John Pym
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John Pym was an English politician, commonly credited with helping establish the modern English Parliamentary system. A key leader of the opposition to Charles I of England prior to the First English
Portrait by Edward Bower, c. 1640
Pym's patron and political ally, the Earl of Bedford, 1587–1641
John Hampden; Pym's colleague, and one of the Five Members
The trial of the Earl of Strafford, March 1641
Five Members
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The Five Members were Members of Parliament whom King Charles I attempted to arrest on 4 January 1642. King Charles I entered the English House of Commons, accompanied by armed soldiers, during a sitt
John Pym
…Parliament, all twelve were imprisoned for treason. In response to the growing unrest, on 4 January Charles made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest the Five Members, one of whom was Pym. Having failed to do so, he left London accompanied by many Royalist MPs and his supporters in the Lords, a major tactical mistake…
Lenthall kneels to Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members. Victorian painting by Charles West Cope
The Flight of the Five Members, 1642, showing the Five Members fleeing Westminster by boat to the City. (John Seymour Lucas, 1915)