What are the implications of the beheading of Charles - Research Proposal Example

The conflict that ensured from the existence of these centers of power therefore, presented a threat to what the rule through divine right or great chain of being that the monarch alluded as the basis of the existence of their authority. One of the greatest implications of the beheading of king Charles in 1649 is that the action went against the great chain of being which creates the social hierarchy necessary for maintenance of social order. The great chain of being hypotheses has the king on top of a hierarchy also includes gentlemen and peasants in that order.

Given that the England was a kingdom that had historically followed the absolutism form of rule; Charles as the king was facing great opposition from the parliament over his desire to use unlimited power in performance of his functions. The events leading up to the beheading is characterized by about ten years of civil strife and warfare with the King and the Long Parliament on opposing sides of the confrontation. The confrontation was over a litany of issues linked to the prerogatives of the King and the extent to which the constitutional parliament limited exercises certain powers and privileges1.

Arguments on the basis of the great chain of being seek to assert the legitimacy of the king and his right to exercise powers over the people of the kingdom. The nobility during that time was a family perceived as appointed by God to rule over the rest in the kingdom and therefore had divine right to undertake their functions. Although Charles was not the first born in the family, the death of his elder brother meant that he was rightly the next in line to ascend to the kingdom. The legitimacy of the king therefore means the English civil war and the consequent defeat of the King Charles by the Parliamentarians (or the roundheads) led by Oliver Cromwell implies direct disregard of the hierarchy which had worked over the years to create