Charles Stuart, that man of blood
Encyclopedia
Charles Stuart, that man of blood was a phrase used by Independents
, during the English Civil War
to describe King Charles I
The phrase is derived from the Bible:
and other verses were used to justify regicide
:
. The Army leadership felt deeply betrayed by the King because they thought that while they had been negotiating in good faith he had duplicitously gone behind their backs in making The Engagement with the Scots and encouraging a new civil war
. At the end of the meeting the Grandees of the Army accepted that it was their duty "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done".
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
, during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
to describe King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
The phrase is derived from the Bible:
and other verses were used to justify regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
:
Windsor Castle prayer meeting
Although the phrase had been used for a number of years by Independents, it became politically significant in April 1648 during the three-day prayer meeting at Windsor Castle by the leadership of the New Model ArmyNew Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
. The Army leadership felt deeply betrayed by the King because they thought that while they had been negotiating in good faith he had duplicitously gone behind their backs in making The Engagement with the Scots and encouraging a new civil war
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
. At the end of the meeting the Grandees of the Army accepted that it was their duty "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done".
Further reading
- Newton Key & Robert Bucholz. Sources and Debates in English History, 1485-1714, Blackwell Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0631213910, 9780631213918. p. 185
- Clive Holme. Why was Charles I Executed? Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006 ISBN 1852852828, 9781852852825. p.18
- Laura Lunger Knoppers. Puritanism and Its Discontents, University of Delaware Press, 2003 ISBN 0874138175, 9780874138177. p. 43 Cromewell Gidion Galatians act 2 and 2 Corinthians.
- Keith Lindley. The English Civil War and Revolution: A Sourcebook, Routledge, 1998 ISBN 0415174198, 9780415174190. p.167.
- David Lawrence Smith, A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603-1707: The Double Crown, Blackwell Publishing, 1998 ISBN 0631194029, 9780631194026 p. 158