After Cromwell’s defeat of Charles I, which led to the former king’s execution in 1649, England was ruled for a time by a Parliament whose members had not been elected but rather nominated by their parishes. This “Parliament of Saints” met chiefly to discuss religious alternatives for a government without a king. The low social status of its members was ridiculed by the general populace, and its infighting caused Cromwell to dissolve the body after eight months and set himself up as a virtual monarch.