The Rise of the New Model Army

by Mark A. Kishlansky

This is a meticulously-researched and highly controversial study of the origins and development of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary politics during the English Civil War. Professor Kishlansky challenges the fundamental assumptions upon which all previous interpretations of this period have been based. It is his contention that during the years 1643–6, Parliament operated on a model of consensus rather than on one of party conflict as has been traditionally assumed. The New Model Army was thus the product of compromise and, Professor Kishlansky argues, it embodied the ideology that created it. The political invention of the Army occurred only after the machine of consensus politics had broken down with Parliament. The New Model Army, perpetuating the belief in consensus and balance but also representing its own interests, then became one of many factions competing for dominance.

Genres: History, English Civil War, Military History, European History, 17th Century

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Mark Alan Kishlansky (1948-2015) was a historian of seventeenth-century British politics. He was the Frank Baird, Jr. Professor of History at Harvard University.

He completed his undergraduate degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1970 and proceeded to graduate study under David Underdown at Brown University, receiving his M.A. in 1972 and his Ph. D. in 1977. From 1975 to 1991 he taught at the University of Chicago, successively as instructor and professor. From 1990 to 1991 he was a member of the Committee on Social Thought. He was a visiting professor at Northwestern University in 1983 and was the Mellon Visiting Professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the California Institute of Technology in 1990-1991. In 1991 he became a professor at Harvard University and from 1998 to 2001 served as Associate Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. He was editor of the Journal of British Studies from 1984 to 1991 and editor-in-chief of History Compass from 2003 to 2009

Reviews

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read a long time ago but always considered this to be 'the book' on the New Model.