Roundheads

The nickname “Roundheads” was used to describe the opponents of the “Royalists”, also called “Cavaliers” who were led by the king during the English Civil War (Miller 2013: 175).

Background Information:

The Roundheads supported the Parliament and were also called “Parliamentarians”. Furthermore, they carried certain stereotypes. For example, they were depicted as people who feared God since they talked a lot about God. Moreover, they became especially identified with Puritanism and also most of them were Puritans, which gave them a sense of purpose. Hence, they saw God as a great power and believed in his intervention in the world. However, they were also portrayed as hypocrites because they used war to gain power. Their haircut was short, which is why they were called Roundheads (218-220).

Roundheads in the English Civil War:

The English Civil War was a series of wars between the Cavaliers and Roundheads. They fought with each other in over 600 battles (“Roundheads and Cavaliers”). The Parliamentarians were against the king, arguing that kings are there for the well-being of the people, and if the nation's freedom and property are threatened, the citizens are no longer obliged to obey the king. A war against the king was thus legitimate for the Parliamentarians (Miller 2013: 220). The king, on the other hand, wanted to defeat the Parliamentarians and retake control of the government (223). Over the years, between 1642-45, the Parliamentarians gained greater support in Britain and increased the size of their army significantly (“English Civil War: Royalist or Parliamentarian?”). Most of the Roundheads had no previous experience as soldiers before the war, including Oliver Cromwell, the former leader of the Roundheads and later in 1653 Lord Protector of England (Miller 2013: 222). For this reason, Cromwell had to be a good leader to guide his soldiers. Although the Parliamentarians were called Roundheads by the Cavaliers, they were not allowed to call each other by that name otherwise they would have been dismissed (Purkiss 2012: 831- 832). Furthermore, Cromwell took care to maintain the faith of his soldiery (833).

Victories of the Roundheads:

After all, the Roundheads won all three Civil Wars against the Cavaliers.

List of References:

“English Civil War: Royalist or Parliamentarian?” Historyonthenet, https://www.historyonthenet.com/english-civil-war-royalist-or-parliamentarian. Accessed 02 January 2023.

Miller, John. The English Civil Wars: Roundheads, Cavaliers and the Execution of the King. Robinson, 2013.

Purkiss, Diane. The English Civil War: A people’s History. Harper Press, 2012.

“Roundheads and Cavaliers: Cavalry in the English Civil Wars.” Brewminate, https://brewminate.com/roundheads-and-cavaliers-cavalry-in-the-english-civil-wars/. Accessed 02 January 2023.