James Hamilton, Catherine Hamilton, Straiton, Gourlay
JAMES HAMILTON, CATHERINE HAMILTON, STRAITON, GOURLAY
In 1534, James Hamilton, Catherine Hamilton, David Straiton, and Norman Gourlay were called before King James V in Edinburgh. James Hamilton had been accused by the church of holding the opinions of his brother Patrick. King James warned Hamilton not to appear at his trial, where he wouldn’t be able to help him, but to leave the country and forfeit his lands and property to save his life.
Catherine Hamilton, James’s sister and King James’s aunt, was charged with not believing she could be saved by works. After a long discussion with a lawyer named John Spens, she concluded, “Work here, work there! What kind of working is all this? I know perfectly that no kind of work can save me except the works of Christ, my Lord and Savior!”
The king turned aside and laughed at her reply then called her up to him and convinced her to recant for the sake of her family. She was set free.
Straiton was a gentleman from a good family, but he quarreled with the bishop of Moray over his tithes. One day when he was challenged by the church collectors, Straiton ordered his servants to throw every tenth fish they caught back into the sea and told the collector to go look for his tax there. After this, he calmed down and became a sincere convert of the Reformation. Accused of heresy, Straiton refused to recant and was burned with Gourlay on August 27, 1534.