Keith Lindley

A “sourcebook”, meaning it’s mostly original texts, letters, and documents from the period. However, the Introduction gives an extremely good summary of the issues and differing historical interpretations: for example, was the civil war caused by economic, socio-political, or religious conditions; was a political settlement impossible because of the personality of Charles I or because of religious intransigence; and what were the long-term effects of the war. The various documents – sometimes a little difficult because they are written in 17th century language – do give insight into some of the issues and events; for example, I never understood the importance of “ship money” or the degree of destruction wrought in churches to remove what were supposed to be the last vestiges of Catholicism (for example, in some churches, raised areas around the altar were leveled; gravestones were left alone unless they contained the forbidden words “Pray for me”, which were chiseled out. Recommended if you’re interested in the period.… (plus d'informations)