John Knox was known as the "Thundering Scot" for his intense preaching. Although Knox cried in fear and confusion when first called upon to preach, he became the leading force among the Scottish Reformers, shaking his nation with his dramatic oratory skills. Forced while he was a galley slave by the Catholics to worship a statue of the Virgin Mary, he instead threw it overboard. This fearlesssness would make him a dramatic leader in the exciting times of the Reformation in Scotland.