The final stages of the second English Civil War were ones that saw a tumultuous change for English politics and its monarchy, causing ripples through all parts of the British Isles. Whilst the conflict was far from over, the period of 1648-49 was stage for one of the most controversial decisions in history: whether to reinstate a vastly unfavoured monarch, or dispose of him. Charles I’s questionable ruling of England, Scotland and Ireland is considered to be one of many elements that contributed to the outbreak of the Civil Wars, both politically and religiously. Charles’ decision to rule without Parliament for eleven years, coupled with the levying and spreading of ship money to inland residences made the reality of an absolute monarch one very disagreeable to Charles’ subjects and to the English Parliament. Causing further conflict was Charles’ marriage to Catholic Princess Henrietta Maria of France, the introduction of an English Prayer book to Scotland without consultation and reinstating small Catholic practices such as incense, ultimately causing alarm to the Protestant nation and the anti-Anglican Scottish Kingdom. However, Charles’ demise and the outbreak of the English Civil Wars allowed for the minute presence of Elizabeth Poole to become acknowledged and appreciated. Poole stood before the General Council of the Army on 29th December 1648 and brought forth a vision given to her by God that allowed her to pass on the anti-regicide sentiments that aimed to save not only the King, but also the country, and allow the Army to take control.
Poole, like many low-profile sectarian women in the seventeenth century, has a relatively brief biography. Baptised around 1622, Poole came into the Particular Baptist sect via contact with its leader, William Kiffin, around the age of sixteen. However, it wasn’t long before Poole found herself excommunicated from the sect, most likely due to her and her father’s alignment with the Leveller cause which had been growing according to Susan Wiseman, but also the sour relationship between Poole’s father and Kiffin that had led to Kiffin being accused of ‘seducing [Poole’s] children and servants into [Kiffin’s] errours’ in 1645. After her separation from the Particular Baptists before 1648, Poole moved to Abingdon, Berkshire where she befriended the wife of a local Baptist minister, Thomasine Pendarves, who would later vouch for Poole’s prophetic ability when it became in jeopardy after the execution of Charles I. However, Poole was poor and had been accused of ‘scandalous evils’ according to her congregation, reducing her to poverty and obscurity. Over time Poole rebuilt her reputation and although she could not afford to form a defamation case against Kiffin, she was able to rebuild her respectability to the point of being called forward to speak before the General Council of the Army by the end of 1648.
Poole’s small but significant impact on the multiple discussions that took place in December 1648 stands as an example of the influence both prophesy and women could make in the male-dominated world of English politics. The exact reason as to why Poole was able to come before the General Council as a little-known woman and speak out has been debated and speculated. There are many candidates who could have possibly sanctioned her presence such as Colonel Nathaniel Rich or Thomas Fairfax, the general of the Parliamentary forces, due to their similar religious and political beliefs respectively. A further theory is that Poole could have been a pawn utilised by Oliver Cromwell in order to create an impact in support of his ideologies and bridge the gap between those who wanted to execute the King and those who wanted a treaty. As a Baptist, Poole’s presence is even more puzzling as the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible necessary to the sect meaning that they ‘were tied most tightly by the scriptural strictures against women's public spiritual activity’, as noted by Hilary Hinds. A theory proposed by Catharine Gray is that, as women were restricted in the commanding roles that they could possess, other methods were used to gain prominence and respectability. In Poole’s case, the prominence of the female figure of country and then Parliament in her writings allowed for femininity to be accepted as dominant and powerful in this instance and a much larger body than just gender, compensating for the lack of a physical role that women could play during the mid seventeenth century. Another reason for Poole’s presence before the General Council has been explored by Katharine Gillespie through close research into Baptist practices. Gillespie describes how Particular Baptist congregations would elect a delegate to represent each organization at a ‘General Meeting’. Whilst it appears that no women were enabled to fill this role, Poole’s title of her later script after A Vision, An Alarum of War Given to the Army mentions her ability as ‘Sometimes a Messenger of the Lord to the Generall Councell’ and thus identifies herself as a representation of her church and gives her the credit necessary to come to Whitehall.
The unprecedented address of the Army Council and Oliver Cromwell contained two visions bestowed by God that allowed Poole to communicate God’s will in regards to the situation that the country found itself in. By utilising extensive metaphors for the Army and country, Poole provides advice on how the General Council should proceed in dealing with the King in their custody. By outlining the necessary relationship between King and country, Poole, in short, petitions against the death of Charles, but acknowledges his wrongdoings and advises for a removal of power from King and the placement of it into the hands of Parliament and the Army. There is an emphasis on the chosen will of God and how the General Council have a duty both to the King and the Lord, much to their chagrin.
Poole’s opening lines immediately profess her alliance with the New Army’s Remonstrance of Fairfax and the Council Officers which outlined the grievances with Charles’ reign and the need to remove him as monarch. As a woman, Poole is illustrating her education on current political affairs, especially ones that only came to light recently before her address, in order to add faith to her next proclamations. Her vision is rather brief, but what Poole infers from it is vast and significant. The representation of the Army is condensed into the figure of a single officer who came before Poole, alongside a week and feeble woman who represented the country’s current dire state. By portraying the Army as a healthy and masculine figure, Poole is able to appeal to the sense of power the Army had at the time and essentially complimented them in their present position of authority. Poole encourages the sense that it is the Army’s responsibility as the male counterpart to cure the sick woman that is the country, yet Poole’s direction in how to do so was somewhat less appealing to the General Council. The Army’s desire to overthrow Charles as demonstrated in the Remonstrance meant that Poole’s advice against regicide were less well received than her compliments. There is a constant emphasis on the necessity of the General Council to abide by the information Poole provides in the interest of the country and the ‘Kingly Power’ bestowed upon them that, in Poole’s words, should be ‘improved’ on for the Lord as they have been given a gift that must not be used for their own material interests, but in the interests of the country. Whilst Poole on one hand credits the General Council’s power through a masculine representation, she simultaneously discards it as being minute in comparison to that of God’s power and likens man to being a ‘potsherd’ and this is not the only time Poole creates this contradiction. Another supposed ‘vision’ (although Poole does not describe it as such, but rather something she has ‘seen’), changes the gender of the representation of the Army to that of a woman and a wife. This ‘vision’ is significant, as the female gender becomes powerful, although the wife (the Army) is subservient to her husband (the King) and must obey him. The King is described as the ‘head’ of the country and that by severing it, the body cannot survive and so one cannot exist without the other. The power of the wife comes into play as whilst she is under the control of her husband, she is free in her belief of God and can act on behalf of her husband if he is incapable of fulfilling his role, as the Army saw Charles as. Poole emphasises how Charles has been chosen by God to be King, resonating with how Particular Baptists '…held a Calvinistic belief in restricted atonement: only the elect, foreordained by God, would be saved' and so his death is not the correct answer in the eyes of God, but a de facto shift of power away from him as he sinned against his people. This suggested ‘cure’ appears to be the crux as to why Poole was not sufficiently favoured after recalling her second ‘vision’ as it was not in the interests of many on the General Council, yet it cannot draw away from the significance of her presence at Whitehall.
To add to frustrations in Poole’s credibility after addressing the General Council who had only recently removed some treaty-favouring politicians from Parliament, William Kiffin is supposed to have come forth to discredit Poole’s prophesies, particularly after she had returned to Abingdon and gained a large congregation. In an attempt to defend herself after the anti-regicide supporters had been ousted from Whitehall, Poole published An Alarum of War and then Another Alarum of War in which Thomasine Pendarves attempted to defend Poole against accusations of ‘sexual promiscuity’ according to Gillespie. Whilst Poole prophetess reputation may have waned in the following months of discussions with the General Army, her presence is noted for its significance in that a woman was allowed to come before Whitehall to communicate the will of God against the killing of the ordained King, such unusual circumstances allow for Poole to become an incredible woman in history, whether she was successful in her plight or not.