The English Civil War

A brilliant appraisal of the Civil War and its long-term consequences, by an acclaimed historian. The political upheaval of the mid-seventeenth century has no parallel in English history. Other events have changed the occupancy and the powers of the throne, but the conflict of 1640-60 was more dramatic: the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, to be replaced by a republic and military rule. In this wonderfully readable account, Blair Worden explores the events of this period and their origins - the war between King and Parliament, the execution of Charles I, Cromwell's rule and the Restoration - while aiming to reveal something more elusive: the motivations of contemporaries on both sides and the concerns of later generations.

'The English Civil War is a joy to behold, a thing of beauty... this will be the civil war atlas against which all others will judged and the battle maps in particular will quickly become the benchmark for all future civil war maps.' -- Professor Martyn Bennett, Department of History, Languages and Global Studies, Nottingham Trent University The English Civil Wars (1638–51) comprised the deadliest conflict ever fought on British soil, in which brother took up arms against brother, father fought against son, and towns, cities and villages fortified themselves in the cause of Royalists or Parliamentarians. Although much historical attention has focused on the events in England and the key battles of Edgehill, Marston Moor and Naseby, this was a conflict that engulfed the entirety of the Three Kingdoms and led to a trial and execution that profoundly shaped the British monarchy and Parliament. This beautifully presented atlas tells the whole story of Britain's revolutionary civil war, from the earliest skirmishes of the Bishops' Wars in 1639–40 through to 1651, when Charles II's defeat at Worcester crushed the Royalist cause, leading to a decade of Stuart exile. Each map is supported by a detailed text, providing a complete explanation of the complex and fluctuating conflict that ultimately meant that the Crown would always be answerable to Parliament.

The English Civil War has become a frequent point of reference in contemporary British political debate. A bitter and bloody series of conflicts, it shook the very foundations of seventeenth-century Britain. This book is the first attempt to portray the visual legacy of this period, as passed down, revisited, and periodically reworked over two and a half centuries of subsequent English history. Highly regarded art historian Stephen Bann deftly interprets the mass of visual evidence accessible today, from ornate tombs and statues to surviving sites of vandalism and iconoclasm, public signage, and historical paintings of human subjects, events, and places. Through these important scenes and sometimes barely perceptible traces, Bann shows how the British view of the War has been influenced and transformed by visual imagery.

Background to the English Civil War is a collection of literature that attempts to address various queries about the English civil war. The book is comprised 13 chapters that cover various concerns in the conflict. The text first covers the arrival of the Stuarts, and then proceeds to present materials about Charles I. Chapter 3 tackles the growing tension between the king and the population. The next chapter deals with early stages of the war. Next, the book details the execution of Charles I, the battle that comes after, and the eventual restoration of the Stuarts. The selection will be of great use to readers who have a keen interest in English history.

The destruction caused by the English Civil Wars was widespread and devastating. Towns, villages, churches, and country houses were destroyed, and by the end of the Second Civil War at least 150 towns and 50 villages had suffered some damage, 200 country houses were ruined, and more than 50,000 people had been made homeless. Stephen Porter’s detailed study of this aspect of the impact of the Civil War is based upon research in archives and libraries across the country, and his conclusions have been accepted as an important contribution to our understanding of it. He describes the reasons for the destruction and the relations between soldiers and civilians, and vividly conveys the feelings of those caught up by the traumatic events of the war.

This volume in the Problems in Focus series provides a concise summary of arguments about the causes of the English Civil War, and of the present state of historical research in this field. The nine contributors, experts in the subject they write on, cover such issues as: whether there was any economic clash between the two sides in the Civil War; whether they represented two conflicting cultures; whether the issues involved were European or purely English; whether there is any connection between Puritanism and revolution; and what was involved in the fear of Popery. In many areas this integrated collection of original studies breaks new ground, and brings the student up to date with current research, much of it published here for the first time. It concentrates on central themes of debate for which clarification is most useful to students. Though primarily intended for historians, its treatment of social and cultural factors makes it useful to interdisciplinary studies and to students of literature and society in the seventeenth century.

Sir, God hath taken away your eldest son by a cannon shot. It brake his leg. We were necessitated to have it cut off, whereof he died.' In one of the most famous and moving letters of the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell told his brother-in-law that on 2 July 1644 Parliament had won an emphatic victory over a Royalist army commanded by King Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert, on rolling moorland west of York. But that battle, Marston Moor, had also slain his own nephew, the recipient's firstborn. In this vividly narrated history of the deadly conflict that engulfed the nation during the 1640s, Peter Gaunt shows that, with the exception of World War I, the death-rate was higher than any other contest in which Britain has participated. Numerous towns and villages were garrisoned, attacked, damaged or wrecked. The landscape was profoundly altered. Yet amidst all the blood and killing, the fighting was also a catalyst for profound social change and innovation. Charting major battles, raids and engagements, the author uses rich contemporary accounts to explore the life-changing experience of war for those involved, whether musketeers at Cheriton, dragoons at Edgehill or Cromwell's disciplined Ironsides at Naseby (1645).

The origins, nature and consequence of the English Civil War are subjects of continuing historical controversy. The English Civil War and Revolution is a wide ranging, accessible sourcebook covering the principal aspects of the mid-seventeenth century crisis. It presents a comprehensive guide to the historiographical debates involved. Drawing on a variety of source material such as official records, private correspondence, diaries, minutes of debates and petitions, this text provides: * contextual introductions to documents * a comprehensive glossary of seventeenth century terms * a chronology of events for reference * illustrations, including contemporary woodcuts. While familiarising students with some of the main sources drawn upon by historians working in the field, The English Civil War and Revolution contains many extracts from unpublished, manuscript sources. By taking sources from all levels of society and grouping them thematically, this book offers a number of viewpoints on the civil war and revolution, thus aiding understanding of this complex period.