Being disappointed at the delay in the fulfilllment of their hopes, they attempted to foment political agitation against the government of Cromwell. They found considerable supporter amongst members of the [New Model Army]? and The Levellers. |
Being disappointed at the delay in the fulfilllment of their hopes, they attempted to foment political agitation against the government of Cromwell. They found considerable support amongst members of the [New Model Army]? and The Levellers. The Fifth Monarchists saw the overthrow of Charles I as a divine sign of the second coming of Christ and the establishment of a thousand years of Christ's rule on earth. One of their leaders was Major-General [Thomas Harrison]?, the son of a Newcastle-under-Lyme? butcher. He was involved in the execution of Charles I, commanding the guards on the day of the royal execution in 1649. |
One of their leaders was Major-General [Thomas Harrison]?, the son of a Newcastle-under-Lyme? butcher. He was involved in the execution of Charles I, commanding the guards on the day of the royal execution in 1649.
The arrest of Peake and Powell, two of the most violent of their number, was sufficient for a time to damp their ardour, and they were content to nourish their dreams in secret until after the Restoration, when, on January 6, 1661, fifty of them, headed by a wine-cooper named Thomas Venner, made a mad effort to attain possession of London in name of "King Jesus".
Most of the fifty were either killed or taken prisoner, and on January 19 and 21 Venner and ten others were executed for high treason. From that time, the special doctrine of the sect either died completely out, or became merged in a milder form of milleniarianism?, similar to that which still exists at the present day.