1st Edition

Philip Skippon and the British Civil Wars The "Christian Centurion"

By Ismini Pells Copyright 2020
    306 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    306 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Philip Skippon was the third-most senior general in parliament’s New Model Army during the British Civil Wars. A veteran of European Protestant armies during the period of the Thirty Years’ War and long-serving commander of the London Trained Bands, no other high-ranking parliamentarian enjoyed such a long military career as Skippon. He was an author of religious books, an MP and a senior political figure in the republican and Cromwellian regimes. This is the first book to examine Skippon’s career, which is used to shed new light on historical debates surrounding the Civil Wars and understand how military events of this period impacted upon broader political, social and cultural themes.

    Introduction

    1. The English Gentry, Self-Fashioning and the Pursuit of Military Service

    2. Military Culture and Professionalism in the English Regiments in Foreign Service

    3. Civic Militarism, Religious Idealism and Politics in the City of London

    4. The Art Militaire of the Civil Wars in Its European Context

    5. The Experience of Warfare and Martial Culture Amongst Ordinary Soldiers During the Civil Wars

    6. Military Victory and Alliances Under Strain

    7. Reconciliation, Reform and the Rump Parliament

    8. Military and Civilian Government from the Cromwellian Protectorate to the Restoration

    Conclusion: The "Christian Centurion" Reassessed

    Biography

    Ismini Pells obtained her PhD from the University of Cambridge. Following this, she was a research associate at the University of Exeter, researching Civil War medical practitioners. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Leicester, working on a project researching military welfare during the Civil Wars.