Greyfriars Kirkyard
Site of the signing of the National Covenant in 1638
About this Site
Greyfriars Kirkyard is one of the most historically significant burial grounds in Scotland. On 28 February 1638, the National Covenant was signed here on a flat tombstone, marking a pivotal moment in Scottish religious and political history. Thousands of Scots subsequently added their signatures, pledging to resist the imposition of Anglican-style worship by King Charles I.
1638
Historical Significance
The signing of the National Covenant was an act of mass defiance against royal interference in the Scottish Kirk. It united nobles, ministers, and common people in defence of Presbyterian worship and laid the foundations for the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Kirkyard later became a prison for captured Covenanters after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679, where some 1,200 prisoners were held in appalling conditions.