P. G. Rogers - The Fifth Monarchy Men
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P. G. Rogers - The Fifth Monarchy Men
[Oxford University Press 1966] The Fifth Monarchy Men were a vociferous sect of religious fanatics who reached the peak of their influence in the mid-seventeenth century, at one point threatening the security of Cromwell's Government. They were convinced of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of Christ on Earth (the Fifth Monarchy), and, with an obstinate tenacity, they proclaimed their millenarian doctrines in the pulpit and in a spate of polemical pamphlets. They also planned insurrections against the established order, and a desparate attempt by them in January 1661 to overthrow the Government of Charles II caused (to quote Pepys) 'a great stir' in the city of London, and a number of deaths in the fighting which ensued. Though their political and economic doctrines had little effect on the broad course of English history, indirectly the activities of the sect contributed towards some important developments in England in the seventeenth century. For example, the fanaticism of their representatives in the Barebones Parliament brought that parliamentary experiment into disrepute; and their attitude towards the Jews played some part in the developments which led ultimately to the readmission of the Jews into England.
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