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Religious Violence in the English Civil War, 1642-1646

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Religious Violence in the English Civil War, 1642-1646 “God is pleased to be called a man of Warre”: Religious Violence in the English Civil War, 1642-1646 Micheline Jessica Astley-Boden BA (Hons) A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2014 School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics Abstract In the seventeenth century, daily lives were shaped by religious observance; the Bible was the means by which the world was understood, and Biblical language was one of the most comprehensive tools of expression. However, religious orthodoxy was a hotly contested issue that pervaded political discourse and fired loyalties at all levels of society. This thesis therefore analyses the extent to which religious convictions and difference permeated the civil war armies and continued to drive soldiers’ actions throughout the First Civil War (1642-1646). Dedication to religious observance safeguarded the Christian soldiers’ immortal souls, but each side’s religiosity, and perception of the world, resulted in the use of religious doctrine to explain difference and validate violence against ‘God’s enemies’. Although providing evidence for the role of religion in both the Parliamentarian and Royalist armies, this thesis, at times, places emphasis on the Royalists due to their relative historiographical underrepresentation. While the Parliamentarian army has been viewed as deeply religious – ‘godly’ – there is evidence that the Royalist side, too, structured army life around divine services. It is also apparent that the high command on both sides undertook a determined campaign to disseminate the language of holy war to their troops. These ideas diffused through the civil war armies. They were reflected by the soldiers – those in high positions of power to those among the lower ranks – on military banners and in letters, diaries, and journals. Army chaplains played a fundamental role in shaping soldiers’ attitudes toward the opposing side, and it is through their military sermons that the rhetoric of religious war can also be gleaned. Using diverse forms of evidence, this thesis also examines military manuals; military articles (laws), and proclamations; the soldiers’ pocket bibles, catechisms, and Royalist prayer books; and newsbooks and pamphleteering to illustrate how religious convictions and difference affected the soldiers’ perception of the war. The religious war rhetoric within these sources had repercussions on the style of warfare. The civil war was more violent than previously thought, and six case studies of massacres demonstrate that extreme violence could be religiously motivated. Religion was crucial to the waging of war and religious violence had real and devastating effects for combatants and non-combatants alike. i Declaration by Author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. ii Publications during candidature No publications Publications included in this thesis No publications included in this thesis Contributions by others to this thesis No contributions by others Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None iii Acknowledgements First of all, immense gratitude must be extended to my three supervisors – Dr Dolly MacKinnon, Associate Professor Andrew Bonnell, and Dr Sarah Pinto. I have been considerably lucky to have the support of three inspiring historians and dedicated mentors. This thesis would be a much poorer work without their advice, and I thank all three for their input. The University of Queensland Graduate School funded my research trip to England in 2013. It is with their valued support – supplemented by the School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics travel grant – that the archival material within this thesis could be viewed. Due to the Graduate School funding, I was also able to visit many of the sites discussed within this thesis and meet with several historians – Professor Alexandra Walsham, Professor John Morrill, Professor Laura Gowing, Professor Lyndal Roper, Professor Mark Stoyle, and Dr Grant Tapsell. I will always be grateful for their time and illuminating discussion of this and the next project. Facilitating my need for increasingly obscure works, the librarians at the UQ Library have been instrumental in the researching of this thesis. As my research spiralled into areas of almost esoteric study (the military banners come to mind), the librarians have sought some invaluable texts, sometimes pursuing crucial editions for over a year. Thank you also to the archivists at the Bodleian Library, the Cambridge University Library, the British Library, Dr Williams’s Library, and the National Army Museum – I truly value their help and patience while I conducted my research. I will always be thankful for the community of HPRC postgraduates at UQ. Maria Quirk, in particular, has been an absolute bulwark of support throughout our time together at UQ, and my postgraduate experience would have been vastly different without her friendship. Mention must also be made of Scot McPhee, a Classicist postgrad with brilliant technological skills, who literally saved the day when referencing software had corrupted my entire thesis. His help in such a devastating situation is very much appreciated. iv Finally, converting substantial amounts of research into a coherent narrative can be challenging and isolating at times. My family and friends have thus managed to keep me connected to the outside world. But, especially with the unconditional support of my partner (Matt Roberson), my parents (Christine and Paul Bryden), and a little long-haired Chihuahua (Monty – who never left my side, even while working at ungodly hours!), I have never felt irretrievably overwhelmed by the task at hand. Their constant encouragement has prevented this thesis from becoming the proverbial many-headed monster into which it could have metamorphosed. This thesis is for my loved ones. v Keywords English Civil War, First Civil War, religious violence, holy war, just war, massacres, soldiers, military banners, material culture Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 210305, British History, 100% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103, Historical Studies, 100% vi Table of Contents Abstract i Declaration by Author ii List of Publications iii Acknowledgements iv Keywords vi Table of Contents vii List of Figures viii Note on the Text ix Introduction 1 Chapter One “[T]he service of Almighty God may be duly celebrated”: Religious Observance in the Civil War Armies 16 Chapter Two “Put on the whole Armour of God”: Imparting Holy War to the Troops 41 Chapter Three “The Cause is Gods, and therefore good”: The Troops’ Expression of Holy War 62 Chapter Four “God direct[s] the bullet or arrow as it pleaseth him … and then ’tis God, and not man that killeth”: Sermonising the Royalist Troops 101 Chapter Five “[T]his worke be to revenge Gods Church against Babylon”: Sermonising the Parliamentarian Troops 132 Conclusion 159 Bibliography 163 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Woodcut depicting the raising of King Charles’s standard 64 Figure 2: Example of a dragoon banner 65 Figure 3: Prince Rupert’s regiment of foot banners, torn at Naseby 69 Figure 4: John Norwood’s reformation banner 71 Figure 5: Captain Copley’s reformation banner 71 Figure 6: Edmund Ludlow’s banner 75 Figure 7: Banner depicting the divine right of kings 79 Figure 8: King Charles’s standard 80 Figure 9: Banner aimed at the five members 81 Figure 10: Woodcut image of the pope and the beast from Revelation 85 Figure 11: Banner depicting the Parliamentarians’ attack on religion 88 Figure 12: Banners of the Red Regiment of the London Trained Bands 90 Figure 13: Woodcut of Prince Rupert’s attack on Birmingham 113 Figure 14: Photo of Hopton Castle, by M. Astley-Boden 117 Figure 15: Photo of the cellar at Basing House, by M. Astley-Boden 150 Figure 16: Photo of the lower floor of the Old House, by M. Astley-Boden 150 viii Note on the Text When quoting primary sources within this thesis, the original emphases have been retained, the spelling has remained exact, and contractions have been
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