Patrick Hamilton (martyr)

Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton by John Scougal, c. 1645-1730. This is the only known portrait of the martyr.
Bornc. 1504
Died29 February 1528
NationalityScottish
Occupation(s)Churchman and Reformer
Height2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Parents
  • Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil (father)
  • Catherine Stewart (mother)
RelativesSister, Katherine Hamilton Maternal Grandfather, Alexander, Duke of Albany
Patrick Hamilton Plaque, St Duthus Memorial Church, Tain
The Martyrs' Monument, St Andrews, which commemorates Hamilton and three other martyrs: Henry Forrest, George Wishart And Walter Mill
Patrick Hamilton initials plaque, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Patrick Hamilton (1504 – 29 February 1528) was a Scottish churchman and an early Protestant Reformer in Scotland. He travelled to Europe, where he met several of the leading reformed thinkers, before returning to Scotland to preach. He was tried as a heretic by Archbishop James Beaton, found guilty and handed over to secular authorities to be burnt at the stake in St Andrews as Scotland's first martyr of the Reformation. Hamilton began preaching in Scotland in 1527 and was invited as a friend by Archbishop Beaton to a conference in St. Andrews. Once there, he was charged with heresy and burned. After Hamilton's death, others who had New Testaments or who professed Reformed doctrines were burned or sentenced to severe punishments, and some fled the country[citation needed].