Stuarts

CHAPTER X
CHARLES I
HILST the reign of "the most high and mighty Prince James," that
"most dread sovereign," as he is termed in the Authorised Version
of the Bible, was a time of tranquillity, in England, at any rate, the
days of his successor proved to be very different. Charles I. was
fated to pass through that crisis of morals, of religion, and of government
commonly known as the Great Rebellion. Upon the son fell the consequences
of that unwise treatment of the Commons from which the father seemed to be
unable to refrain. In the words of an old writer, " James, by debauching
Parliaments and breaking his word did so far irritate no lesse than impoverish
the subject, as his son was forced to give concession to one rendered
indissolvable but by their own will : a mischiefe could never have befallen
England had King James left them in the same temper he found them at the
death of the Oueene."
Charles never seemed to realise that the root of English sovereignty is in
the people, and he paid the penalty of his want of insight. He became the
victim of the changes through which the body politic passed : from feudalism to
constitutional government : from the dominance of a state church to religious
anarchy : from divine right to the liberty of the subject, and all that flowed from
such momentous transformations. It may be true that England did not desire a
fundamental change in her political institutions, but a change of dynasty became
a necessity from the attitude assumed by Charles. Thus it came to pass that
the years 1642 to 1649 were crowded with events, so that the drama of history
was played on a great scale, and in a fashion to strike the imagination of each
successive generation.
Anything like a comprehensive account of the numerous characters who
crossed the stage during this period, or even a summary of what occurred, is
beyond the compass of this book, but Charles can hardly be left as a solitary