Cavaliers and Roundheads

Charles I left London and in August 1642, he raised his standard above Nottingham Castle. This was a signal that all men who were loyal to the king should prepare to fight for him. The Civil War was about to begin. (The king's army were called the Cavaliers.)

Parliament's leaders did not want to get rid of the king, but they could not trust Charles I. He had to be made less powerful. So they too raised an army. It was called the Roundhead army, because many of the men were Puritans, and Puritans cut their hair short.

The two armies were about equal at first. The Cavaliers had better cavalry, commanded by the king's nephew from Germany, Prince Rupert. They tried to advance on London, but failed. Then the Roundheads, with help from the Scots, started to win.

In 1644 and 1645 the Roundheads formed the New Model Army, a force of well drilled and well armed troops. They were properly paid, and their officers were men who knew their job. The New Model Army won the Battle of Naseby for Parliament in June 1645, and the war ended in 1646. Charles gave himself up to the Scots, and they handed him over to Parliament.

Charles I could have remained king if he had agreed to share his power with Parliament. But he tried to be clever. He escaped and made a deal with the Scots, who promised to put him back in control. A Scots army invaded England in 1648, but it was beaten by Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army. Cromwell and the other generals were now in charge.

Walter Robson: Crown, Parliament and People; Oxford University Press, 1992/2002, page 42 f.