ABSTRACT
One of the first, and most important, tasks facing the newly reformed church in 1560 was establishing a preaching ministry in the parishes. The modern historiography of the post-Reformation Scottish clergy begins with the work of Gordon Donaldson, which uncovered many of the relevant sources and established key trends. The fact that a minister was installed in 1560 does not guarantee an unbroken succession of ministers for the rest of the century, and the long-term goals of the reformers could not be met without a more lasting ministerial provision than the initial radical Protestant ministries established in major burghs in 1559. In order to put Fife in context comprehensively, it would be necessary to draw on the fruits of much deeper and broader research than presently exists. But the published work on Ayrshire and Angus shows that the patterns emerging from Fife would be at least recognisable in other parts of Scotland.
