‘Lord of the Fens’: Oliver Cromwell’s Reputation and the First Civil War

Abstract

It was during the first civil war that Oliver Cromwell became famous. His rising fame rested primarily on his reputation for military success: he had thwarted royalist activists and taken control of Cambridge in the summer of 1642, before the civil war officially began; he defended the Eastern Association when elsewhere parliamentarian fortunes were suffering; and he was rapidly promoted, from captain to colonel. His military success raised his political prestige, and this, combined with his prominence in parliamentary circles, made him an obvious candidate for membership of the committee of both kingdoms that directed parliament’s military campaigns from early 1644. His military successes continued thereafter, culminating in the nationally significant battle of Marston Moor in July 1644. By then he had been promoted to lieutenant-general and second in command to the earl of Manchester, general of the Eastern Association’s army. Cromwell, rising rapidly in reputation and power, became seen as the unbeatable military hero who had turned the tide in the largest battle of the civil war. He was also a rallying point around which the Independent faction (which had emerged after the victory at Marston Moor) assembled to face down the Presbyterians and their Scottish allies.