ANST - FW: Oliver!

[j'lynn yeates]

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From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2000 02:13
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: 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!
Ellsworth Weaver

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


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