ABSTRACT
The failure of these demands is illustrated in the growing tension between the king and the Kirk over the following four weeks. James Stewart, Earl of Arran, was received at court once again, having been absent since his fall in 1585, provoking public criticism by Walter Balcanquhal, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and the summoning of Arran before the presbytery of Edinburgh. The king, at once showing extreme displeasure and implicitly endorsing Arran's government, threatened to resurrect proceedings against the ministers who had resisted his policies. Robert Bruce, another Edinburgh minister, preached that the king was surrounded by liars and John Davidson, minister of Prestonpans, offended him further by alleging that he had failed to punish Moray's murderers properly because he was still 'infected' by Esme Stewart.5
