The king in the parliamentary debates of 1657
The king in the parliamentary debates of 1657
In the spring of 1657, Parliament formally offered Oliver Cromwell the title of king. As is well known, Cromwell refused the title, after much deliberation and searching of his conscience. This essay tracks the word ‘king’ through the great business of the offer of the crown that defined the year of 1657, beginning with the debates in Parliament. It then traces ‘king’ through the records of the several meetings that took place between Cromwell and the committee of ninety-nine MPs, charged with the task of persuading Cromwell. While the kingship crisis of 1657 and its outcome are well known, the ways in which contemporaries understood and defined ‘king’ are worth closer scrutiny. The parliamentary debates of 1657 put such intense pressure on the word that we are able to witness it being pulled apart, and recast in a different mould.
king, kingship, crown, cromwell, parliament, republic
192-207
Hunt, Alice
cee21a10-a12b-4e52-8d89-2842ab8b4a31
29 February 2024
Hunt, Alice
cee21a10-a12b-4e52-8d89-2842ab8b4a31
Hunt, Alice
(2024)
The king in the parliamentary debates of 1657.
In,
Hadfield, Andrew and Hammond, Paul
(eds.)
Words at war: the contested language of the English Civil War.
Oxford.
Oxford University Press, .
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
In the spring of 1657, Parliament formally offered Oliver Cromwell the title of king. As is well known, Cromwell refused the title, after much deliberation and searching of his conscience. This essay tracks the word ‘king’ through the great business of the offer of the crown that defined the year of 1657, beginning with the debates in Parliament. It then traces ‘king’ through the records of the several meetings that took place between Cromwell and the committee of ninety-nine MPs, charged with the task of persuading Cromwell. While the kingship crisis of 1657 and its outcome are well known, the ways in which contemporaries understood and defined ‘king’ are worth closer scrutiny. The parliamentary debates of 1657 put such intense pressure on the word that we are able to witness it being pulled apart, and recast in a different mould.
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More information
Published date: 29 February 2024
Keywords:
king, kingship, crown, cromwell, parliament, republic
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 490327
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/490327
PURE UUID: 98f30550-6965-4acd-8df6-85061724f131
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Date deposited: 23 May 2024 16:50
Last modified: 12 Sep 2024 17:07
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Contributors
Editor:
Andrew Hadfield
Editor:
Paul Hammond
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