The Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men were active from 1649 to 1661 during the Interregnum, following the English Civil Wars of the 1600s. They took their name from a belief in a world ruling kingdom to be established by a returning Jesus in which the year 1666 and its numerical relationship to a passage in the Biblical Book of Revelation indicating the end of earthly rule by carnal human beings. // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... Events January 6 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. ... The English Interregnum was the period of republican rule after the English Civil War between the regicide of Charles I in 1649 and the restoration of Charles II in 1660. ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... Categories: 1600s ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ not being a name but rather a title meaning Anointed One. He is also considered a very important prophet in... Events September 2 - Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles IIs baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... Visions John the Evangelist, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

Overview

1649 was a year of great social unrest in England. The Parliamentary victors of the First English Civil War failed to negotiate a constitutional settlement with the defeated King Charles I. Members of Parliament and the Grandees in the New Model Army, when faced with Charles's perceived duplicity, reluctantly tried and executed him. // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of Scotland, England and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his execution. ... Spanish nobles are classified either as Grandees (also called Peers) or as Titled Nobles. ... The New Model Army became the best known of the various Parliamentarian armies in the English Civil War. ... The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king, or the person responsible for it. ...

Government throughout the King's Privy Council was replaced with a new body called the Council of State. Due to fundamental disagreements within a weakened Parliament, this new body was dominated by the Army. There was a considerable political ferment in the country, much of it religiously conditioned, and no lack of proposals for alternative forms of government to replace the old order. These ranged from Royalists who wished to place King Charles II on the throne, to men like Oliver Cromwell, who wished to govern with a Parliament voted in by an electorate determined by property ownership, similar to that enfranchised before the civil war, to the Levellers, influenced by the writings of John Lilburne, who wanted parliamentary government based on an electorate of constituted by every male head of household, through to other groups with smaller followings like the Fifth Monarchists, Diggers, the Ranters, and the Society of Friends or Quakers. Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... The English Council of State was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I. It was abolished on 25 April 1660 by the Convention Parliament just before the Restoration Charless execution on 30 January was delayed for several hours so... Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (retrospectively de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ... The Levellers were a mid 17th century English political party, who came to prominence during the English Civil Wars. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Diggers were a group, begun by Gerrard Winstanley as True Levellers in 1649, who became known as Diggers due to their activities. ... The Ranters were a radical English sect in the time of the Commonwealth, who were regarded as heretical by the established Church of that period. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers or Friends, is a religious community who do not have a universal set of doctrines to which all members subscribe but who embrace certain concepts that have been adopted by consensus. ...

These were not political parties as that term is understood today, but groups clustered around one or more beliefs, some of the believers attaching themselves to more than one group. Although the pre-war establishment had been split by the Civil War, both of the opposing main factions regarded all radical groups as agitators for change, and they are described as such in the Historical Collections of John Rushworth that document events of the early period, and by the Journals of the House of Commons which cover the period of the Republic itself. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (December 5, 1859- November 20, 1935) was a British Royal Navy admiral. ...

The Fifth Monarchists were a group of believers in a geopolitical theory which maintained that four other world rulers had already come and gone according to the prophecies of the biblical Book of Daniel (2: 44). This text recounts a prophetic dream by Nebuchadnezzar, in which the previous empires had been Assyrian; Persian; Grecian and Roman, The last empire, they concluded, would be established by the returning Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords to reign with his saints on earth for a thousand years. The Fifth Monarchists saw themselves as those saints of that soon to be dawning millennium. Among prominent Fifth Monarchists were Thomas Harrison, Christopher Feake, Vavasor Powell, John Carew and John Rogers. This article is about the Biblical book. ... Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebudchadrezzar) II (ca. ... This article concerns the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom. ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation) The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book... Thomas Harrison (1606 - October 14, 1660) was a Puritan soldier and later a leader of the Fifth monarchy men. ... Vavasor (or Vavasour) Powell (1617 - October 27, 1670), was a Welsh Nonconformist leader and writer. ... John Carew was one of the regicides of King Charles I. He was a prominent member of the Fifth Monarchy Men who saw the overthrow of Charles I as a divine sign of the second coming of Jesus and the establishment of the millennium a thousand years of Christs...

Fifth Monarchists believed that the timing of the events of the Interregnum were significant because the calendar year of 1666 loomed large on the near horizon. The number 666 had been identified in the Biblical Book of Revelation with the ultimate human despot to rule the world, but who would be replaced by the second coming of Jesus as the Messiah, it only added to the belief that the Fifth Monarchy was about to begin. Events September 2 - Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles IIs baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. ... The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... Visions John the Evangelist, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... Despotism is government by a singular authority, either a single person or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute power. ... The prophecies of a Second Coming are various and span across many religions and cultures. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew Arabic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ...

The English Commonwealth

A number of Fifth Monarchists took a leading part in the events of the time. Thomas Harrison and John Carew were Commissioners (Judges) at the trial of Charles I and signed the death warrant. Regicides of Charles I are considered to be the 59 Commissioners (Judges) who formed the tribunal that tried King Charles I of England and signed his death warrant, along with other officials who participated in his trial or execution, and Hugh Peters an influential republican preacher. ...

Nominated Assembly and Protectorate

After the forcible dissolution of the Rump Parliament by Oliver Cromwell, the Grandees of the Army Council of Officers were reluctant to authorise free elections because they were aware that the members returned by the traditional constituency would return Presbyterians and Royalist as well as their own sympathisers. They were not at all sure that the majority would be any more compliant than the Rump. Major-General Thomas Harrison, who had commanded the troop which aided Oliver Cromwell in dissolving the Rump, suggested that there be a ruling body based upon the Old Testament Sanhedrin of 70 selected "Saints", which was based on his beliefs, as a Fifth Monarchist, that the rule of the Saints would usher in the reign of Christ on Earth. A modified version of this proposal was accepted by Cromwell and the Council of Officers and less than a month after the dissolution of the Rump, during May 1653, letters in the name of the Lord-General and the Army Council were sent to Congregational churches in every county in England to nominate those they considered fit to take part in the new government. The total number of nominees was one hundred and forty, one hundred and twenty nine from England, five from Scotland and six from Ireland. The Rump Parliament was the remnant of the Long Parliament, following Prides Purge on 6 December 1648. ... Spanish nobles are classified either as Grandees (also called Peers) or as Titled Nobles. ... The Army Council was a term first used in 1647 to describe an institution which cordinated the views of all levels of the New Model Army. ... Thomas Harrison (1606 - October 14, 1660) was a Puritan soldier and later a leader of the Fifth monarchy men. ...

The arrest of Feake and Powell, two of the most violent of their number, was sufficient for a time to dampen their ardour, but many of the delegates to the Nominated Assembly of Saints, or as its detractors called the "Barebones Parliament" after one of the members Praise-God Barebones, were from congregations with Fifth Monarchist sympathies. The assembly which met from July until December 1653, was the high water mark of Fifth Monarchist influence on national politics. Fearing their ultra-radical ideas, which crystallised in an attack on tithes, the conservative faction led by Major-General John Lambert, supported by the use of troops to deny access to the radical factions, engineered a vote for the dissolution of the assembly, which was passed on December 12, 1653. The collapse of the radical consensus which had spawned the Nominated Assembly led to the Grandees passing the Instrument of Government in the Council of State which paved the way for Cromwell's Protectorate. The Fifth Monarchist were horrified at the establishment of Cromwell's Protectorate and plotted to overthrow the regime. Two plots were uncovered and broken up in 1657 and 1659. The Barebones Parliament, which is also known as the Nominated Assembly of Saints and the Little Parliament, came into being on July 4, 1653. ... The Barebones Parliament came into being on July 4, 1653. ... Praise-God Barebone (or Barbon) (c. ... A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. ... John Lambert (1619 - 1684) served as an English Parliamentary general in the English Civil War. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Spanish nobles are classified either as Grandees (also called Peers) or as Titled Nobles. ... The Instrument of Government was Englands first codified constitution. ... The English Council of State was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I. It was abolished on 25 April 1660 by the Convention Parliament just before the Restoration Charless execution on 30 January was delayed for several hours so... The Protectorate in English history refers specifically to the English government of 1653 to 1659 under the direct control of Oliver Cromwell, who assumed the title of Lord Protector of the newly declared Commonwealth of England (later the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland) after the English Civil War. ... Events January 8 - Miles Sindercombe, would-be-assassin of Oliver Cromwell, and his group are captured in London February - Admiral Robert Blake defeats the Spanish West Indian Fleet in a battle over the seizure of Jamaica. ... // Events May 25 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. ...

Restoration

After the Restoration on October 14, 1660 Major-General Thomas Harrison was the first person to be found guilty of the regicide of Charles I. He had been the seventeenth of fifty nine commissioners (judges) to sign the death warrant of the king in 1649. He was the first regicide to be hanged, drawn and quartered because he was considered by the new government to still represent a real threat to the re-established order. This threat was realised when on January 6, 1661, 50 Fifth Monarchists, headed by a wine-cooper named Thomas Venner, made an effort to attain possession of London in the 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 hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason. The English Restoration or simply Restoration was an episode in the history of Great Britain beginning in 1660 when the monarchy was restored under King Charles II after the English Civil War. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... Thomas Harrison (1606 - October 14, 1660) was a Puritan soldier and later a leader of the Fifth monarchy men. ... The broad definition of Regicide is the deliberate killing of a king, or the person responsible for it. ... Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of Scotland, England and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his execution. ... Regicides of Charles I are considered to be the 59 Commissioners (Judges) who formed the tribunal that tried King Charles I of England and signed his death warrant, along with other officials who participated in his trial or execution, and Hugh Peters an influential republican preacher. ... // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... To be hanged, drawn, and quartered was the penalty once ordained in England for treason. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 6 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. ... Thomas Venner (died 19 January 1661) was a cooper who became the last leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men, who tried unsuccessfully to overthrow Oliver Cromwell in 1657, and subsequently led a coup in London against the newly-restored government of Charles II. This event, known as Venners Rising... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ...

The failure of Venner's Rising led to repressive legislation to suppress non-conformist sects. Although some physical events such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London continued to encourage belief in "the end of the world" ruled by carnal human beings; the doctrine of the sect either died out, or became merged in a milder form of Millenarianism. The Great Plague (AD 1665-1666) was a massive outbreak of disease in Britain that killed 75,000 to 100,000 people, up to a fifth of Londons population. ... London, as it appeared from Bankside, Southwark, During the Great Fire — Derived from a Print of the Period by Visscher The Great Fire of London was a major confligration that swept through the City of London from September 2 to September 5, 1666, and resulted more or less in the... Millenarianism (sometimes spelled millenarism or millennarism) is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society after which all things will be changed in a positive (or sometimes negative or ambiguous) direction. ...

See also

• Religion in the United Kingdom
• English Dissenters
• John Lilburne
• Gerrard Winstanley

St Pauls Cathedral The United Kingdom is a traditionally Christian state, with two of the four home nations having official faiths: Anglicanism, in the form of the Church of England, is the established church in England. ... English Dissenters were dissenters from who opposed State interference in religious matters and founded their own communities over the 16th to 18th century period. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Gerrard Winstanley (1609 - September 10, 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. ...

External links

• Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men
• THE TIMES OF STEPHEN MUMFORD See the sections on "John James", "Efforts at Conformity" and "Fifth Monarchy Views".

Reference

• Fifth Monarchy Men: Study in Seventeenth Century English Millenarianism by Bernard Capp ISBN 057109791X