Andy Drinnon
Contact: dd88@st-andrews.ac.uk
Thesis: The Apocalyptic Tradition in Seventeenth-Century Scotland
Supervisor: Roger Mason and Grant Tapsell
Abstract: When compared to the abundance of literature dedicated to the study of apocalypticism in England and Europe during the seventeenth century, secondary works detailing the development of the Scottish apocalyptic tradition are few and have been compiled by only a handful of modern scholars. This research will focus on the growth of apocalypticism in Scotland from the period surrounding the Union of Crowns in 1603 to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Examples of the various themes that will be addressed include: the apocalyptic views that emerged from the court of James VI; the influence of apocalyptic thought on the covenanting movements of the mid-seventeenth century; and the effect state-sanctioned persecution had on the prophetic discourse of Scottish Covenanters such as Richard Cameron in post-Restoration Scotland. Over the past thirty years, historians have frequently suggested that Scottish apocalypticism simply followed the ‘English pattern’ during this period. However, this research will demonstrate that Scottish biblical exegetes helped create a distinctly different apocalyptic tradition, which was built upon their own unique experiences and reactions to the most pivotal events of the seventeenth century in Great Britain.
Teaching: M1007, 'The Early Modern Western World, c.1450-1770' (Fall 2009); M1005, 'Early Modern Europe, 1450-1650', (Fall 2010).
Publications:
European History Quarterly, 40.2 (April, 2010). pp. 347-348. Book Review: Howard Hotson, Commonplace Learning: Ramism and its German Ramifications, 1543-1630.
Conferences:
- Aberdeen and St Andrews Postgraduate Conference, May 2010: 'Field Preaching and the Apocalypse in Post-Restoration Scotland'.
- Reformation Studies Colloquium, University of St Andrews, September 2010: Vengeance and Retribution: Apocalyptic Expectations of Covenanter Field Preachers in Post-Restoration Scotland'.
- St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute Seminar, March 2011: 'Millennialism and the Scottish Apocalyptic Tradition 1588-1648'.