born at Dunfermline Palace in 1600, he was a Scottish king who never understood Scotland. His attempt to impose an Anglican-style prayer book on the Scottish Kirk in 1637 sparked riots in Edinburgh — tradition says it began when Jenny Geddes hurled a stool at the minister in St Giles' Cathedral. By 1638, the National Covenant had been signed, and Scotland was in open revolt.
The Covenanters — so called because they had signed the National Covenant pledging to defend Presbyterian worship — raised armies and defied the king. Charles's attempts to bring Scotland to heel by force failed repeatedly. The Bishops' Wars of 1639 and 1640 ended in humiliation, with Scottish armies occupying northern England and Charles forced to pay them off. The crisis in Scotland was a direct cause of the English Civil War: Charles was forced to summon Parliament to raise money to fight the Scots, and Parliament used the opportunity to challenge his authority.
Charles's attempt to arrest members of the English Parliament in January 1642 was the act that made civil war inevitable. But the Scottish dimension was equally important. The Scots signed the Solemn League and Covenant with the English Parliament in 1643, sending an army south that played a decisive role at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. Scottish soldiers helped defeat the king they had once fought to protect — because Charles had threatened their religious freedom.
The tragedy of Charles I and Scotland is a story of mutual incomprehension. Charles believed in the divine right of kings to impose religious uniformity. The Scots believed in the right of their church to govern itself. The collision between these two principles produced civil war, military occupation, and ultimately the execution of the king. Scotland's Covenanters had helped bring down the monarchy — but they were horrified when Cromwell actually cut off the king's head.