Charles
I |
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| "…probity and honor
ought justly to be placed among his most shining qualities. In
every treaty, those concessions, which he thought, in conscience,
he could not maintain, he never could, by any motive or
persuasion, be induced to grant. And though some violations of the
Petition of Right may be imputed to him; these are more to be
ascribed to the lofty ideas of royal prerogative, which he had
imbibed, than to any failure in the integrity of his principles."| David Hume, The History of Great Britain (1754). "Cromwell declared
that the King was a man of great parts and a great understanding,
but that he was so great a dissembler, and so false a man, that he
was not to be trusted; …" |
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"He is either an
extraordinary man, or his talents are very mean." |
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| "The firm
convictions of his mind were alike proof against arguments which
he was unable to understand, and unalterable by the impression of
passing events, which slipped by him unnoticed. … Conscious of the
purity of his own motives, he never ceased to divide mankind into
two simple classes - into those who agreed with him, and those who
did not; into sheep to be cherished, and goats to be rejected." S.R.Gardiner, History of England (1883).
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"I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown; where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the world." Charles I on the scaffold, 30 January 1649. |
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‘This was very remarkable in the late King, whose inconstancy in
this kind, was beyond compare; who no sooner had passed any
promises, made vows and protestations, fixed appeals in the high
court of heaven, in the behalf of himself and his family; but
presently he forfeited all, and cancelled them by his actions.’ Marchamont Nedham, The Excellencie of a Free-State (1656). |
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| "At first no man
less beloved; no man more generally condemned than was the King;
from the time that it became his custom to break Parliaments at
home, and either willfully or weakly to betray Protestants abroad
… All men inveighed against him; all men, except court-vassals,
opposed him and his tyrannical proceedings; the cry was universal;
and this full Parliament was at first unanimous in their dislike
and protestation against his evil government." John Milton, Eikonoklastes (1649).
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| "Charles I was a
Cavalier King and therefore had a small pointed beard, long
flowing curls, a large, flat, flowing hat and gay attire.
The Roundheads, on the other hand, were clean-shaven and wore
tall, conical hats, white ties and sombre garments. Under
these circumstances a Civil War was inevitable". 1066 And All That. |
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