Experts are a step closer to capturing Oliver Cromwell’s ‘voice’ after the second in a series of international workshops was held at Nottingham Trent University thanks to funding from an international partnership set up by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS).

Oliver Cromwell’s letters, speeches and records of his conversations are being brought together in a new five-volume collection entitled: ‘Oliver Cromwell and the Transformation of Britain and Ireland’. Three workshops have been planned to progress the volumes.

Cromwell biographers and experts from across the globe gathered for the second workshop, which focused on speeches relating to the opening of Cromwell’s first parliament in 1654 and later to the offer of the crown made to him in 1657. It was hosted by Professor Martyn Bennett from Nottingham Trent University’s School of Arts and Humanities, who is one of the UK’s leading Cromwell experts.

Professor Bennett said: “The last comprehensive publication of the lord protector’s works was reprinted during the Second World War, and editorial practice has changed a good deal since then!”

The first workshop was held at Trinity College Dublin with Dr Micheal O’Siochru from the Centre for War Studies. It focused on which editions of Cromwell’s letters to accept for the volume; either printed versions from the weekly newspapers at the time, altered by parliament, or flawed copies plagiarised from one newsbook to another.

Professor Bennett added: “The dilemmas we faced in the first workshop were similar to those in the second. If Cromwell prepared a draft of his speeches, nothing of his notes survive, so the printed copies we have reflect what would have been the ideal version of the speech, or a transcription of shorthand notes taken as he spoke. Therefore one of the main decisions we made about the two different copies of the speech at Cromwell's opening of his first parliament was to use the text of the longer version and annotate it with selected phrases from the shorter version.”

The third workshop will be held in the New Year at Cambridge University, hosted by general editor of the volumes, Professor John Morrill. The focus will be on records of conversations made by contemporaries which purport to record Cromwell’s spoken words.

ENDS

Notes for editors:
AHRC Media Contact Jake Gilmore j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk Tel: 07970994586

Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS): Established in 2000 by the Minister for Education and Science it is responsible for developing Ireland's research capacity and skills base in a rapidly-changing global environment where knowledge is key to economic and social growth. With the support of the National Development Plan, the IRCHSS funds cutting-edge research in the humanities, social sciences, business and law with the objective of creating new knowledge and expertise beneficial to Ireland's economic, social and cultural development. www.irchss.ie