The adherence of many Highlanders to the Catholic faith during the Reformation led to the 1609 Statutes of Iona forcing clan chiefs to establish Protestant churches, send their sons to Lowland schools and withdraw their patronage from the hereditary guardians of Gaelic culture – the bards.
[citation needed] Later in the period southern influence on the language increased, owing to the new political and social relations with England prior to and following the accession of James VI to the English throne.
The affected vowels tended to be realised fully long in end-stressed syllables before voiced oral continuants except /l/, in hiatus, before word or morpheme boundaries and before /rd/ and /dʒ/.
As to the priuate prayeris, na Catholik denyis bot it is verie expedient that euerie man pray in his auin toung, to the end he vndirstand that quhilk he sayis, and that thairbie the interior prayer of the hairt may be the mair valkinnit, and conseruit the bettir; and gif, onie man pray in ane vther toung, it is also expedient that he vnderstand the mening of the vordis at the lest.
And it is nocht vithout greit caus that as in the inscrptione and titil quhilk pilat fixed vpone the croce of Christ Iesus thir thre toungis var vritt in, Latine, Greik, and Hebreu, sua in the sacrifice and the publik prayeris of the kirk thay ar cheiflie retenit for the conseruatione of vnitie in the kirk and nationis amang thame selfis; for, gif al thingis var turnit in the propir langage of euerie cuntrey, na man vald studie to the Latine toung, and thairbie al communicatione amangis Christiane pepil vald schortlie be tane auay, and thairbie eftir greit barbaritie inseu.
Mairatour sik publique prayeris and seruice ar keipit mair perfytlie in thair auin integritie vithout al corruptione; for gif ane natione vald eik or pair onie thing, that vald be incontinent remarkt and reprouit be vther nationis, quhilk culd not be, gif euerie natione had al thai thingis turnit in the auin propir langage; as ye may se be experience, gif ye vald confer the prayeris of your deformit kirkis, togidder vith the innumerabil translationis of the psalmes, quihlk ar chaingit according to euerie langage in the quhilk thay ar turnit.
It is not than vithout greit caus, and ane special instinctione of the halie Ghaist, that thir toungis foirspokin hes bene, as thay vil be retenit to the end of the varld.