Early in the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
the
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...
threatened to retaliate in kind if the
Royalists tried and executed
John Lilburne and two other Parliamentary offices for treason. Lilburne later described this as the declaration of
Lex Talionis, and it brought about a practical—rather than moral—mutual restraint by the parties to the war on how they treated prisoners of war.
[Barbara Donagan (2008), ''War in England 1642-1649'', Oxford University Press, ,]
p. 131
/ref>
History
Early in the English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, John Lilburne, a prominent supporter of the Parliamentary cause who because of his radical views was known as "Free Born John", was captured by the Royalists during the Battle of Brentford while serving as a captain in the Parliamentary army. Moves were taken to try him and two other prisoners of war (Clifton Catesby and Robert Vivers), in the civil court of the Kings Bench as traitors. Elizabeth, Lilburne's wife, appealed to Parliament and on 17 December 1642 Parliament stated that it would hold the Judge and officials of the court responsible for the treatment of the three men, and if they were tried and punished would retaliate in kind against Royalist prisoners of war. This lifted the threat to the men and in May 1643 Lilburne was exchanged for Royalist prisoners of war.Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
article GREAT REBELLION; 49. Preston FightCharles Lucas
Sir Charles Lucas, 1613 to 28 August 1648, was a professional soldier from Essex, who served as a Cavalier, Royalist cavalry leader during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Taken prisoner at the end of the First English Civil War in March 1646, ...
and Sir George Lisle were shot. Major-General Rowland Laugharne, and colonels John Poyer
John Poyer (died 25 April 1649) was a Welsh soldier in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War in South Wales. He later turned against the parliamentary cause and was executed for treason.
Background
Poyer was a merchant and the m ...
and Rice Powell
Rice Powell was a Welsh Colonel in the Parliamentary army during the First English Civil War. In the Second English Civil War he allied himself with the Royalist cause. He fought in South Wales and played a significant part in events between 1642 a ...
all of whom had commanded Royalist forces in Wales, were sentenced to death, but Poyer alone was executed on 25 April 1649, being the victim selected by lot. Of five prominent Royalist peers who fell into the hands of Parliament, three, the Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...
, the Earl of Holland, and Lord Capel
Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell (20 February 16089 March 1649), of Hadham Hall and Cassiobury House, Watford, both in Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the peerage ...
, one of the Colchester prisoners and a man of high character, were beheaded at Westminster on 9 March. Above all, after long hesitations, even after renewal of negotiations, the Grandees
Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...
of the New Model Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
and the Independents conducted " Pride's Purge" of the House removing their ill-wishers, and created the High court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
for the trial and sentence of King Charles I.Charles Stuart, that man of blood
Charles Stuart, that man of blood was a phrase used by Independents, during the English Civil War to describe King Charles I.
The phrase is derived from the Bible:
This and another verse were used to justify regicide:
Windsor Castle prayer m ...
" guilty of high treason, as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy".[Kirb, Michael ]
The trial of King Charles I – defining moment for our constitutional liberties
' speech to the Anglo-Australasian Lawers' association, on 22 January 1999. He was beheaded on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
on 30 January 1649.
Irish Catholics were an exception
Parliament did not consider this restraint as binding on their treatment of any Irish Catholics who might cross the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
to fight in England and in 1644 they passed the ''Ordinance of no quarter to the Irish'' when it looked possible that the Confederation of Kilkenny
Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...
would send an army to assist Charles I. The terms of the ordinance as the name suggests decree that no quarter
The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed.
According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
should be given on the capture of any Irish Catholics found fighting for the Royalists in England or Wales (Scotland was another realm and under a different jurisdiction).
Notes
References
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{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017
*
English Civil War
Prisoners of war