Professor John Morrill gave the First Barry Coward Memorial
Lecture. Organised by the Birkbeck Early Modern Society, it was fitting that a
historian of Morrill's statue gave this lecture. This is the first time I have
heard John Morrill speak. I do not agree with his type of historiography, but
he is a historian worth listening too.
In his introductory remarks, he made a fitting tribute to the
memory of Barry Coward. Morrill regretted his untimely death and was saddened
by it.
Morrill used the lecture to outline the project that he and
a team of eight editors chosen by Oxford University Press to assemble a five-volume
edition of Oliver Cromwell's collected writings and speeches. This edition will
give us a more concrete and precise appreciation of Oliver Cromwell. The result
will probably result in a significant reappraisal of "Our Chief of Men".
This is a long-overdue project. The fact that the team won significant funding
of £250,000 from Leverhulme Trust is testimony to its importance.
John Morrill's main emphasis throughout the entire lecture
was the importance of accuracy in historical research. It is relatively
standard knowledge that the various previous collections of Cromwell's
collected speeches and writings are found wanting. This project was undertaken
by Morrill and his large team of historians researchers and give us the first
real attempt to put the historical record straight and to furnish us a more
precise understanding of one of the most important historical figures in both
English and world history.
Morrill began his lecture by going over previous editions of
Cromwell's collected speeches and writings. The first and probably most
well-known collected edition of Cromwell's words was by Thomas Carlyle in 1845
and updated by S. C. Lomas in 1904. Morrill's main criticism of Carlyle was
that he made little effort at accuracy. Carlyle never looked at previous
examples of speeches quoted in his collection. Morrill believes the Lomas
version is better but not by much.
In his hand-out given at the lecture Morrill gives us an
example of the obstacles his team has encountered during their research.
Probably one the more well-known misinterpretations of Cromwell's speeches, took
place at the opening of the Barebones Parliament. One version, made in 1654,
says:" I confess I never looked to see such a day as this – it may not be nor you neither – when Jesus Christ should be so owned
as He is, at this day, and in this work. Jesus Christ is owned this day by your
call, and you own Him by your willingness to appear for Him; and you manifest
this, as far as poor creatures can, to the day of the power of Christ. God
manifests it to be the day of the power of Christ, having, through so much
blood, and so much trial as hath been upon this, made this one of the great one
of the great issues thereof……I confess I did
never look back to see such a day
The same speech recorded 100 years later says this: "I
confess I never looked to see such a day as this – it may not be nor you neither – when Jesus Christ shall be so owned as
He is, at this day, and in this world. Jesus Christ is owned this day by you
all, and you own Him by your willingness in appearing here; and you manifest
this, as far as poor creatures can, to a day of the power of Christ by your
willingness…god manifests it to be to be the day of
the power of Christ, having, through so much blood, and so much trials as hath
been upon these nations made this one of the great one of the great issues
thereof… I confess I did never look to see such
a sight".
According to Morrill, the second statement makes Cromwell a
far more radical figure than had previously thought. Nick Poyntz agrees with
this assessment as well "The differences are small but important.
"Cromwell is far more radical. Members of the Parliament have called forth
the spirit of Christ through their presence, and the day itself is "the
day of the power of Christ", an apocalyptic climax to the struggles of the
past eleven years. In the second version, Cromwell calls it "a day of the
power of Christ", which softens its millenarianism. Representatives have
been summoned by Christ, not the other way around".[1]
It would be fair to assume that Morrill understands that his
research does not take place in either a historical or political vacuum. Cromwell
was and still is a controversial figure. Every century historians have
interpreted a Cromwell that fits in with the politics of their age. Morrill dew
attention to one such historian in the 20th century, Wilbur Cortez Abbott, a
Harvard historian who spent most of his career to compiling and editing a
collection of Cromwell's letters and speeches.
These volumes were published between 1937 and 1947.
According to Morrill Cromwell was described by Abbott as "a proto-fascist".
Suffice to say Morrill had no time for this extreme right-wing political
assessment or for Abbott's editorial approach. Certainly, the most
controversial part of Cromwell's life was his time spent in Ireland. Morrill
explained that even today, Cromwell's involvement and the extent of civilian
casualties is still open to debate. This, of course, like all of Cromwell's
actions is open to different interpretations again depending on your political
and to some extent, historical persuasion. The sack of Drogheda in September
1649 by parliamentary forces is one such action.
Nick Poyntz makes a further point that this oft-quoted phrase: "I am
persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous
wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood; and that it
will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the future, which are the
satisfactory grounds to such actions, which otherwise cannot but work remorse
and regret".
He questions whether these are Cromwell's words as no
original letter survives. He also makes the point as does Morrill that
parliament had a habit of tidying up speeches and letters of Cromwell. Again to
what extent his words are accurate is one of the tasks of the project. It must
be said that this is not an envious one.
Morrill made the distinction between civilians killed in the
heat of battle as opposed to in cold blood.29 September 1649 two letters from
Cromwell sack of Drogheda were read in the Parliament:"Our men
getting up to them, were ordered by me to put them all to the Sword; and indeed
being in the heat of action, I forbade them to spare any that were in Arms in
the Town, and I think that night they put to the sword about two thousand men,
divers of the Officers and Soldiers being fled over the Bridge into the other
part of the Town, where about One hundred of them possessed St. Peters Church
Steeple, some the West Gate, and others, a round strong Tower next the Gate,
called St. Sundays:.
These being summoned to yield to mercy, refused; whereupon I ordered the Steeple of St. Peters Church to be fired, where one of them was heard to say in the midst of the flames, God damn me, God confound me, I burn, I burn; the next day the other two Towers were summoned, in one of which was about six or seven score, but they refused to yield themselves; and we knowing that hunger must compel them, set onely good Guards to secure them from running away, until their stomacks were come down: from one of the said Towers, notwithstanding their condition, they killed and wounded some of our men; when they submitted, their Officers were knockt on the head, and every tenth man of the Soldiers killed, and the rest Shipped for the Barbadoes; the Soldiers in the other Town were all spared, as to their lives onely, and Shipped likewise for the Barbadoes. I am perswaded that this is a righteous Judgement of God upon these Barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood, and that it will tend to preventthe effusion of blood for the future".
These being summoned to yield to mercy, refused; whereupon I ordered the Steeple of St. Peters Church to be fired, where one of them was heard to say in the midst of the flames, God damn me, God confound me, I burn, I burn; the next day the other two Towers were summoned, in one of which was about six or seven score, but they refused to yield themselves; and we knowing that hunger must compel them, set onely good Guards to secure them from running away, until their stomacks were come down: from one of the said Towers, notwithstanding their condition, they killed and wounded some of our men; when they submitted, their Officers were knockt on the head, and every tenth man of the Soldiers killed, and the rest Shipped for the Barbadoes; the Soldiers in the other Town were all spared, as to their lives onely, and Shipped likewise for the Barbadoes. I am perswaded that this is a righteous Judgement of God upon these Barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood, and that it will tend to preventthe effusion of blood for the future".
As Morrill pointed out Cromwell made a list of officers and
soldiers killed "Two thousand Five hundred-Foot Soldiers, besides
Staff-Officers, Chyrurgeons, &c. and many Inhabitants". So it is
clear that inhabitants were killed.
Let us hope Professor Morrill and his team succeed in their
endeavours and we get a much more accurate picture of Oliver Cromwell "warts
and all". As Morrill said, "Cromwell will come alive in much the same
way as a Great Master painting takes on a new and different life when it is
cleaned and restored".
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