27 May
1661 A.D. Archibald
Campbell, Earl of Argyll, & Scots Covenanter, Beheaded
Graves, Dan. “Archibald Cambell, Earl of Argyll
Beheaded.” Christianity Today. Mayr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/archibald-campbell-earl-of-argyle-beheaded-11630134.html. Accessed Apr 24, 2014.
Archibald
Campbell, the first marquess and eighth earl of Argyle, lifted a paper. He
still had several more to sign before he died if his estate was to be properly
settled. But for a moment, on this day, Monday, May 27, 1661, the papers in
front of him no longer seemed to matter. A new thought came to him:
"Here I am, setting my
affairs in order," he exclaimed, "but God is sealing my charter to a
better inheritance, and saying to me, 'Son, be of good cheer; your sins are
forgiven you.' "
He returned to his papers and
completed them. Among them was a letter to King Charles II of England, asking
him please to protect his wife and children.
Just two days before, it had
looked as if Argyle would escape death. But letters were brought in, showing
that he had conspired with Oliver Cromwell against King Charles I, during the
war between Parliament and the king. He was pronounced guilty; his head must
roll.
Whether you are for king or
Parliament in that war, you have to admire the bravery of men and women on both
sides. King Charles went to his execution with courage and faith. Now one of
his enemies would go with similar courage and faith.
Argyle was a leader of the
Scottish Covenanters, a group who insisted that the King of England had no
right to dictate the way they should worship. He showed just how strong his
faith was after the death sentence was pronounced. His wife met him outside the
court, weeping. "The Lord will pay them back for this!" she said.
"Control yourself, Dear.
Truly, I pity them. They don't know what they are doing; they may shut me in where
they please, but they cannot shut God out from me. For my part, I am as content
to be here as in the castle, and as content in the castle as in the Tower of
London, and as content there as when at liberty, and I hope to be as content on
the scaffold as any of them all."
After they had allowed him two
hours with his papers, the guards came and took the marquess to the scaffold.
Argyle spoke calmly for a few minutes. His pulse was steady--a physician
checked it. Then his head was lopped off by "the maiden" a machine
like a guillotine in which an axe blade slid down between grooves from a height
of ten feet.
Bibliography:
1. "Archibald Campbell, Marquis
of Argyle." Significant Scots.
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/ campbell_archibald.htm.
2. Smellie, Alexander. Men of the
Covenant. Revell, 1903. Source of the image.
3. Taylor, James. The Scottish
Covenanters. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., no date.
4. Various internet articles, such
as http://www.applesofgold.co.uk/archibald_campbell.htm and www.planetpapers.com/Assets/5917.php
which describe the "maiden."
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