The character and appearance of English governance were changed utterly in 1649, when Charles I was executed and the monarchy abolished. At a stroke, legitimate authority in the nation was stripped of the charismatic focus from whence it had derived much of its apparently ageless dignity. This volume provides a study of how England's political culture was reinvented by the new parliamentary republic. It describes how government members colonized and revived the abandoned royal palace at Whitehall, and describes the imaginative and consistently iconographic and ceremonial languages with which they replaced the imagery and spectacle of the monarchy. It makes a case for the comprehensive revision of the historio-graphical preconceptions surrounding England's only lengthy period of kinglessness.

"The English Revolution has always held pride of place in histories of Anglophone political thought. The political writings of the Levellers and John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, and James Harrington, to name only the most obvious, were all shaped by, indeed in many ways the products of, the upheavals of the mid seventeenth century. It is simply impossible to understand their political ideas without the context of the English Revolution. Historians have pored over every aspect of political thought from the first controversies leading up to the civil wars in the early 1640s to the final debates on the eve of the Restoration in 1659-60, and yet there is one period amid these revolutionary decades which has captured scant scholarly attention. This is the period of the free state from early 1649, when Charles I was executed and the free state established, to the spring of 1653, when Oliver Cromwell and the army dissolved the Rump and eventually established the protectorate. This scholarly neglect is even more startling given the fact that the trial and execution of Charles I and the founding of the free state arguably marked the culmination of the entire period. Historians have of course examined the political ideas underlying these events and the whole republican era, but, although they often disagree with one another on many points of detail, they agree on one salient general point. Practically all of them, though in varying degrees, play down, or even belittle, the importance of the political thought of the republican period"--

This work analyzes the diplomatic, military, political, religious and intellectual developments of the period, trying to determine the real significance of the Interegnum. The author also presents a study of Cromwell, and how contemporary research has brought more light to his life.

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Morrill's Very Short Introduction to Stuart Britain sets the Revolution into its political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural contexts. It thus seeks to integrate what most other surveys pull apart. It gives a graphic account of the effects of a century-long period during which population was growing inexorably and faster than both the food supply and the employment market. It looks at the failed attempts of successive governments to make all those under their authority obedient members of a unified national church; it looks at how Charles I blundered into a civil war which then took on a terrifying momentum of its own. The result was his trial and execution, the abolition of the monarchy, the house of lords, the bishops, the prayer book and the celebration of Christmas. As a result everything else that people took for granted came up for challenge, and this book shows how painfully and with what difficulty order and obedience was restored. Vividly illustrated and full of startling detail, this is an ideal introduction to those interested in getting into the period, and also contains much to challenge and stimulate those who already feel at home in Stuart England. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

An insightful and original exploration of Roman Republic politics In A Companion to the Political Culture of the Roman Republic, editors Valentina Arena and Jonathan Prag deliver an incisive and original collection of forty contributions from leading academics representing various intellectual and academic traditions. The collected works represent some of the best scholarship in recent decades and adopt a variety of approaches, each of which confronts major problems in the field and contributes to ongoing research. The book represents a new, updated, and comprehensive view of the political world of Republican Rome and some of the included essays are available in English for the first time. Divided into six parts, the discussions consider the institutionalized loci, political actors, and values, rituals, and discourse that characterized Republican Rome. The Companion also offers several case studies and sections on the history of the interpretation of political life in the Roman Republic. Key features include: A thorough introduction to the Roman political world as seen through the wider lenses of Roman political culture Comprehensive explorations of the fundamental components of Roman political culture, including ideas and values, civic and religious rituals, myths, and communicative strategies Practical discussions of Roman Republic institutions, both with reference to their formal rules and prescriptions, and as patterns of social organization In depth examinations of the 'afterlife' of the Roman Republic, both in ancient authors and in early modern and modern times Perfect for students of all levels of the ancient world, A Companion to the Political Culture of the Roman Republic will also earn a place in the libraries of scholars and students of politics, political history, and the history of ideas.