Radical Parliamentarians and the English Civil War charts the way the English civil war of the 1640s mutated into a revolution, in turn paving the way for the later execution of King Charles I and the abolition of the monarchy. Focusing on parliament's most militant supporters, David Como reconstructs the origins and nature of the most radical forms of political and religious agitation that erupted during the war, tracing the process by which these forms gradually spread and gained broader acceptance. Drawing on a wide range of manuscript and print sources, the study situates these developments within a revised narrative of the period, revealing the emergence of new practices and structures for the conduct of politics. In the process, the book illuminates the eruption of many of the period's strikingly novel intellectual currents, including assumptions and practices we today associate with western representative democracy; notions of retained natural rights, religious toleration, freedom of the press, and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment. The study also chronicles the way that civil war shattered English protestantism - leaving behind myriad competing groupings, including congregationalists, baptists, antinomians, and others - while examining the relationship between this religious fragmentation and political change. It traces the gradual appearance of openly anti-monarchical, republican sentiment among parliament's supporters. Radical Parliamentarians and the English Civil War provides a new history of the English civil war, enhancing our understanding of the dramatic events of the 1640s, and shedding light on the long-term political and religious consequences of the conflict.

About the Author
David R. Como is Associate Professor of History at Stanford University. A member of the North American Conference on British Studies, as well as the Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies, he has also previously taught at both the University of Chicago and the University of Maryland.

Reviews
The book I've most enjoyed recently is David Como's Radical Parliamentarians and the English Civil War. His extraordinary research reveals crucial radical networks, ultimately committed to religious liberty and popular sovereignty. * Ann Hughes, Times Higher Education *
This is a complex, significant study of the Civil War. * Melinda S. Zook, Journal of Modern History *
Radical Parliamentarians is a worthy post-revisionist successor to the seminal Whig and Marxist texts of Gardiner and Hill. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the English Revolution and the radical Puritans who shaped its course. * John Coffey, University of Leicester, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
It is a rich and important study and will become an established feature of the historiographical landscape. * Michael J. Braddick, The Seventeenth Century *
David Como's monograph is a stunning achievement. It is a landmark study of the roots, development and influence of radical parliamentarianism which opens up new avenues of research and builds imaginatively on recent scholarship in early modern political and religious history. Its ambition is considerable....Como has produced a magnificent work of erudite and eloquent historical scholarship which has profound implications for our understandings not only of the civil wars, but for seventeenth-century political history more broadly. * Lloyd Bowen, Cardiff University, EHR *


Awards
Winner of Joint Winner of the 2019 Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies Book Prize.



Book Information
ISBN 9780199541911
Author David R. Como
Format Hardback
Page Count 476
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 994g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 32mm