Inventing a Republic: The Political Culture of the English Commonwealth, 1649-1653

The English revolution demolished almost all political landmarks. This book describes how the republican state successfully restored the dignity of civilian government by expressing its authority and legitimacy through a range of imagery and symbolism. Individual chapters focus on the occupation and revival of the abandoned royal palace of Whitehall by members of the new regime; the public spectacle mounted to celebrate its military victories; the ritual and ceremony with which it dignified everyday politics; and the invention of a new state iconography to replace familiar forms such as the crown and the royal coat of arms. Finally, it reappraises the involvement of the army in the politics of the period, questioning the conventional wisdom that Commonwealth politics were polarised between 'court and camp'.