Oliver Cromwell - J. C. Davis

Oliver Cromwell's greatness has rarely been disputed. He is acknowledged as a colussus, a Promethean figure of English and Irish history. But the nature of that greatness has been subjected to a wide variety of interpretations, often passionately held and running to extremes, depicting him as a figure of great wickedness or great virtue. To make sense of his place in history we have to understand the evolution of his reputation and the purposes served by its various forms. Davis argues that, despite the extremes of interpretation, Cromwell's reputation has never been indefinitely elastic; that there have always been acknowledged facts which had to be faced up to. The evidence, and in some cases the lack of evidence, have to be appreciated contextually. So, Cromwell's rise from 'obscurity', his astonishing success as a soldier, his religion, his eventual dominance as a politician, his success and failure as a statesman are here re-examined in the dual light of his reputation and the context of his times. The result is a fresh and provocative assessment of his life and achievement, his role in the English Revolution and his place in British history.



Oliver Cromwell's greatness has rarely been disputed. He is acknowledged as a colossus, a Promethean figure of English and British history. But the nature of that greatness has been subjected to a wide variety of interpretations, often passionately held and running to extremes, depicting him as a figure of great wickedness or great virtue. To make sense of his place in history we have to understand the evolution of his reputation and the purposes served by its various forms. This book argues that, despite the extremes of interpretation, Cromwell's reputation has never been infinitely elastic; that there have always been acknowledged facts which had to be faced up to. The evidence, and in some cases the lack of evidence, have to be appreciated contextually. So, Cromwell's rise from `obscurity', his astonishing success as a soldier, his religion, his eventual dominance as a politician, his success and failure as a statesman are here re-examined in the dual light of his reputation and the context of his times. The result is a fresh and provocative assessment of his life and achievements, his role in the English Revolution and his place in British history.