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Chapter 4 - Later 1649

Milton’s Eikonoklastes and Cromwell’s Invasion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

Lee Morrissey
Affiliation:
Clemson University, South Carolina
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Summary

Days after the execution of Charles I, Eikon Basilike, a book purported to be written by the king, was published posthumously. Parliament commissioned Milton to write a response. With chapters on Wentworth’s execution and the Irish Rising of the early 1640s, Ireland is threaded throughout Charles’ Eikon Basilike and Milton’s response, Eikonoklastes. When Milton began writing Eikonoklastes, Cromwell was preparing to invade Ireland. By the time Eikonoklastes was published, in October of 1649, Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland had been underway for two months. Its most infamous battles, the siege of Drogheda had already taken place. In 1650, Milton publishes a revised second edition of Eikonoklastes, in which he hits upon the term “pluralist,” and invokes it scornfully against his opponents in Ireland. Milton is now up against a principle: pluralism, which Milton implies is built into the cultural and political map of Ireland. As Milton confronts in Ireland a different way of thinking about government, administration, and policy, the Stuart idea of Great Britain must be defeated in Ireland, because it threatens a century-old project of centralization.

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Milton's Ireland
Royalism, Republicanism, and the Question of Pluralism
, pp. 104 - 122
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Later 1649
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.006
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Later 1649
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Later 1649
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.006
Available formats
×