Wishart, George

Wishart, George

(wĭsh`ərt), 1513?–1546, Scottish religious reformer, Protestant martyr. He was master of a grammar school in Montrose. In 1538 he fled Scotland to escape charges of heresy; he was in England for a short time, then on the Continent. In 1544 he is thought to have returned to Scotland, where he traveled about at his peril, preaching Christianity as he conceived it. The most eventful result of his preaching was the conversion of John KnoxKnox, John,
1514?–1572, Scottish religious reformer, founder of Scottish Presbyterianism. Early Career as a Reformer

Little is recorded of his life before 1545. He probably attended St. Andrews Univ.
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. Cardinal BeatonBeaton or Bethune, David
, 1494–1546, Scottish churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was made cardinal in 1538 and succeeded his uncle, James Beaton, as archbishop of St.
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 instigated Wishart's arrest. He was tried for heresy (1546), convicted, and burned at St. Andrews. His followers murdered Beaton in retaliation. Wishart's translation of the Helvetic Confession was published posthumously (c.1548).

Bibliography

See biography by J. Knox in his History of the Reformation in Scotland, ed. by W. C. Dickinson (2 vol., 1950).