The Lancaster and York Kings

	Edward III (1327-1377)

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Edmund, the Duke of York (d. 1402)

John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)

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Henry Tudor VII (1485-1509) – m. Elizabeth of York

Richard of York (1483)

Edward V (1483)

 

 

The fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries brought not only wars, plague and revolts. They also brought changes in the attitude of people towards the institution of monarchy. King Edward II was deposed and then cruelly murdered. Richard II was the second king to be killed by the nobles. So people did not think of monarchs as of unquestioned rul­ers put on the throne by the God.

The 14th and the 15th centuries were the time of constant quarrels between the kings and the nobles. As the result of one of such conflicts John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III, was imprisoned by his neph­ew King Richard II. John of Gaunt died in prison and his son together with the other powerful lords did not forgive Richard II. They rebelled and deposed him. The crown passed on to the son of John of Gaunt Hen­ry who became King Henry IV called Bolingbroke. Though Henry IV’s reign was peaceful and he passed the throne to his son Henry without any troubles, it was the time when the roots of a long struggle for the crown appeared.

Henry V was a brave man. He became a popular king in Britain.

 

DO YOU KNOW THAT...

... Henry V had nearly become the king of France. To the end of the Hundred Years’ War Henry V managed to win back most of Normandy He married the daughter of the French king Katherine of Valois, and. was recognized as heir to the mad king of France. But he never became the king of France, because he had died a few months earlier than the French king.

His son Henry VI became the king of Britain when he was only nine months old. Henry VI was a well-educated king. He liked to read books and hated violence. He established two famous colleges, Eton College and King's College. But the historians say that Henry VI was mentally ill and at times this illness showed itself.

This fact aroused many questions among the nobles. They began to think of a suitable successor of Henry VI. At last they found themselves divided into two groups: one supporting the Lancaster family originat­ing from John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, and the other supporting the York family originating from the two brothers of John of Gaunt, Edmund, the Duke of York and Lionel of Clarence. Eventually, the York­ists won and deposed Henry VI placing Edward IV on the throne in 1461.

Nine years later the Lancastrians managed to rescue Henry VI from the Tower of London and put him back on the throne. However, Ed­ward returned the crown in 1471. Henry VI was put into the Tower of London where he died soon after, murdered by one of the versions.

When Edward IV died in 1483 his son Edward V might have been the king, but Edward IV's brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, imprisoned his nephews into the Tower of London, where they were murdered soon after. Richard became King Richard III.

Richard III ruled only for two years and was deposed by a Lancas­trian descendant. His name was Henry Tudor, Duke of Richmond. Peo­ple did not like Richard III, that is why his soldiers took the side of Hen­ry Tudor, and the battle ended in Richard's defeat. Henry Tudor was crowned king right on the battlefield. Later Henry married Elizabeth of York, and two enemy families were united. The war ended.

The famous British writer Walter Scott named these wars "Wars of the Roses". This romantic name appeared because Yorkists and Lan­castrians had their symbols: white rose and red rose respectively.

 

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Match the words and their definitions:

1.	unquestioned	a) to save or set free from harm, danger or loss;
2.	violence	b) a person that has another as grandfather or grandmother, great-grandfather, etc.;
3.	to originate	c) one person's account of an event, esp. as compared with that of another person;
4.	to rescue	d) extreme force in action or feeling, esp. that causes damage, unrest, etc.;
5.	version	e) to have as an established starting point;
6.	descendant	f) which cannot be doubted.

Guess the translation of these words.

 

II. Answer the questions.

1. Why did the Wars of the Roses begin?

2. Was it a romantic event?

3. Who gave these wars such a romantic name?

4. What was the outcome of this struggle?

5. How did the attitude of people towards their monarchs change after the death of

Edward II?

 

III. Discuss the question in class.

What are the usual consequences of taking power by force? Recall similar cases from the history of your country.

 

IV. Match the names of Kings and their nicknames.

1.	Henry IV	a) the Lackland
2.	Edward I	b) the Conqueror
3.	William I	c) the Lion Heart
4.	Richard I	d) Rufus
5.	William II	e) Longshanks
6.	John	f) Bolingbroke

 

 

V. Quiz.

1. The first Plantagenet king was a) Richard I b) John I c) Henry II.   2. The first most favourite English king was a) Henry II b) Richard I c) John I. d) 3. The first document which limited the king's power was a) The Domesday Book b) Magna Carta c) "Oxford Provisions".   4. The symbol of the Yorkists was a) a red rose b) a white rose c) a yellow daffodil.   5. The leader of the Peasants' Revolt was a) Wat Tyler b) Thomas Becket c) Thomas More.

6. Henry VI established a) Eton College b) Oxford University c) London University.   7. William Caxton invented a) book printing b) radio c) telegraph.   8. The Hundred Years' War began in a) 1337 b) 1356 c) 1324.   9. The king who declared the Hundred Years' War on France was a) Richard II b) Edward I c) Edward III.

 

 

III. THE TUDORS

Henry VII

(1485-1509)

Henry VII Tudor was the beginner o this glorious dynasty. Though his son Henry VIII and his grand daughter Elizabeth are more famous than he, Henry VII was very important for establishing the new kind of monarchy. Henry VII was against any wars, because he thought that they could only destroy the economy of the country. He collected taxes for war but never fought any. He never wasted money and when his son Henry VIII succeeded him, the royal treasury was worth about 2 million pounds. Henry VII realized that trade, especially international, could bring high profit to Britain. With this purpose he built a large fleet of merchant ships. Henry VII died in 1509.

 

Henry VIII

(1509-1547)

Henry VIII was not like his father. He used to spend much money for entertain­ment, his court, useless wars, and as the re­sult he wasted all the money his father had saved.

At that time France and Spain were the most powerful countries in Europe. Henry VIII wanted England to be not less impor­tant than them. He tried to make alliances with both of them but did not get their support. Henry needed money. In such cases his (49) father used to take nobles' lands, but he never touched the lands that belonged to the Church. Henry VIII, on the contrary, started closing mon­asteries and taking their lands. This fact aroused public's indignation.

Henry VIII disliked the power of the Church, because he could not control it completely. The wish to become absolute ruler of Britain caused Henry VIII's break with Rome. Though historians usually connect this act with Henry's private life.

 

DO YOU KNOW THAT...

... in 1510 Henry married Catherine of Aragon, who was the widow of his elder brother Arthur.

... Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.

... Catherine of Aragon had no sons who could survive infancy.

... Catherine and Henry's elder daughter was Mary.

 

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived...

Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was not successful. Hen­ry wanted a son, but his wife could not give him any. Henry decided to divorce and marry Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn by name. Since the Pope of Rome was the head of the Catholic Church, and the Church of England was Catholic, Henry had to ask the pope of Rome to let him divorce. The pope as well as the Spanish king was against it. Henry was stubborn and he did not want to give in. His wish to control the Church made him break from Rome and adopt Protestantism, which gave more power to the king. So, the country became Protestant At the same time Henry as well as the most part of the population in Britain was a Catholic.

 

DO YOU KNOW THAT...

... earlier Henry VIII had written a book in which he criticized Mar­tin Luther's Reformation Protestantism, and the Pope of Rome award­ed him with the title of Fidei Defensor, or Defender of Faith.

… the letters FD can still be found on British coins.

 

Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn. She gave birth to a daughter, named Elizabeth. Some time later Henry met Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting. Historians say that she was the only woman he really loved. Henry accused Anne Boleyn of being unfaithful, and had her executed. Henry married Jane Seymour ten days later. Jane gave birth to the only son Henry had. His name was Edward. Unfortunately, Jane died twelve days later.

Anne of Cleves was Henry's fourth wife. Anne was a German princess. The story tells that he could not go to Germany to have a look at his fiancée and sent his painter, Hans Holbein the Younger, instead. The painter brought the portrait of a charming lady. Henry liked her. When she herself arrived in Britain, Henry found little likeness in the portrait and the original. He was disappointed and soon divorced her.

His fifth wife was Catherine Howard. She was said to be unfaithful to him and her execution was not to be waited for long.

Henry's sixth wife, Catherine Parr, was clever enough not to anger him. She outlived Henry, who died in 1547 at the age of 56.

 

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Match the words and their definitions.

1. glorious a) having a sexual experience or relationship with someone other

than one's husband or wife;

2. treasury b) feelings of surprised anger (because of something wrong or unjust);

3. merchant c) to live longer than;

4. indignation d) the person one is going to marry; a person to whom one is engaged;

5. infancy e) the place where the money of a government is kept;

6. lady-in-waiting f) having or deserving great fame, honour, and admiration;

7. unfaithful g) a person who buys and sells goods, esp. of a particular sort, in

large amounts;

8. fiancée h) early childhood;

9. to outlive i) a lady who looks after and serves a queen or a princess.

Guess the translation of these words.

 

II. Answer the questions.

1. Who was the beginner of the Tudor dynasty?

2. What title was Henry VIII awarded with by the pope of Rome?

3. What reform did Henry VIII carry out?

4. What do you know about Henry VIII's private life?

5. Did Henry's private life influence his political line?

 

III. Characterize Henry VIII's personality. What do you think of him?

 

IV. Read the rhyme and guess what it describes.

Divorced, beheaded, died,

Divorced, beheaded, survived...

 

V. Do you believe that

1. Henry VIII died at the age of 52.

2. Henry VIII was the first Tudor monarch.

3. Henry VIII had a brother named Arthur.

4. Catherine of Aragon was of French origin.

5. Elizabeth was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon.

6. Henry VIII had one son.

7. Catherine Howard was Henry's sixth wife.

8. Anne of Cleves was the most beautiful of all Henry's wives.

9. Henry VIII had always been a Protestant.

10. Henry VIII closed many monasteries and sold their lands to land­owners and merchants.

 

VI. How can the private life of a monarch/president/... influence his/her political decisions? Recall such cases in the history of your country. Tell about them in class.

 

 

Edward VI

(1547-1553)

Edward VI was the son of Henry VI and his third wife Jane Seymour. He was born on 12 October 1537. When Henry VIII died Edward was only ten years old. He was too young to rule over the country. Therefore a special council was created in order to help him. It gave a chance for the nobles who were close to the court to use their power for their own needs.

In general Edward's reign was peaceful, except a few rebellions connected with the discontent of the Catholics over the Protestant reform. Edward was a serious and clever boy. During his reign two new prayer books were published in English.

Edward could make a good king but his weak health shortened his life to 16 years only. He fell ill with tuberculosis and died in 1553. When Protestant lords saw that Edward's health was weakening, they became alarmed at the thought that his successor would be his sister Mary. Unlike Edward, she was a Catholic, and if she succeeded she could introduce Catholicism in the country again. That is why Edward's ministers mad him name his Protestant second cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor.

 

Bloody Mary

(1553-1558)

Queen Mary I ruled in England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558. She was the first queen in Britain, be­sides Matilda who had ruled 400 years before Mary, and Lady Jane Grey who had been the queen only for nine days.

During the reign of Edward VI most people got used to Protestant­ism. Mary was a Catholic and nobles, being afraid of religious persecu­tions tried to put Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant, on the throne. But Mary succeeded in entering London and took control of the kingdom. Later Lady Jane Grey was executed.

Mary was thirty-seven when she became queen. She was not beau­tiful. She was short and thin, her health was weak. Besides, she was unwise and unbending in her decisions. She was nicknamed Bloody Mary because of a large number of religious persecutions that took place dur­ing her reign. She dealt cruelly with the rebels and with those who did not want to accept Catholic teaching.

Mary made mistakes and the most serious one was her marriage to Philip, King of Spain. She loved him, and he loved power, so his aim was the English throne. Since women were considered to be inferior to men, her marriage would mean that she would be under Philip's control, to­gether with the whole country. That's why people disliked the mar­riage. A strong rebellion started in Kent, in the South of England, though it was defeated before it had reached London. At last Mary took an un­usual step of asking Parliament for its opinion about the marriage. Parliament agreed, but only accepted Philip as king of England for Mary's lifetime. Philip was in anger. He wanted at least to have a son, an heir, not to let Mary's half-sister Elizabeth succeed to the throne. Very soon he realized that Mary was not able to produce children. So, his dreams never came true.

Mary was unfortunate both in her reign and her private life. Numerous executions of Protestants began to sicken the people. They were about to rebel, but the news that Mary was dying stopped them. Historians say that people were dancing, laughing in the streets of London when Bloody Mary died. They were greeting another queen, Elizabeth I Henry VIII's second daughter.

 

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Match the words and their definitions.

1.	persecution	a)	unable or unwilling to change one's opinions, decisions;
2.	unbending	b)	the time during which a person is alive or a machine, organization continues to exist;
3.	to accept	c)	to take or receive (something offered or given), esp. willingly;
4.	inferior	d)	to cause to feel strong sick feelings of dislike or anger;
5.	lifetime	e)	an act of treating cruelly and causing to suffer, esp. for religious or political beliefs;
6.	to sicken	f)	not good or less good in quality or value.

Guess the translation of these words.

 

II. Answer the questions.

1. Whose son was Edward VI?

2. In what religion was he brought up?

3. Was Edward as despotic as his father?

4. At what age did he become king?

5. How long did he live?

6. What do you know about Lady Jane Grey?

7. Whose daughter was Mary I?

8. Why was she nicknamed Bloody?

9. What was her attitude towards Protestants?

10. What mistakes did Mary make during her reign?

 

III. Discuss in class.

1. Do you support the idea of absolute or constitutional monarchy? Why?

Can you differentiate between these two notions?

2. Where is the borderline between monarch's cruelty and the wish to maintain order in

the country? What do you think about Mary's meth­ods of ruling over her subjects?

 

IV. Put together the jumbled word pieces.

1) mar a)dom

2) un b) lion

3) rebel c) riage

4) life d) take

5) par e) liament

6) king f) rol

7) mis g) time

8) cont h) wise

 

V. Scrambled sentences.

1. his husband and loved obeyed wishes her all Mary passionately.

2. than was younger wife his Philip English much.

3. death for couldn't Mary forgive Lady Grey people the Jane of.

 

Elizabeth I

(1558-1603)

"I am come… to live or die amongst you all, to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too."

With these well-chosen words Elizabeth I called her soldiers togeth­er to fight against the Spanish Armada in summer 1588. By that time she had already been ruling over England for 30 years. She became queen in 1558 when she was 25 years old. Her half-sister Mary died and to the relief of all Protestants Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England.

Her succession to the throne was not an easy matter. Man was not eager to keep her rival (Elizabeth) close to the Court. Elizabeth was arrested and sent to the Tower of London. Late she was released. Mary would have probably executed her if she had only tried to plot against the Queen of England, but Elizabeth was wise enough no to express any of such ideas.

Historians describe Elizabeth as an intelligent, courageous, and determined woman. She could read Latin and Greek and spoke French and Italian fluently. Besides, she had a talent for wise governing. Among her other characteristics we can mention her self-confidence, caution, vanity and thrift. She inherited her father's temper: she could swear at her bishops and throw her slippers at the diplomats. At the same time she was cautious. Her advantage was that she chose very good advisers. For example, her principal minister William Cecil, Lord Burghley, served her truthfully until his death. She did not act without thinking. Very often she thought and waited and listened to the advice of her ministers and only then mad decisions.

 

DO YOU KNOW THAT...

... Elizabeth I was Queen for 44 years, unlike all her predecessors whose terms had been much shorter owing to various factors like disease, or murder, or overthrow;

... Elizabeth I was called "Virgin Queen" because she never married. Firstly, she remembered her father's wives, two of whom had been executed. Secondly, her marriage could not be a matter of love, but only politics. She could not choose anyone from the English nobles, because all of them were inferior to her high position, and as a wife had to sub­mit to her husband, it meant that the Queen of England had to submit to her "inferior" husband. Elizabeth could not choose the French or Span­ish kings to marry, because it endangered the position of England as an independent empire. Thirdly, there is a version that she loved one man all her life. It was Robert Dudley, but when she met him he had a wife, so she could not marry him. They say that dying she whispered his name.

 

Do you know that...

... the first English colony in America, though a failure, was called Virginia in honour of Elizabeth I, "Virgin Queen";

... the founder of the first British colony in America was Walter Raleigh;

... Elizabeth I encouraged English seamen to go to America and bring silver, gold and other valuable things for sale. The "sea dogs", as they were called, were traders as well as pirates and adventurers. The most famous of them were John Hawkins, Francis Drake and Martin Frobisher. They used to attack Spanish ships as they returned from Amer­ica with gold and silver. Spain and England were trade rivals and hence enemies. Elizabeth apologised to Philip, the King of Spain, but at the same time did not refuse from her share of what had been taken from Spanish ships;

... during Elizabeth I's reign the question of religion was very im­portant. Elizabeth did not want to persecute Catholics. She began to re­store the Church of England. She ordered to change the Protestant Prayer Book to make it easier for Catholics to accept.

 

Mary, Queen of Scots

Though Elizabeth I was a good monarch there were some people who wanted to put a Catholic on the English throne. The best pretender to this position was the Scottish queen, Mary Stuart. She was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII. She married King Francis II of France in 1558. In 1559 her husband died and Mary had to return to Scotland. In 1565 Mary married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. In 1566 Lord Darnley with his men murdered Mary's secretary David Riccio, because ne was her lover. A year later Darnley went to his house in Edinburgh, night the house was blown up. People began to say that it was done by James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, a new lover of Mary. Two months later the Queen of Scots married Bothwell, who was a Protestant. The Scottish nation was outraged and Mary had to abdicate from the throng in favour of her baby son James. In 1568 Mary fled to England, but Elizabeth I took her a prisoner.

Mary spent 19 years in prison. Several times she tried to plot against Elizabeth I but the Queen of England was very cautious, and none o the plots were realized. Mary was still a danger for Elizabeth. But still she did not want to execute her until Mary named Philip, King of Spain, her heir to the English throne. With this claim Philip decided to invade England. Elizabeth did not need Mary any more, and in 1587 Mary Queen of Scots was executed.

 

The Spanish Armada

In 1587 Philip put together a mighty Spanish Armada against England. But Francis Drake attacked this large fleet and destroyed half of it. Philip had to start again. His Armada consisted of 130 ships. It was the largest fleet that had ever gone to sea. However, the English ships were better. They were longer and narrower, so they were faster, more manoeuvring, and their guns could shoot further than the Spanish ones.

The Armada was defeated. Some of the ships were sunk, but the most part of them was destroyed by bad weather: they were blown to the north by the wind and wrecked on the rocky coasts of Scotland an Ireland. Less than half the ships of the Armada returned back to Spain.

However, the war with Spain did not end that year. It continued up to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Only after that the peace between England and Spain was made.

 

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Match the words and their definitions.

1. feeble a) a person who held a position before someone else;

2. to plot b)to admit defeat; to agree to obey;

3. thrift c) lacking strength or force; frail;

4. predecessor d) to give up officially (an official position, esp. that of king or queen);

5. overthrow e) the part belonging to, or done by a particular person;

6. to submit f) a person who makes a claim (which is doubtful or not proved) to

some high position, such as to be the rightful king;

7. adventurer g) a person who enjoys journeys, new experien­ces, often dangerous;

8. share h) wise and careful use of money and goods; avoidance of waste;

9. pretender i) (of a group of people) to make a secret plan for something harmful;

10. to abdicate j) removal from power.

Guess the translation of these words.

 

II. Answer the questions.

1. Why was Elizabeth left unharmed during the reign of Bloody Mary?

2. What were Elizabeth's strengths?

3. Why did Elizabeth avoid getting married?

4. How did Elizabeth solve the problem of religious disagreement in the country?

5. What were the traits of Elizabeth's foreign policy?

6. What threat was posed by Mary Queen of Scots to the rule of Eliza­beth I?

7. Why did Philip King of Spain begin his aggression against England?

8. Why did the Spanish Armada suffer a defeat?

 

III. Read the speech of Elizabeth I with which she called her soldiers together in 1588.

Comment upon it. Is it impressive and encouraging? What would you say in this

situation if you were the queen/king?

IV. Crossword puzzle.

1. The first British colony in America.

2. The monarch who ruled for 44 years.

3. Queen of Scots.

4. The founder of the first British colony in America.

5. The man whom Eliz­abeth I loved all her life.

6. The country which was involved into war with England in 1588.

7. Elizabeth's principal minister.

 

V. Test yourself.

1. Elizabeth I came to power in

a) 1588

b) 1603

c) 1558.

 

2. Elizabeth I ruled for

a) 44 years

b) 25 years

c) 55 years.

 

3. Elizabeth I was daughter of Henry VIII and

a) Catherine of Aragon

b) Anne of Cleves

c) Anne Boieyn.

 

 

4.In 1588 England fought against

a) the Netherlands

b) Spain

c) France.

 

5. The founder of Virginia was

a) William Cecil

b) Walter Raleigh

c) Robert Dudley.

 

6. Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeth's

a) cousin

b) mother

c) sister-in-law.

 

7. Mary Stuart's son was

a) Henry

b) Edward

c) James.

 

8. Elizabeth died at the age of

a) 70

b) 50

c) 60.

 

IV. THE STUARTS

The seventeenth century brought changes to people's attitude towards the institution of monarchy. Parliament was getting more power, leaving a monarch with fewer rights. The Stuarts happened to rule over England in this turbulent period.

 

James I

(1603-1625)

Elizabeth I named James, the son of Mary Stuart, as her successor on the English throne. At that time James was the king of Scotland, James VI. On hearing the news he rode south to England to be crowned King James I of England, Scotland and Ireland.

James I was never popular with his people. He was not handsome in appearance. He was ugly, awkward, his legs were weak for his body, his speech was not distinct. He used to wear tough clothes because of constant fear to be stabbed in the back. He was cunning, greedy and lazy. On the whole, James I produced an unfavourable impression. On the other hand he was a clever and educated man. He had a habit of expressing his opinion openly. This often led to troubles with Parliament. A French king one said that James was "the wisest fool in Christendom".

James was proud of his high position. He always said that the king were given a " divine right" to rule by God, and nobody, even Parliament, could tell them what to do. James often quarrelled with Parliament mostly about taxes. In 1611 James dissolved it and ruled by absolute power until 1621. Then James recalled Parliament, because he needed to raise money for his army. In turn, Parliament demanded the right to control country's foreign affairs.

During this period religious disagreement was acquiring new features. A new movement appeared in Protestantism. The Puritans were those who wanted more preaching and teaching of the Bible and fewer Catholic ceremonies in church services. They wanted to "purify" the Church. James persecuted both Catholics and Puritans. The famous Gunpowder Plot, when a group of Catholics wanted to blow up Parlia­ment and King James I on November 5, 1605, was the result of such severity. As for the Puritans, they were given a chance to go to Ameri­ca, found settlements and pray to God as they wished. Well-known is the story about the ship "Mayflower" with 102 passengers who went to America in 1620 and founded a colony named New Plymouth.

James I died in Hertfordshire on March 27, 1625.

 

Charles I and Civil War

Charles I quarrelled with his Parlia­ment even more than his father. The main reason for that was disagreement on the questions of taxes and church. Parliament did not allow Charles collect tariffs for his lifetime, as the previous kings had done. Angered, Charles dissolved Parliament and ruled without it. Religious disagree­ment in Scotland made Charles recall Par­liament again, because he could not raise enough money for the troops without it In turn, Parliament demanded rights to control state money, the national budget, and the law. Charles did not keep his promise and dissolved Parliament again. But the events in Ireland made him recall it once more. Irish Cath­olics were discriminated by English Protestants in Ulster (northern part of Ireland). It resulted in a severe rebellion when about 3000 people were killed. Charles demanded money for the army, but the MPs were afraid hat Charles would use the army against Parliament. So they refused to support Charles. Charles tried to arrest five most active MPs, but they ran away. Then London locked its gates against the king and the Civil War began.

Parliament was supported by the navy, merchants and Londoners. The Parliamentarian army included large groups of London apprentices, who were nicknamed "Roundheads" because of their short hair.

The Royalists were badly paid, because Charles had no funds for it, so many of them ran away. The rest of the army lost their courage and gave in at Naseby in 1645. Charles I was captured, tried and execute on January 30, 1649. He held himself bravely. His last words were: "No man in England is a better friend to liberty than myself, but I must tell you plainly that the liberty of subjects consists not in having a hand the government, but in having that government."