The Honour of General Monck

The great figures of the past tend to be remembered as they v ere at the height of their glory. When Prince Rupert's name is mentioned, for example, it is the dashing young cavalry commander of the 1640s, not the seaman and amateur scientist of the post-Restoration period, who immediately springs to mind. And if this is true of polymaths like Rupert, it is even more true of those whose names are associated with a single event. To speak of George Monck is at once to conjure up images of the chaotic final days of the Commonwealth; of the 'roasting of the Rump' amidst a hundred celebratory bonfires, and Charles II landing at Dover to reclaim his father's throne.