Oliver!

Dear Folk,

Today, September 3, 1658 marks the death of a hero or a villain, an emancipator or a tyrant, a reformer or a bigot, a reluctant warrior or a wild usurper, the uncle of democracy or the father of subjugation. His name? Oliver Cromwell.

Oliver was born in April 25, 1599 at Huntingdonshire and educated at Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn. As landed gentry he represented Huntingdon in the Parliament of 1628 and Cambridge. He sat in both the Short Parliament, when Charles I wanted to whomp up on the Scots, and the Long Parliament where some concessions were won from Charles and eventually through the Civil Wars. At the age of 27 he was seized by a vision of the Lord. He became very ardent and very outspoken for what he thought was right. He was a Taurus; need I say more?

You have to realize that Cromwell was first and foremost a religiously devout man. He was what might be called a Fundamentalist in today's church. He sought earnestly to rid the Church of England of any vestiges of the Roman Catholic Church. Charles I had married a French Catholic. Oliver wanted the Anglican Church to reform and Charles was having those Puritans' ears cut off and noses slit for saying so. Oliver was infected by the same Parliamentarian spirit as moved Simon de Montfort to found it. Charles was moved to believe in the Divine Right of Kings. Both were typical of their classes.

When no agreement could be reached between Parliament and Charles ordered members arrested for treason, Parliament declared war in 1642. The Puritans, or "Roundheads" as they were called, finally led the civil war against the King and his "Cavaliers." Cromwell was forty-three with two fine sons. He started as a captain of a rough militia and within three years he rose to lieutenant general commanding the main body of the army. He had no military experience prior to his first command but he had a gift for it.

He was strict and stern but his newly trained, hand picked cavalry, the Ironsides, won battles and finally the war. They sang hymns and fairly ran into battle. These were crusaders not seen in England for hundreds of years. They were True Believers. His New Model Army was a rare phenomenon. They did not rape or pillage or even drink. They were tight with discipline and heroic fighters. Okay, they did burn churches which were not their church but a little Sunday school hijinx like that was to be expected.

Eventually, when the war seemed to be lost, King Charles I fled to Scotland, his French wife and son fled to France. The Scots soon realized, ``Hey, it's not like he's a Scottish king,'' and ransomed Charles Stuart to Cromwell's forces. You might remember that the Scottish forces had not been paid that earlier ransom that Charles had promised them.

Oliver resisted the forces of compromise which would have disbanded the army and kept the king. In 1649 he pushed for and got the execution of Charles Stuart I. More than anything, it was Charles' attempt to have both an Irish and French Catholic force land in England to fight the English Parliament which condemned himself to death. Such a blow against the Church of England could not be tolerated. And Charles refused to acknowledge any jurisdiction of the court and made no defense of his actions. In 1649, Charles got shortened.

When the Commonwealth was established, Oliver resisted the forces which wanted to make him king and instead became lord general and commander in chief of the army and lord lieutenant of Ireland. Ireland had been in open revolt against the Protestant English rule for some time. Cromwell presided over the massacres of the garrisons of Wexford and Drogheda. He confiscated the best third of Irish land formerly held by Catholics, and gave it into the hands of his Puritain soldiers. That did establish a deep and lasting division between Catholic and Protestant in Irish society.

There was a Parliament but it no longer went out to be elected, it sat on its rump for six years. In a way, the Parliament had become every bit as oppressive as Charles Stuart. How disappointing. Cromwell came in and disbanded it and became Lord Protector. Now that sounds a little less than being a king but it was not much. During those five years (1653 to 1658) Cromwell was law. Do understand that it was not a bad time. There were some things to recommend it. Difference in religion were actually tolerated (as long as they were Presbyterian, Independent or Baptist – all right, he allowed Catholics to meet, too), several treaties were successfully negotiated, there were a few rather well done wars. The country settled down. The anarchy that most feared was held in check. Cromwell was not throwing lavish parties nor allowing Catholic advisors.

On this day, September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell died. The Brits asked his surviving son, Richard, to become their Protector. By 1660 it was obvious to almost everyone that Richard couldn't handle the Protectorate, so the English kicked him out of office and went back to Royalty. Charles II, the late king's son, was invited back from exile in France.

What have we learned from this? Sometimes tyrants are easy to spot and other times they look just like you and me? Religious convictions can make some really tough fighters? Folks named Cromwell ought not to vacation in Ireland? Make sure you pay your soldiers? Nah, we already did that one. How about some folks depose one despot only to crave another? So true.

If you are out there decapitating kings, courting French nobility, or just teaching your flock to sing a good marching song and you think that a missive or two might do them good, go for it! Do leave my name and sig attached. By the way, the Archive of these fine Musings now has annotations so you can find that witty one you wanted to send to your aunt who owns a publishing house. Go look.

Oh, I also watched Richard Harris as Cromwell in the movie of the same name. Alec Guinness was Charles I. I kept hoping Sir Alec would pull out a light saber and cut down Richard Harris. I won't spoil the 1970 movie for you. Too late for that, anyway. Thanks to Insomniac Video for having it. It was a self-baster fit for any Puritan repast.

Protecting my own realm, thank you very much!
J. Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats