In this book, Professor Donaldson provides a truly historical account of the origins and progress of the Scottish Reformation based on research in the documents of the period. He begins with an outline of church life and the need for reform at the end of the Middle Ages, and then traces the fortunes of the reforming movement. He gives particular attention to Church government – the parish ministry, the problem of episcopacy, the General Assembly and relations with England. Later chapters describe the rise of Presbyterianism in the 1570s and the search for a 'settled polity'. The whole book shows how a new Church system arose in Scotland and what its nature was.