Manitas - thanks for the link to the Cromwell song. It's a brilliant piece.

George H - Thanks for your observation and comment. Coming from you, I take it as high praise. I concur with your implicit suggestion that none of us, famous or not, is entirely uni-dimensional. However, many persons achieve fame or infamy because of some more singular aspect of their life. I acknowledge the relativity of fame and infamy, and further acknowledge that the same act or attribute can generate both fame and infamy, depending on the perspective of the viewer. Examples on this side of the pond include (a) Andrew Jackson, son of immigrants from Carrickfergus, who was arguably the most popular President we've ever had, and the most villanous and Cromwell-esque when viewed in respect to the Indian removals from the southeastern US, and (b) Bill Clinton, whose legitimate achievements will likely be overshadowed by his impeachment because of his dalliance with an intern. It is, I think, fair to argue that a person's conduct should be evaluated with awareness of the context of their times, and not solely judged by modern mores. But notion of academic balance can not be used to excuse Cromwell, any more than it could be used to excuse the behaviors called war crimes, regardless of who commits them. We are also in agreement that this topic has been debated at great length in various threads, and I apologize if I've plowed old fields here.