John Lilburne
Encyclopedia
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
political Leveller before, during and after English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
s 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights
Freeborn
"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...
", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law. In his early life he was a Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
, though towards the end of his life he became a Quaker. His works have been cited in opinions by the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
.
Early life
John Lilburne was the son of Richard Lilburne, a landowner of estates at Thickley Punchardon and elsewhere in County Durham. He was probably born in Sunderland but the exact date of his birth is unknown; there is some dispute as to whether he was born in 1613, 1614, or 1615. His father Richard Lilburne was the last man in England to insist that he should be allowed to settle a legal dispute with a trial by battle John's elder brother Robert LilburneRobert Lilburne
thumb|right|Robert LilburneColonel Robert Lilburne was the older brother of John Lilburne, the well known Leveller, but unlike his brother who severed his relationship with Oliver Cromwell, Robert Lilburne remained in the army...
also later became active in the Parliamentary cause, but seems not to have shared John's Leveller beliefs. By his own account Lilburne received the first ten years' of his education in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, almost certainly at the Royal Free Grammar School
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally and often abbreviated as RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It gained its Royal Charter under Queen Elizabeth I...
. He also had some schooling in Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
.
In the 1630s he was apprenticed to John Hewson
John Hewson (regicide)
Colonel John Hewson was a soldier in the New Model Army and signed the death warrant of King Charles I, making him a regicide.-Life:...
, who introduced him to the Puritan physician John Bastwick
John Bastwick
John Bastwick was an English Puritan physician and controversial writer.-Life:He was born at Writtle, Essex. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, on 19 May 1614, but remained there only a very short time, and left the university without a degree. He travelled and served for a time as a soldier,...
, an active pamphleteer against Episcopacy who was persecuted by Archbishop William Laud
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
. Lilbune's connection with Bastwick, whose "Litany" he had a hand in printing, obliged him to flee to Holland.
Unlicensed publishing
On his return from Holland, Lilburne was arrested (11 December 1637) for printing and circulating unlicensed books, more especially William Prynne'sWilliam Prynne
William Prynne was an English lawyer, author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Although his views on church polity were presbyterian, he became known in the 1640s as an Erastian, arguing for...
"News from Ipswich", that were not licensed by The Stationers' Company (known after 1937 as the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
). At that time all printing presses were licensed as well as the publications that were produced on those presses.
"Freeborn John"
Lilburne was arrested upon information by an informer acting for The Stationers' Company and brought before the Court of Star Chamber. Instead of being charged with an offence he was asked how he pleaded. In his examinations he refused to take the oath known as the 'ex-officio' oath (on the ground that he was not bound to incriminate himself), and thus called in question the court's usual procedure. As he persisted in his contumacy, he was sentenced (13 February 1638) to be fined £500, whipped, pilloriedPillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
, and imprisoned till he obeyed.
On 18 April 1638 Lilburne was flogged with a three-thonged whip on his bare back, as he was dragged by his hands tied to the rear of an ox cart from Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
to the pillory
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. He was then forced to stoop in the pillory where he still managed to campaign against his censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
s, while distributing more unlicensed literature to the crowds. He was then gagged. Finally he was thrown in prison. He was taken back to the court and again imprisoned. During his imprisonment in Fleet he was cruelly treated. While in prison he however managed to write and to get printed in 1638 an account of his own punishment styled The Work of the Beast and in 1639 an apology for separation from the church of England, entitled Come out of her, my people.
On his release, Lilburne married Elizabeth Dewell
Elizabeth Lilburne
Elizabeth Lilburne , born Elizabeth Dewell, was a Leveller and the wife of John Lilburne.-Life:The daughter of the London merchant Henry Dewell , no details of Elizabeth's life prior to her marriage to John in or before September 1641 are known...
(a London merchant's daughter) in September 1641. Lilburne’s agitation continued: the same year he led a group of armed citizens against a group of Royalist officers, forcing them to retreat.
That was the first in a long series of trials that lasted throughout his life for what John Lilburne called his "freeborn rights
Freeborn
"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...
". As a result of these trials a growing number of supporters began to call him "Freeborn John" and they even struck a medal in his honour to that effect. It is this trial that has been cited by constitutional jurists and scholars in the United States of America as being one of the historical foundations of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
. It is also cited within the 1966 majority opinion of Miranda v. Arizona
Miranda v. Arizona
Miranda v. Arizona, , was a landmark 5–4 decision of the United States Supreme Court. The Court held that both inculpatory and exculpatory statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant...
by the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
.
English Civil War
In the First English Civil War he enlisted as a captain in Lord Brooke's regiment of foot in the Parliamentary army commanded by the Earl of EssexRobert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
and fought at the Battle of Edgehill
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....
. He was a member of the Parliament's garrison at Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
against Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
during the Battle of Brentford
Battle of Brentford (1642)
The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle which took place on 12 November 1642, between a detachment of the Royalist army, under the command of Prince Rupert and two infantry regiments of Parliamentarians with some horse in support...
that took place on 12 November 1642 as the Royalists advanced on London and, after trying to escape by jumping in the Thames, was taken as a prisoner to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. As the first prominent Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
captured in the war, the Royalists intended to try Lilburne for high treason. But when Parliament threatened to execute Royalist prisoners in reprisal (see the Declaration of Lex Talionis
Declaration of Lex Talionis
Early in the First English Civil War the Long Parliament threatened to retaliate in kind if the Royalists tried and executed John Lilburne and two other Parliamentary offices for treason...
), Lilburne was exchanged for a Royalist officer.
He then joined the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...
under the command of the Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
as a volunteer at the siege of Lincoln, and on 7 October 1643 he was commissioned as a major in Colonel King's regiment of foot. On 16 May 1644 he was transferred to Manchester's own dragoons with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He became friends with Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, who was second in command, supporting him in his disputes with Manchester. He fought with distinction at the Battle of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...
in 1644. Shortly afterwards he asked permission to attack the Royalist stronghold at Tickhill Castle
Tickhill Castle
Tickhill Castle was a castle in Tickhill, on the Nottingham/Yorkshire West Riding border, England and a prominent stronghold during the reign of King John I of England.-Early history:...
, because he had heard it was willing to surrender. Manchester refused, dismissing him as a madman. Taking that as a yes, he went and took the Castle without a shot being fired.
In April 1645, Lilburne resigned from the Army, because he refused to sign the Presbyterian Solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
, on the grounds that the covenant deprived those who might swear it of freedom of religion, namely members of the parliamentary army. Lilburne argued that he had been fighting for this Liberty among others. This was practically a treaty between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
for the preservation of the reformed religion in Scotland, the reformation of religion in England and Ireland "according to the word of God and the example of the best reformed churches," and the extirpation of popery and prelacy. The Scots, he maintained, were free to believe as they saw fit but not to bind anyone to the same faith if they did not share it.
The historian C.H. Firth opined that Lilburne had gained a great reputation for courage and seems to have been a good officer, but his military career was unlucky. He spent about six months in prison at Oxford, was plundered of all he had at Rupert's relief of Newark (22 March 1644), was shot through the arm at the taking of Walton Hall, near Wakefield (3 June 1644), and received very little pay. His arrears when he left the service amounted to £880. He also succeeded in quarrelling, first with Colonel King and then with the Earl of Manchester, both of whom he regarded as lukewarm, incapable, and treacherous. He did his best to get King cashiered, and was one of the authors of the charge of high treason against him, which was presented to the House of Commons by some of the committee of Lincoln in August 1644. The dispute with Manchester was due to Lilburne's summoning and capturing Tickhill Castle against Manchester's orders, and Lilburne was one of Cromwell's witnesses in his charge against Manchester.
Quarrels with William Prynne
Besides the feuds he had with officers in the Army, Lilburne soon engaged in a quarrel with two of his former fellow sufferers. On 7 January 1645 he addressed a letter to William PrynneWilliam Prynne
William Prynne was an English lawyer, author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Although his views on church polity were presbyterian, he became known in the 1640s as an Erastian, arguing for...
, attacking the intolerance of the Presbyterians, and claiming freedom of conscience and freedom of speech for the independents, Prynne, bitterly incensed, procured a vote of the Commons summoning Lilburne before the committee for examinations (17 January 1645). When he appeared (17 May 1645) the committee discharged him with a caution. A second time (18 June 1645) Prynne caused Lilburne to be brought before the same committee, on a charge of publishing unlicensed pamphlets, but he was again dismissed unpunished. Prynne vented his malice in a couple of pamphlets: A Fresh Discovery of prodigious Wandering: Stars and Firebrands, and The Liar Confounded, to which Lilburne replied in Innocency and Truth Justified (1645). Dr. John Bastwick
John Bastwick
John Bastwick was an English Puritan physician and controversial writer.-Life:He was born at Writtle, Essex. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, on 19 May 1614, but remained there only a very short time, and left the university without a degree. He travelled and served for a time as a soldier,...
took a minor part in the same controversy.
Agitation
John Lilburne then began in earnest his campaign of agitation for freebornFreeborn
"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...
rights, the rights that all Englishmen are born with, which are different from privileges bestowed by a monarch or a government. He also advocated extended suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
, equality before the law
Equality before the law
Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws....
, and religious tolerance. His enemies branded him as a Leveller
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
but Lilburne responded that he was a "Leveller so-called." To him it was a pejorative label which he did not like. He called his supporters "Agitators." It was feared that "Levellers" wanted to level property rights, but Lilburne wanted to level human basic rights which he called "freeborn rights
Freeborn
"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...
"
At the same time that John Lilburne began his campaign, another group led by Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell...
styling themselves True Levellers (and became known as Diggers), advocated equality in property as well as political rights.
Putney Debates
Lilburne was imprisoned from July to October 1645 for denouncing Members of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who lived in comfort while the common soldiers fought and died for the Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
ary cause. It was while he was incarcerated that he wrote his tract
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
, England's Birthright Justified.
In July 1646, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for denouncing his former commander the Earl of Manchester as a traitor and Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
sympathiser. It was the campaign to free him from prison which spawned the political party called the Levellers
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
. Lilburne called them "Levellers so-called" because he viewed himself as an agitator for freeborn rights.
The Levellers had a strong following in the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
with whom his work was influential. When the Army held the Putney Debates
Putney Debates
The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army – a number of the participants being Levellers – concerning the makeup of a new constitution for England....
between 28 October and 11 November 1647, the debate centred upon a pamphlet influenced by the writings of John Lilburne called An Agreement of the People
Agreement of the People
An Agreement of the People was a series of manifestos, published between 1647 and 1649, for constitutional changes to the English state. Several versions of the Agreement were published, each adapted to address not only broad concerns but also specific issues during the fast changing...
for a firm and present peace upon grounds of common right. The events of 1647, where rank and file soldiers organised themselves, under the leadership of the Agitators have been compared to the organisation of Soldiers Soviets during the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Written constitution
Lilburne was instrumental in the writing of two more editions of this famous document. The second was An Agreement of the PeopleAgreement of the People
An Agreement of the People was a series of manifestos, published between 1647 and 1649, for constitutional changes to the English state. Several versions of the Agreement were published, each adapted to address not only broad concerns but also specific issues during the fast changing...
of England, and the places therewith incorporated, for a secure and present peace, upon grounds of common right, freedom and safety, was presented to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
on 11 September 1648 after amassing signatories including about a third of all Londoners.
Following the defeat of the Royalists and the abolition of the monarchy and House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, England became a commonwealth
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
in 1649 with the regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. It was while he was in the Tower of London that John Lilburne, William Walwyn
William Walwyn
William Walwyn was an English pamphleteer, a Leveller and a medical practitioner.Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War. He advocated religious toleration and emerged as a leader of the Levellers in 1647 which led to his imprisonment in 1649...
, Thomas Prince and Richard Overton
Richard Overton
Richard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
wrote the third edition of An Agreement of the Free People
Agreement of the People
An Agreement of the People was a series of manifestos, published between 1647 and 1649, for constitutional changes to the English state. Several versions of the Agreement were published, each adapted to address not only broad concerns but also specific issues during the fast changing...
of England. Tendered as a Peace-Offering to this distressed Nation. They hoped that this document would be signed like a referendum so that it would become a written constitution for the Commonwealth of England. The late United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
, who often cited the works of John Lilburne in his opinions, wrote in an article for Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
that he believed John Lilburne's constitutional work of 1649 was the basis for the basic rights contained in the US Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
and Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
.
On trial for high treason
When Hugh PetersHugh Peters
Hugh Peters [or Peter] was an English preacher.-Early life:He was baptized on 29 June 1598 in Fowey, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge....
visited John Lilburne in the Tower on 25 May 1649, Lilburne told him that he would rather have had seven years under the late king's rule than one under the present regime, and that in his opinion if the current regime remained as tyrannical as it was, then people would be prepared to fight for "Prince Charles". Three months later in Outcry of the Apprentices to the Soldiers Lilburne stated that apprentices and soldiers fought to maintain the fundamental constitution of the Commonwealth and rights of the people in their Parliaments by regulating the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
not against the person of the King.
There had been rumours after the Broadway meeting
Broadway meeting
An unauthorised meeting was held at Broadway in Worcestershire in January 1648, by about 80 officers from four or five Parliamentary regiments. They met to discuss grievances, principally the issue of back pay....
of January 1648, that Levellers were conspiring with Royalists to overthrow the new republic. During the Oxford mutiny this was confirmed when Parliament acquired a letter from a Royalist prisoner in the Tower of London to Lord Cottington, and advisor in exile with Charles II in France, which suggested that the Royalists should finance the Levellers, as a method by which Charles could be restored to the throne. Armed with this evidence parliament published a long declaration against the Levellers and passed a motion to try Lilburne for High Treason, using a court similar to that which had tried Charles I. Like the trial of the King sentence would be passed by appointed commissioners, (forty for Lilburn's trial), but unlike the King (who had no peers) a jury of 12 would decide on Lilburn's guilt or innocence. The trial took place in the London Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
. It started on 24 of October 1649, and lasted two days. When the jury found him not guilty, the public shouted their approval so loudly and for so long that it was another half an hour before the proceedings could be formally closed.
Lilburn was not released immediately and was held for a further two weeks before pressure from the populaces and some friends in Parliament finally secured his release. Although some members of parliament were irked at Lilburne's release, Parliament had succeed in suppressing open Levellers dissent. The Levellers gave up all attempts to rouse the country and army to open rebellion, and started to conspire ineffectually in secret.
1649–1651
So far as politics was concerned, Lilburne for the next two years remained quiet. He was elected on 21 December 1649 a common councilman for the city of London, but on the 26th his election was declared void by Parliament, although he had taken the required oath to be faithful to the commonwealth. No disposition, however, was shown to persecute him. On 22 December 1648 he had obtained an ordinance granting him £3,000, in compensation for his sufferings, from the Star ChamberStar Chamber
The Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
, the money being made payable from the forfeited estates of various Royalists in the county of Durham. As this source had proved insufficient, Lilburne, by the aid of Marten
Henry Marten (regicide)
Sir Henry Marten was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1653...
and Cromwell, obtained another ordinance (30 July 1650), charging the remainder of the sum on confiscated chapter-lands, and thus became owner of some of the lands of the Durham chapter.
Now that his own grievance was redressed, he undertook to redress those of other people. Ever since 1644, when he found himself prevented by the monopoly of the merchant adventurers from embarking in the cloth trade, Lilburne had advocated the release of trade from the restrictions of chartered companies and monopolists. He now took up the case of the soap-makers, and wrote petitions for them demanding the abolition of the excise on soap, and apparently became a soap manufacturer himself. The tenants of the manor of Epworth hold themselves wronged by enclosures which had taken place under the schemes fur draining Hatfield Chase and the Isle of Axholme
Isle of Axholme
The Isle of Axholme is part of North Lincolnshire, England. It is the only part of Lincolnshire west of the River Trent. It is between the three towns of Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough.- Description:...
. Lilburne took up their cause, assisted by his friend, John Wildman
John Wildman
Sir John Wildman was an English soldier and politician.-Biography:Wildman was born in the Norfolk town of Wymondham, the son of Jeffrey and Dorothy Wildman. His father was a butcher. John was educated as a sizar at Corpus Christi College University of Cambridge taking an MA in 1644...
, and headed a riot (19 October 1650), by means of which the commoners sought to obtain possession of the disputed lands. His zeal was not entirely disinterested, as he was to have two thousand acres for himself and Wildman if the claimants succeeded. John Morris, alias Poyntz, complained of being swindled out of some properties by potent enemies, with the assistance of John Browne, late clerk to the House of Lords. Lilburne, who had exerted himself on behalf of Morris as far back as 1648, now actively took up his cause again,
Much more serious in its consequences was Lilburne's adoption of the quarrel of his uncle, George Lilburne, with Sir Arthur Hesilrige. In 1649, Lilburne had published a violent attack on Hesilrige, whom be accused of obstructing the payment of the money granted him by the parliamentary ordinance of 28 December 1648. George Lilburne's quarrel with Hesilrige was caused by a dispute about the possession of certain collieries in Durham—also originally the property of Royalist delinquents— from which he had been ejected by Hesilrige in 1649. In 1651 the committee for compounding delinquents' estates had confirmed Hesilrige's decision. John Lilburne intervened with a violent attack on Hesilrige and the committee, terming them "unjust and unworthy men, fit to be spewed out of all human society, and deserving worse than to be hanged". He next joined with Josiah Primat—the person from whom George Lilburne asserted that he had bought the collieries—and presented to parliament, on 23 December 1651, a petition repeating; and specifying the charges against Hesilrige. Parliament thereupon appointed a committee of fifty members to examine witnesses and documents; who reported on 16 Jan. 1652, that the petition was "false, malicious, and scandalous". Lilburne was sentenced to pay a fine of £3,000, to the state, and damages of £2,000, to Hesilrige, and £500. apiece to four members of the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents
Committee for Compounding with Delinquents
In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees the Sequestration Committee which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents which allowed Royalists whose estates had been...
.
In addition John Lilburne was sentenced to be banished for life, and an Act of Parliament for that purpose was passed on 30 January 1652.
Exile in the Netherlands
Lilburne spent his exile in the Netherlands at Bruges and elsewhere, where he published a vindication of himself, and an attack on the government. In his hostility to the army leaders Lilburne had often contrasted the present governors unfavourably with Charles I. Now he frequented the society of cavaliers of note, such Lords HoptonRalph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton
Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.-Life:Hopton was the son of Robert Hopton of Witham Somerset. He was apparently educated at Lincoln College, Oxford and served in the army of Frederick V, Elector Palatine in the early campaigns of the Thirty...
, Colepeper
John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper
John Colepeper of Bedgebery, 1st Baron Culpeper of Thoresway was an English politician.-Life:He was the only son of Thomas Culpeper of Wigsell and Anne Slaney , daughter of Sir Stephan Slaney, Lord Mayor of London...
, and Percy
Henry Percy, Baron Percy of Alnwick
Henry Percy, Baron Percy of Alnwick , son of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, sat in the Short Parliament as the member for Portsmouth, and in the Long Parliament an M.P. for Northumberland; an originator of the "first army plot" in 1641, after which he retired to France...
. If he were furnished with ten thousand pounds, he undertook to overthrow Cromwell, the Parliament, and the Council of State, within six months. "I know not," he was heard to say, "why I should not vye with Cromwell, since I had once as great a power as he had, and greater too, and am as good a gentleman". But with the exception of the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :...
, none of the royalists placed any confidence in him.
Return, trial and imprisonment
The news of the expulsion of the Rump in April 1653 excited Lilbume's hopes of returning to England. Counting on Cromwell's placid disposition, he boldly applied to him for a pass to return to England, and, when it was not granted, came over without one on 14 June. The government at once arrested him, and lodged him in Newgate, whence he continued to importune Cromwell for his protection, and to promise to live quietly if he might stay in England. His trial began at the Old Bailey on 13 July, and concluded with his acquittal on 20 August. As usual Lilburne contested every step with the greatest pertinacity. "He performed the great feat which no one else ever achieved, of extorting from the court a copy of his indictment, in order that be might put it before counsel, and be instructed as to the objections he might take against it". Throughout the trial popular sympathy was on his side. Petitions on his behalf were presented to parliament, so strongly worded that the petitioners were committed to prison. Crowds flocked to see him tried; threats of a rescue were freely uttered; and tickets were circulated with the legend:The government filled London with troops, but in spite of their officers, the soldiers shouted and sounded their trumpets when they heard that Lilburne was acquitted. Such was his popularity that two medals were struck in celebration of his aquittal. The government, however, declined to leave Lilburne at large. The jurymen were summoned before the Council of State, and the Council of State was ordered to secure Lilburne. On 28 August he was transferred from Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
to the Tower of London, and the Lieutenant of the Tower was instructed by parliament to refuse obedience to any writ of Habeas Corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
. On 16 March 1654, the Council ordered that he should be removed to Mount Orgueil Castle, Jersey. Colonel Robert Gibbon, the governor, complained that he gave more trouble than ten cavaliers.
The Protector offered Lilburne his liberty if he declined to act against the government, but he answered that he would own no way for his liberty but the way of the law. Lilburne's health suffered from his confinement, and in 1654 his death was reported and described. His wife and father petitioned for his release, and in October 1655 he was brought back to England and lodged in Dover Castle.
Quakerism and death
In 1656, he was allowed to leave the Dover Castle during the daytime to visit his wife and children, who had settled in Dover. It was here that Lilburne met Luke Howard, a Quaker whose serenity impressed him and began the process of his own conversion.Lilburne declared himself a convert to the tenets of the Quakers, and announced his conversion in a letter to his wife. General Fleetwood showed a copy of this letter to the Protector, who was at first inclined to regard it merely as a politic device to escape imprisonment. When Cromwell was convinced that Lilburne really intended to live peaceably, he released him on parole from prison, and seems to have continued till his death the pension of 40s. a week allowed him for his maintenance during his imprisonment. Later he was permitted to stay away from prison for several days at a time and took to visiting Quaker congregations in Kent.In the summer of 1657, whilst visiting his wife, who was expecting their tenth child, Lilburne died at Eltham 29 August 1657, and was buried at Moorfields, "in the new churchyard adjoining to Bedlam".
On 21 January 1659 Elizabeth Lilburne petitioned Richard Cromwell for the discharge of the fine imposed on her husband by the act of 30 Jan. 1652, and her request was granted. Parliament on a similar petition recommended the repealing of the act, and the recommendation was carried by the restored Long parliament, 15 Aug. 1659.
Family
Lilburne married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Dewell. During his imprisonment in 1649 he lost two sons, but a daughter and other children survived him.Importance
Charles Harding FirthCharles Harding Firth
Sir Charles Harding Firth was a British historian.Born in Sheffield, he was educated at Clifton College and at Balliol College, Oxford...
writing in the Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
considered Lilburne's political importance easy to explain: In a revolution where others argued about the respective rights of King and Parliament, he spoke always of the rights of the people. His dauntless courage and his powers of speech made him the idol of the mob. With Coke's "Institutes" in his hand he was willing to tackle any tribunal. He was ready to assail any abuse at any cost to himself, but his passionate egotism made him a dangerous champion, and he continually sacrificed public causes to personal resentments. It would be unjust to deny that he had a real sympathy with sufferers from oppression or misfortune; even when he was himself an exile he could interest himself in the distresses of English prisoners of war, and exert the remains of his influence to get them relieved. In his controversies he was credulous, careless about the truth of his charges, and insatiably vindictive. He attacked in turn all constituted authorities—lords, commons, council of state, and council of officers—and quarrelsome though he was, it is fair to note that he never fell out with his closer comrades, Walwyn and Overton . A life of Lilburne published in 1657 supplies this epitaph:
Images
There are the following contemporary portraits of Lilburne:- an oval, by G. Glover, prefixed to 'The Christian Man's Trial.' 1641.
- the same portrait republished in 1646, with prison bars across the face to represent Lilburne's imprisonment.
- a full length representing Lilburne' pleading at the bar with Coke's 'Institutes' in his hand; prefixed to 'The Trial of Lieut.-col. John Lilburne, by Theodorus Varax,' 1649.
Fictional portrayal
Lilburne was portrayed by Tom Goodman-HillTom Goodman-Hill
Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of radio, film, stage and television.Born as Tom Hill and raised near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur performances at the People's Theatre...
in the 2008 television drama The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore is a four-part television series set during the English Civil War, produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4 in 2008. It centres on the adventures of the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and the historical Leveller soldier Edward Sexby...
. In this fictional work, Lilburne is shown to have died in prison while being visited by his wife, Elizabeth.
Re-enactments
Lt-Colonel John Lilburne has a regiment in his honour in The Sealed Knot (reenactment)The Sealed Knot (reenactment)
The Sealed Knot is a British historical association and charity, dedicated to costumed reenactment of battles and events surrounding the English Civil War.-About:...
society. Although he never had his own regiment, Lilburne's is a thriving regiment that boasts one of the best event turnouts in the whole society. Lilburne's is based mainly in Yorkshire and Lancashire, England. Many of the regimental members are located in places like Leeds, Huddersfiled, Preston and Lancaster.
The Regiment consists of a Pike Block, Musket Block and Artillery as well as Civilians and puts on numerous public displays each year both as a Regiment and as part of the wider Society.
The Regiments colour scheme is: Purple coats with grey breeches for the earlier battles (representing Captain Lilburne's company in Lord Brooke's Regiment) and Red coats with Sea Green Facings with grey breeches for mid/late civil war(New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
) re-enactments.
Lilburne's Regiment also use Facsimille copies of original medals, struck in honour of his aquittal for treason, as awards for long service and outstnding contibution to the Regiment.
http://www.lilburnes.com
John Lilburne Award
The Citizens In Charge FoundationCitizens In Charge Foundation
The Citizens in Charge Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization based in Virginia. The Foundation is the only national organization dedicated to promoting the initiative & referendum process....
, led by Paul Jacob
Paul Jacob
Paul Jacob is an activist, organizer, and advocate for legislative term limits, initiative & veto referendum rights, and limited government in the United States. He writes a weekly column for Townhall.com and his short radio commentary feature, "Common Sense," is syndicated by the Citizens In...
, honors a person or organization every month who stands up for initiative & referendum rights in the US. The first award was given in November 2008 to Eric Ehst of the Clean Elections Institute, for his role in defeating Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
's Proposition 105, which could have imposed a super-majority.
February 2011 - Tracy and Linda Strickland
Attorneys Tracy and Linda Strickland of Boulder City, Nevada, are being honored with the February 2011 John Lilburne Award. The Stricklands are representing a group of Boulder City citizens who, in pursuing several local initiative measures, have been repeatedly sued by the city.
http://www.citizensinchargefoundation.org/press-releases/boulder-city-nevada-attorneys-honored-for-work-protecting-citizens-from-free-speech-a