Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
The Second Defense of the English People by John Milton, Englishman, in Reply to an Infamous Book Entitled Cry of the King’s Blood
References
Britannica AI Icon

The Second Defense of the English People by John Milton, Englishman, in Reply to an Infamous Book Entitled Cry of the King’s Blood

work by Milton
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

The Second Defense of the English People (1654) is a Latin tract by John Milton, written as a response to an anonymous book titled The Cry of the King's Blood to Heaven Against the English Parricides. This work serves as a defense of the English Commonwealth and its actions, particularly the execution of King Charles I.12

In this text, Milton not only refutes the accusations made against the English people but also includes personal autobiographical passages to counter attacks on his own life. He passionately defends English patriotism and liberty while praising the leaders of the Commonwealth. A significant portion of the work addresses Milton's personal struggles, including his blindness, which his detractors claimed was divine punishment. Milton, however, interprets his blindness as a trial that has granted him special inner illumination.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. John Milton - Antimonarchical tracts
  2. John Milton

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.