John Melville of Raith

Who is John Melville of Raith?

Sir John Melville of Raith was laird of Raith in Fife, Scotland. He was active in the Scottish court in the second quarter of the 16th century, but was executed for his support of the Protestant cause.

Sir John Melville, laird of Raith in Fife, was early impressed by the principles of the Reformation, and associated himself closely with the movement ; and he was one of the three hundred noblemen and gentlemen whom Cardinal Beaton pressed James V of Scotland to pursue as heretics. As a friend of those who assassinated Cardinal Beaton at St Andrews, he was subsequently executed by Cardinal Beaton's successor, Archbishop John Hamilton.

During the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots, Melville was a steady favourer of the policy of the 'English Party' in Scotland, who sought to consolidate the interests of the two nations by uniting the crowns in the marriage of Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots . Melville was arrested, carried prisoner to Edinburgh, and, being convicted of treason, was executed there on 13 December 1548. His estates were forfeited.