Product Description

What were the causes of the English Civil War? In recent years, traditional explanations involving the struggle for sovereignty and the bourgeois revolution have been increasingly questioned. Conrad Russell's new analysis brings into focus fundamental religious and constitutional issues of vital importance to contemporaries, but until now neglected by historians. Basing his study on extensive research among both printed and unpublished sources, Professor Russell highlights the constitutional problems of multiple kingdoms within Britain; the religious problem of competing theologies within and outside a state church; and the economic problem of the inadequacy of royal revenue to meet the needs of the monarchy. In order to understand the events of the 1640s, he traces the story of the church and state back over the previous century. This is the fullest account yet available of the origins of one of the most significant events in British history. It will be essential reading for all students of the seventeenth century. Contents: The Corpus Delicti 1637-1642; The problem of Multiple Kingdoms c. 1580-1630; The Church, Religion, and Politics: The Problem of the Definite Article; The Church of England 1559-1625: A Church Designed by a Committee?; Religious Unity in Three Kingdoms and in One 1630-1642; The Rule of Law: Whose Slogan?; The Poverty of the Crown and the Weakness of the King; The Man Charles Stuart; Conclusion; Appendix.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #373869 in Books
• Published on: 1990-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Pinnacle of a Lifetime's Achievement.
As the Eton and Oxford educated son of Bertrand Russell, and great grandson of a prime minister, Conrad Russell (d.2004) had arguably the best possible springboard from which to achieve academic prominence - and this he achieved in spades. Having heard him lecture it is also possible to confirm that he was no slouch in the area of teaching either. To a significant extent therefore Russell's view of the English Civil War became the 'established view' of the conflict, and many have followed it with greater or lesser skill and imagination. Given these facts it is astounding that until now no one has posted anything on 'The Causes of the English Civil War'.

Russell's approach marks a sharp divergence from the themes of the immediate post war period where 'class' - rising, falling, and stagnating gentry, and other social and economic factors, had been the main subjects of research. Instead he acknowledges that 'no group was unanimous' and that there were other ideas afoot. Crucial amongst these was the problem of 'multiple kingdoms'. Unlike the Tudors James and Charles Stuart were Kings of England and Scotland, and, given ongoing strife in Ireland, were potentially atop a polity pulling apart under its own inbuilt instability. This idea would be so widely accepted from the late 1980s to the present that many have come to discard the term 'English' Civil War altogether, preferring 'War of the Three Kingdoms' - or any other contstruction, which accepts that conflict really began in 1640 or 1641 with Scotland or Ireland. Moreover Russell's observations, and championing of the 'difference' and importance of Scotland and Ireland were especially happy from his point of view - because, by good planning or good fortune, they chimed entirely with the political concerns of the 1980s and 1990s. The 'Three Kingdom's' approach thus appeared very apposite and of 'current importance' against devolution, in just the same way as Christopher Hill's concern with Marxism had looked significant against the background of the Cold War. How durable the 'Multiple Kingdoms' idea will remain is open to question: but is does have the significant advantage that it does not depend on anachronism and reduction like the 'class' arguments that it has essentially replaced.

We also need to be aware that Russell's view of the causes of the English Civil War are far more complex and multifaceted than a single issue approach. His book also makes significant observations on the role of religion; the role of law and rights of Kings; on finance, and on the personality of King Charles I. These are vital, since without these additional factors we have no explanation of why the wars started when they did - and in what fashion.

'The Causes of the English Civil War' is thus a highly significant book which encapsulates the major thoughts of a whole generation of scholars, and nearly three decades of Russell's own work. It is, in the terms of internet reviews, a five star volume of the first order. It is well written and engaging. If there is a 'but' it is that it depends too much upon the fashionable issue of devolution - a point which becomes particularly apparent in the conclusions. Another minor caveat is that it lacks a bibliography. Highly Recommended.