Prince Rupert : a controversial general in the English Civil War, 1642-1645 / by Dean F. Lawson.
| Author/creator | Lawson, Dean F. author. |
| Other author | Cobb, William H., degree supervisor. |
| Other author | East Carolina University. Department of History. |
| Format | Theses and dissertations |
| Production | 2001. |
| Description | 199 leaves ; 28 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Access via ScholarShip |
| Subjects |
| Summary | Prince Rupert was the third son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and Elizabeth Stuart, Charles I's older sister. He was born in Prague in 1619, but spent his childhood in the Dutch Netherlands studying warfare after his parents were exiled from Bohemia and the Palatinate at the start of the Thirty Years' War. When he was sixteen he visited England and became a favorite of his uncle the King. While campaigning for the recovery of the Palatinate in 1638, he was captured at Vlotho and imprisoned by' the Holy Roman Emperor. Released three years later, he returned to England and joined Charles I's army at the start of the English Civil War (1642-1649). Rupert was initially the leader of only a small force of cavalry, but he quickly became the virtual director of the Royalist war effort. As such he presided over a string of early triumphs, and then, after the tide of war changed, over those losses which resulted in Charles' defeat. Rupert is a controversial figure in military' history. Accounts by the Earl of Clarendon and Samuel Gardiner maintain that he was responsible for the losses which cost Charles the war. During the English Civil War, the Parliamentarians accused Rupert of plunder, torture, murder, and arson. Consequently, the perception of Rupert as an ineffective general and "Bloody Prince" has survived and become his popular image. It is the goal of this study to revise the popular perception of Rupert. Thus it will be necessary to show that the Prince was not responsible for the losses that cost Charles the war, that his plundering was discriminate, and finally that his humanity exceeded the standards of his time. No doubt there will always be some controversy concerning Rupert's participation in the English Civil War. Nevertheless, this study will show that he was a brilliant general and that he was not a war criminal. |
| General note | Presented to the faculty of the Department of History. |
| General note | Advisor: William H. Cobb |
| Dissertation note | M.A. East Carolina University 2001 |
| Bibliography note | Included bibliographical references (leaves 190-199). |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Thèses et écrits académiques. |