Killing No Murder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photo of the French edition of Killing No Murder
Photo of the French edition of Killing No Murder

Killing No Murder is a pamphlet published in 1657 during The Protectorate period of the English Interregnum era of English history. The pamphlet of disputed authorship advocates the assassination of Oliver Cromwell. The publication was in high demand at the time of its distribution. Cromwell was said to have been so disturbed after the publication of Killing No Murder that he never spent more than two nights in the same place and always took extreme precaution in planning his travel.

Contents

[edit] Possible Authors

Killing No Murder was published under the pseudonym 'William Allen' but the authorship is largely attributed to one of three individuals or some combination of the three. The individuals generally attributed with authorship are (in order): Colonel Silius Titus, Edward Sexby or William Allen.

[edit] Silius Titus

Colonel Titus was a politician and one of two individuals who claimed authorship of the work. Titus' claim could stand on its own merit due to the highly sarcastic nature of the document -- a trait often attributed to Titus. In response to claims that he often "made sport of the House" and didn't take matters seriously, Titus remarked that things were not to be taken seriously simply because they were dull [1]. Titus' tone can be seen throughout the document and on that alone, many attribute the work to him before he admitted to writing it. Additionally, Charles II of England awarded Titus the title of Gentleman of the Bedchamber for his service in authoring the work. [2]

[edit] Edward Sexby

Sexby had returned to England to try where Miles Sindercomb had failed in exacting the call for assassination found in Killing No Murder. After failing, he was caught trying to escape to Amsterdam and was imprisoned in the London Tower. It was there that Sexby went insane and died a year later in 1658. Before his death, he was coerced by Sir John Barkstead to admit his participation in the writing of the pamphlet.

[edit] William Allen

While it was often assumed that the document was written under a pseudonym, another theory suggested that William Allen, a Republican who had ties with Edward Sexby and Thomas Sheppard, had penned the document. The trio (Allen, Sexby and Sheppard) had agitated Cromwell in the past by expressing their concerns about the Army's attitude toward Parliament. It is possible that Allen, therefore, wrote the document brazenly himself before he died but is more likely named as the author as retribution from one of the other two authors.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43267
  2. ^ http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/05/07/index.php

[edit] See also

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../k/i/l/Killing_No_Murder_b1e8.html"