Lord Cromwell, Warts and AllMany may remember this expression, usually used to bring notice to the l

Lord Cromwell, Warts and AllMany may remember this expression, usually used to bring notice to the less attractive aspect of a figure.  For example; “John F. Kennedy serves as  a shining example of the great American president, but when you look at his life ‘warts and all’ you will find that he was also a womanizer and adulterer.”Many may not know it, but this phrase has deep historical roots that go back centuries to the English Civil War in the mid 1600’s.  During the English Civil War there was a great conflict over what the official religion should be.  The English Parliament were mostly Puritans who wanted religious worship to be simple and without frills.  King Charles I and his royalists were Anglicans, head of the Church of England which held masses steeped in ceremony and tradition.After much violence and bloodshed the Parliamentarians, under the command of Gen. Oliver Cromwell, overthrew and executed King Charles I.  They named Cromwell Lord Protector, who would later have the powers of a military dictator and mold England into a strict Puritan theocracy.In 1656 the artist Samuel Cooper was called upon to paint the portrait of Oliver Cromwell.  Cromwell was no handsome man, rather a ruff and gruff looking man with a face covered with warts and blemishes.  Great rulers of the time always wanted their portraits to depict them as being incredibly dignified, almost saintly, dare I say magnificent people. Cromwell was a staunch Puritan, a fierce opponent of anything seen to be vain or idolatrous and did not want such an embellished representation of himself.When Cooper was called upon to paint the portrait of Oliver Cromwell, Cromwell ordered him to paint his face as is, warts and all. -- source link

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