A Sword for Christ by Jonathan Cobb

Author:Jonathan Cobb [Cobb, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General, Social History, Europe, Great Britain, Ireland, Renaissance
ISBN: 9781788854733
Google: qME0EAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Birlinn
Published: 2021-09-02T02:44:54+00:00

13

‘I say you are no Parliament’

Westminster

There must be civil and military power in the hands of the saints . . . before the day of Christ’s appearance.

John Tillinghast

None stir out of their houses, so ridiculously were they abused by knavish and ignorant star gazers.

John Evelyn

I had there occasion to meet and be acquainted with many godly men, ’though I can say little of any good we did at that Parliament; yet it was in the hearts of some there to have done good for promoting the kingdom of Christ.

Alexander Jaffray

In November 1652, with leaves on the ground and apparent stalemate at sea, Cromwell had taken a morose walk around St James’s Park. The Commonwealth had stalled. It had been ushered in by a small radical minority of the Long Parliament who were dependent on the soldiers, but whose just deserts they nevertheless seemed unable or unwilling to satisfy and whose ethos they did not share. Nearly a whole year had passed since the conclave in the lord general’s quarters had attempted to give some further definition to a state which rested on force of arms alone. The constitutional status of both Scotland and Ireland within the Commonwealth was not settled. Little progress had been made with reforms, deciding the method of electing a new ‘representative’ or of determining the interim arrangements between the ending of the old parliament and the birth of the new.

The hiatus was not entirely due to the inertia and indecision of the civilians. Although less direct than their action in late 1648, the Council of Officers continued to take a hand in political and constitutional matters. But although there was unanimity in disappointment with the Rump, there was a conflicting spectrum of opinion across the most senior of its members about the direction of the Republic. Lambert was well respected and had a renewed interest in constitutional issues, but his political judgement had been coloured by a very public humiliation at the hands of the Rumpers when they abolished the position of Lord Deputy of Ireland, an appointment he had been expected to fill. Lambert had gone to some expense in preparation for the formerly vice-regal role and probably saw the opportunities there as a justifiable reward for his distinguished military service. In his pique, he turned down command of the army in Ireland which went instead to Charles Fleetwood, who further inveigled his way into the commander-in-chief’s retinue by marrying the widowed Bridget Ireton. Lambert spent more time at his magnificent home at Wimbledon House pursuing his interest in botany and where, according to Lucy Hutchinson, he also nursed his grievance.

As his profile waned, that of Harrison waxed. The Fifth Monarchy movement was taking firmer root, particularly in London where there were huge evangelical rallies of an almost obsessive temper as the year drew to a close. The early spring of 1652 had seen an eclipse of the sun, hardly an unusual event but one to which the zeitgeist attached a special significance. Harrison had

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