The Church in Scotland was Reformed under the guidance of John Knox and other Reformers. The King took over the lands of abbeys and bishoprics, turning many into lordships for his supporters, or giving some of them to universities or town councils. The lands associated with supporting parish clergy – or ministers, as they were now called – were generally undisturbed. The king took over the role of default patron, in the absence of any specific patron. The First Book of Discipline (1560) and the Second Book of Discipline (1578) laid down the rules for the reformed Church of Scotland. Both stipulated that ministers should be chosen by congregations. The First Book never became civil law, and neither did the part of the Second Book relating to patronage, as the right of the heirs of original donors to nominate suitable clerics to a parish was called.
