“...He helped influence Cromwell...”
“...a genocidal, bloodthirsty general...”
Sorry, wrong century. This man was Thomas Cromwell, for a time Henry VIII’s Prime Minister.
You are apparently thinking of Oliver Cromwell, Commander of the New Model Army and Lord Protector of England in the 1640’s and 1650’s.
AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH......
Thank you for correcting me and inspiring me to read about Thomas Cromwell!
Turns out Oliver was descended from Thomas Cromwell's sister Catherine Cromwell, and the more I read, the more it seems Oliver was indeed from the same wretched tree as Thomas.
Thomas was a conniver who convinced Henry VIII to create a new Church of England with Henry as the head. This allowed Henry to dispose of Anne Boleyn and allowed Thomas to personally profit from the dissolution of monasteries.
Thomas also used deception to arrange for the wrongful conviction and execution of Thomas More, whom Cromwell no doubt detested for his integrity.
In the end, Thomas Cromwell was done in by his own treachery and beheaded at the kings orders by an inexperienced executioner.
So again, the Lord works in mysterious ways!
All right, a scheming, two-faced, ruthless pol who plundered the Church for its riches and imposed a reformation of the Church on an unwilling population. Luckless, though, since his master turned on him and killed him. And of course a relative of the great Oliver, who was at least a sincere fanatic.