Introduction

The increasing divisions in Cromwell's family were reflected in the emerging public divisions in Cromwell's Protectorate, themselves part of what has been described as Cromwell's own "ideological schizophrenia". Cromwell's kin relationship with the Welsh regicide John Jones is touched upon in this text as an example of different working relationships Cromwell had with different types of kin, partly due to their age, political and religious views, or New Model experience. In this text, their role as kin in Cromwell's network is considered as an aspect of the images of them as part of their failure and the failure of the English Revolution. The conclusion seeks to bring out the themes of early modern kinship and how aspects of the private worlds of figures such as Ireton, Fleetwood, and Disbrowe recovered from sources linked to kinship can illuminate aspects of their public roles.