161-511: John Bunyan ( / ˈ b ʌ n j ə n / ; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress , which also became an influential literary model. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress , Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons . Bunyan came from the village of Elstow , near Bedford . He had some schooling and, at
322-496: A pot helmet , back- and breastplates over a buff coat, and often also armoured tassets to protect the upper legs. They carried a sixteen-foot pike, and a sword. The heavily burdened pikeman usually dictated the speed of the Army's movement. They were frequently ordered to discard the tassets, and individual soldiers were disciplined for sawing a foot or two from the butts of their pikes, although senior officers were recommended to make
483-462: A Dish or a Spoon betwixt us both". The couple's first daughter, Mary, was born in 1650, and it soon became apparent that she was blind. They would have three more children, Elizabeth, Thomas and John. By his own account, Bunyan had as a youth enjoyed bell-ringing , dancing and playing games including on Sunday, which was forbidden by the Puritans , who held a particularly high view of Sunday, called
644-529: A Regiment of Foot) was appointed Lieutenant General of the Ordnance. The establishment of the New Model also included at least two companies of "firelocks" or fusiliers , who wore " tawny coats" instead of red, commanded initially by Major John Desborough . The artillery was used to most effect in sieges , where its role was to blast breaches in fortifications for the infantry to assault. Cromwell and
805-687: A Roman garrison at Aballava , now Burgh-by-Sands , in Cumbria: a 4th-century inscription says that the Roman military unit "Numerus Maurorum Aurelianorum" ("unit of Aurelian Moors") from Mauretania (Morocco) was stationed there. Although the Roman Empire incorporated peoples from far and wide, genetic studies suggest the Romans did not significantly mix into the British population. The exact nature of
966-623: A Scottish invasion force at the Battle of Preston in August. Many of the Army's radicals now called for the execution of the King, whom they called " Charles Stuart, that man of blood ". The majority of the Grandees realised that they could neither negotiate a settlement with Charles I, nor trust him to refrain from raising another army to attack them, so they came reluctantly to the same conclusion as
1127-748: A common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the Anglo-Saxons , when they were known as the Angelcynn , meaning race or tribe of the Angles . Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who invaded Britain around the 5th century AD. The English largely descend from two main historical population groups: the West Germanic tribes, including
1288-753: A detour to Reading, Berkshire , to try and resolve a quarrel between a father and son. Travelling on from there to London, he was caught in a storm and fell ill with a fever. He died in Strudwick's house on the morning of 31 August 1688 and was buried in a tomb belonging to Strudwick in Bunhill Fields – the nonconformist burial ground in City Road London. Bunyan's estate at his death was worth £42 19s 0d (about £5,200 in 2021). His widow Elizabeth died in 1691. Between 1656, when he published his first work, Some Gospel Truths Opened (a tract against
1449-878: A favourite author of the Victorians . The tercentenary of Bunyan's birth, celebrated in 1928, elicited praise from his former adversary, the Church of England. Although popular interest in Bunyan waned during the second half of the twentieth century, academic interest in the writer increased and Oxford University Press brought out a new edition of his works, beginning in 1976. Authors who have been influenced by Bunyan include C. S. Lewis , Nathaniel Hawthorne , Herman Melville , Charles Dickens , Louisa May Alcott , George Bernard Shaw , William Thackeray , Charlotte Brontë , Mark Twain , John Steinbeck and Enid Blyton . Bunyan's work, in particular The Pilgrim's Progress , has reached
1610-505: A friend and presented him with a silver-mounted walking stick. The Pilgrim's Progress was published in 1678 by Nathaniel Ponder and immediately became popular, though probably making more money for its publisher than for its author. Two events marred Bunyan's life during the later 1670s. Firstly he became embroiled in a scandal concerning a young woman called Agnes Beaumont . When going to preach in Gamlingay in 1674 he allowed Beaumont,
1771-638: A geographic area brings protests, especially from the Scotch . However, although Taylor believed this blurring effect was dying out, in his book The Isles: A History (1999), Norman Davies lists numerous examples in history books of "British" still being used to mean "English" and vice versa. In December 2010, Matthew Parris in The Spectator , analysing the use of "English" over "British", argued that English identity, rather than growing, had existed all along but has recently been unmasked from behind
SECTION 10
#17327754823181932-716: A greater extent than their white counterparts; however, groups such as the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) suggest the emergence of a broader civic and multi-ethnic English nationhood. Scholars and journalists have noted a rise in English self-consciousness, with increased use of the English flag , particularly at football matches where the Union flag was previously more commonly flown by fans. This perceived rise in English self-consciousness has generally been attributed to
2093-592: A group that included moderates like Sir William Waller as well as radicals like Cromwell. In December 1644, Sir Henry Vane introduced the Self-denying Ordinance , requiring those holding military commissions to resign from Parliament. As members of the House of Lords , Manchester and Essex were automatically removed, since unlike MPs they could not resign their titles, although they could be re-appointed, 'if Parliament approved.' Although delayed by
2254-469: A heavy price at Clonmel when Cromwell ordered them to attack a well-defended breach. The New Model did not use tents, instead being quartered in whatever buildings (houses, barns etc.) were available, until they began to serve in the less populated areas of the countries of Ireland and Scotland. In 1650, their tents were each for six men, a file, who carried the tents in parts. In campaigns in Scotland,
2415-455: A large statistical spread in all cases. However, the authors noted that the similarity observed between the various sample groups was likely to be due to more recent internal migration. Another 2016 study conducted using evidence from burials found in northern England, found that a significant genetic difference was present in bodies from the Iron Age and the Roman period on the one hand, and
2576-537: A little money. In 1671, while still in prison, he was chosen as pastor of the Bedford Meeting. By that time there was a mood of increasing religious toleration in the country and in March 1672 the king issued a declaration of indulgence which suspended penal laws against nonconformists. Thousands of nonconformists were released from prison, amongst them Bunyan and five of his fellow inmates of Bedford Gaol; Bunyan
2737-523: A lower rank. Essex and Manchester raised objections to around 30% of those on the list, for reasons that are still debated, but ultimately only five changes were approved. In addition, several Scots officers refused to take up their appointments, including John Middleton , originally colonel of the Second Regiment of Horse. The standard daily pay was 8 pence for infantry and 2 shillings for cavalry, who also had to supply their own horses, while
2898-462: A majority of respondents thought that being English was not dependent on race. 77% of white respondents in England agreed that "Being English is open to people of different ethnic backgrounds who identify as English", whereas 14% were of the view that "Only people who are white count as truly English". Amongst ethnic minority respondents, the equivalent figures were 68% and 19%. Research has found that
3059-468: A member of the Bedford Meeting, to ride pillion on his horse, much to the anger of her father, who then died suddenly. His daughter was initially suspected of poisoning him, though the coroner found he had died of natural causes. In 1676–7 he underwent a second term of imprisonment, lasting six months – probably for refusing to attend the parish church. In 1688, on his way to London to the house of his friend, grocer John Strudwick of Snow Hill , Bunyan made
3220-615: A native British "North Atlantic" population and a Danish-like population. While much of the latter signature was attributed to the earlier settlement of the Anglo-Saxons, it was calculated that up to 6% of it could have come from Danish Vikings, with a further 4% contribution from a Norwegian-like source representing the Norwegian Vikings. The study also found an average 18% admixture from a source further south in Europe, which
3381-838: A night attack on 13 May, in which several mutineers perished, but Captain Thompson escaped, only to be killed in another skirmish near the Diggers community at Wellingborough . The rest were imprisoned in Burford Church until three were shot in the Churchyard on 17 May. Later that year, on 15 August 1649, the New Model Army landed in Ireland to start the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland . At Kilkenny, in March 1650,
SECTION 20
#17327754823183542-402: A parliament being established. Krishan Kumar notes that support for measures to ensure that only English MPs can vote on legislation that applies only to England is generally higher than that for the establishment of an English parliament, although support for both varies depending on the timing of the opinion poll and the wording of the question. Electoral support for English nationalist parties
3703-504: A preacher. After the restoration of the monarchy , when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested and spent the next twelve years in prison because he refused to give up preaching. During this time, he wrote a spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners , and began work on his most famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress. In 1676, Charles II withdrew his Act of Indulgence and four years later, Bunyan
3864-603: A record of Bunyan's descendants, down to the nineteenth century, but as of September 2013, no verifiable trace of later descendants has been found. The best collection of Bunyan's writing is The Works of John Bunyan , edited by George Offor and published in London in three volumes between 1853 and 1855, containing 61 unique works. (A revised edition was published in 1862.) The misnamed Complete Works of John Bunyan , edited by John Gulliver and published in one volume by Bradley, Garretson & Co. in 1871, omits 28 works and lacks
4025-429: A religious gathering other than at the parish church with more than five people outside their family. The offence was punishable by 3 months' imprisonment followed by banishment or execution if the person then failed to promise not to re-offend. The Act had been little used, and Bunyan's arrest was probably due in part to concerns that non-conformist religious meetings were being held as a cover for people plotting against
4186-472: A rise in English self-awareness. This is linked to the expressions of national self-awareness of the other British nations of Wales, Scotland and, to some extent, Northern Ireland which take their most solid form in the new devolved political arrangements within the United Kingdom ;– and the waning of a shared British national identity with the growing distance between the end of
4347-639: A separate ethnic identity, others have assimilated and intermarried with the English. Since Oliver Cromwell 's resettlement of the Jews in 1656, there have been waves of Jewish immigration from Russia in the 19th century and from Germany in the 20th. After the French king Louis XIV declared Protestantism illegal in 1685 in the Edict of Fontainebleau , an estimated 50,000 Protestant Huguenots fled to England. Due to sustained and sometimes mass emigration of
4508-668: A separate people from the English. This separation was enshrined when Alfred the Great signed the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum to establish the Danelaw, a division of England between English and Danish rule, with the Danes occupying northern and eastern England. However, Alfred's successors subsequently won military victories against the Danes, incorporating much of the Danelaw into the nascent kingdom of England. Danish invasions continued into
4669-538: A slow death, as did the New Model Army. For a time, in 1659, it appeared that factions of the New Model army forces loyal to different generals might wage war on each other. Regiments garrisoned in Scotland under the command of General Monck were marched to London to ensure the security of the capital prior to the Restoration , without significant opposition from the regiments under other generals, particularly those led by Charles Fleetwood and John Lambert . Following
4830-411: A time of intense spiritual conflict for Bunyan as he struggled with his doubts and fears over religion and guilt over what he saw as his state of sin. He described how he developed a fear of bell-ringing: "I would go to the steeple-house and look on, though I durst not ring . . . but quickly after I began to think how if one of the bells should fall?" He was later unable even to approach the steeple door of
4991-551: A veneer of Britishness. English people, like most Europeans, largely descend from three distinct lineages: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , descended from a Cro-Magnon population that arrived in Europe about 45,000 years ago; Neolithic farmers who migrated from Anatolia during the Neolithic Revolution 9,000 years ago; and Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists who expanded into Europe from the Pontic–Caspian steppe in
John Bunyan - Misplaced Pages Continue
5152-711: A wider audience through stage, film, TV, and radio productions. An opera based on The Pilgrim's Progress by Ralph Vaughan Williams , which Williams referred to as a 'Morality', was first performed at the Royal Opera House in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain and revived in 2012 by the English National Opera . John Bunyan had six children, five of whom are known to have married, of whom four had children. The Moot Hall Museum in Elstow has
5313-468: Is also low, even though there is public support for many of the policies they espouse. The English Democrats gained just 64,826 votes in the 2010 UK general election , accounting for 0.3 per cent of all votes cast in England. Kumar argued in 2010 that "despite devolution and occasional bursts of English nationalism – more an expression of exasperation with the Scots or Northern Irish – the English remain on
5474-617: Is usually termed "elite dominance". The second process is explained through incentives, such as the Wergild outlined in the law code of Ine of Wessex which produced an incentive to become Anglo-Saxon or at least English speaking. Historian Malcolm Todd writes, "It is much more likely that a large proportion of the British population remained in place and was progressively dominated by a Germanic aristocracy, in some cases marrying into it and leaving Celtic names in the, admittedly very dubious, early lists of Anglo-Saxon dynasties. But how we identify
5635-543: The Anglican congregation. That November, Bunyan was preaching at Lower Samsell, a farm near the village of Harlington , thirteen miles from Bedford, when he was warned that a warrant was out for his arrest. Deciding not to make an escape, he was arrested and brought before the local magistrate Sir Francis Wingate, at Harlington House . Bunyan was arrested under the Religion Act 1592 , which made it an offence to attend
5796-491: The Anglo-Saxons , a group of closely related Germanic tribes that began migrating to eastern and southern Britain, from southern Denmark and northern Germany, in the 5th century AD, after the Romans had withdrawn from Britain . The Anglo-Saxons gave their name to England ("Engla land", meaning "Land of the Angles") and to the English. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in a land that was already populated by people commonly referred to as
5957-514: The Battle of the Dunes (1658) , as part of Turenne 's army, the red-coats of the New Model Army under the leadership of Sir William Lockhart , Cromwell's ambassador at Paris, astonished both their French allies and Spanish enemies by the stubborn fierceness with which they advanced against a strongly defended sandhill 50 metres (160 ft) high. After Cromwell died, the Protectorate died
6118-555: The British Empire and the present. Many recent immigrants to England have assumed a solely British identity, while others have developed dual or mixed identities. Use of the word "English" to describe Britons from ethnic minorities in England is complicated by most non-white people in England identifying as British rather than English. In their 2004 Annual Population Survey , the Office for National Statistics compared
6279-646: The Irish , current estimates indicate that around 6 million people in the UK have at least one grandparent born in the Republic of Ireland. There has been a small black presence in England since the 16th century due to the slave trade , and a small Indian presence since at least the 17th century because of the East India Company and British Raj . Black and Asian populations have only grown throughout
6440-819: The John Bunyan Museum ). There is another statue of him in Kingsway, London, and there are memorial windows in Westminster Abbey , Southwark Cathedral and various churches, including Elstow Abbey (the parish church of Elstow) and the Bunyan Meeting Free Church in Bedford. Bunyan is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 30 August. Some other churches of the Anglican Communion, such as
6601-617: The Lord's Day . One Sunday, the Rev'd Christopher Hall, vicar of Elstow, preached a sermon against Sabbath breaking and Bunyan took this sermon to heart. That afternoon, as he was playing tip-cat (a game in which a small piece of wood is hit with a stick) on Elstow village green , he heard a voice from the heavens in his soul "Wilt thou leave thy sins, and go to Heaven? Or have thy sins, and go to Hell?" and thought he could feel Jesus Christ looking down from Heaven rebuking him. The next few years were
John Bunyan - Misplaced Pages Continue
6762-628: The Ranters and Quakers —who at the time were somewhat indistinguishable), and his death in 1688, Bunyan published 42 titles. A further two works, including his Last Sermon, were published the following year by George Larkin. In 1692 Southwark comb-maker Charles Doe, who was a friend of Bunyan's in his later years, brought out, with the collaboration of Bunyan's widow, a collection of the author's works, including 12 previously unpublished titles, mostly sermons. Six years later Doe published The Heavenly Footman and finally in 1765 Relation of My Imprisonment
6923-627: The Treaty of Union . The Parliament of Scotland had previously passed its own Act of Union, so the Kingdom of Great Britain was born on 1 May 1707. In 1801, another Act of Union formed a union between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland , creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1922, about two-thirds of the Irish population (those who lived in 26 of
7084-688: The devolution in the late 1990s of some powers to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales . In policy areas for which the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have responsibility, the UK Parliament votes on laws that consequently only apply to England. Because the Westminster Parliament is composed of MPs from throughout the United Kingdom, this has given rise to
7245-488: The nonconformist group was meeting in St John's church in Bedford under the leadership of former Royalist army officer John Gifford. At the instigation of other members of the congregation Bunyan began to preach, both in the church and to groups of people in the surrounding countryside. In 1656, having by this time moved his family to St Cuthbert's Street in Bedford, he published his first book, Gospel Truths Opened , which
7406-614: The wicket gate ; his fight with Apollyon ; and losing his burden at the foot of the cross of Jesus. The statue was unveiled by Lady Augusta Stanley, wife of the Dean of Westminster , on Wednesday 10 June 1874. In 1876 the Duke of Bedford gave bronze doors by Frederick Thrupp depicting scenes from The Pilgrim's Progress to the John Bunyan Meeting (the former Bedford Meeting which had been renamed in Bunyan's honour, and now houses
7567-410: The " Romano-British "—the descendants of the native Brittonic-speaking population that lived in the area of Britain under Roman rule during the 1st–5th centuries AD. The multi-ethnic nature of the Roman Empire meant that small numbers of other peoples may have also been present in England before the Anglo-Saxons arrived. There is archaeological evidence, for example, of an early North African presence in
7728-416: The " West Lothian question ", a reference to the situation in which MPs representing constituencies outside England can vote on matters affecting only England, but MPs cannot vote on the same matters in relation to the other parts of the UK. Consequently, groups such as the CEP have called for the creation of a devolved English Parliament , claiming that there is now a discriminatory democratic deficit against
7889-552: The 11th century, and there were both English and Danish kings in the period following the unification of England (for example, Æthelred II (978–1013 and 1014–1016) was English but Cnut (1016–1035) was Danish). Gradually, the Danes in England came to be seen as 'English'. They had a noticeable impact on the English language: many English words, such as anger , ball , egg , got , knife , take , and they , are of Old Norse origin , and place names that end in -thwaite and -by are Scandinavian in origin. The English population
8050-404: The 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms in that members were liable for service anywhere in the country, rather than being limited to a single area or garrison . To establish a professional officer corps, the army's leaders were prohibited from having seats in either the House of Lords or House of Commons . This was to encourage their separation from the political or religious factions among
8211-482: The 32 counties of Ireland), left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State . The remainder became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, although this name was not introduced until 1927, after some years in which the term "United Kingdom" had been little used. Throughout the history of the UK, the English have been dominant in population and in political weight. As a consequence, notions of 'Englishness' and 'Britishness' are often very similar. At
SECTION 50
#17327754823188372-406: The Angles, Saxons , and Jutes who settled in Southern Britain following the withdrawal of the Romans , and the partially Romanised Celtic Britons who already lived there. Collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons , they founded what was to become the Kingdom of England by the 10th century, in response to the invasion and extensive settlement of Danes and other Norsemen that began in
8533-442: The Anglican Church of Australia, honour him on the day of his death (31 August). Bunyan is best remembered for The Pilgrim's Progress , a book which gained immediate popularity. By 1692, four years after the author's death, publisher Charles Doe estimated that 100,000 copies had been printed in England, as well as editions "in France, Holland, New England and Welch". By 1938, 250 years after Bunyan's death, more than 1,300 editions of
8694-410: The Anglo-Saxon period on the other. Samples from modern-day Wales were found to be similar to those from the Iron Age and Roman burials, while samples from much of modern England, East Anglia in particular, were closer to the Anglo-Saxon-era burial. This was found to demonstrate a "profound impact" from the Anglo-Saxon migrations on the modern English gene pool, though no specific percentages were given in
8855-450: The Army or send them to fight in Ireland without addressing the issue of back pay. Secondly, the Long Parliament refused to grant the soldiers amnesty from prosecution for any criminal acts they had been ordered to commit in the Civil War. The soldiers demanded indemnity as several soldiers were hanged after the war for crimes such as stealing horses for use by the cavalry regiments. Thirdly, seeing that most Parliamentarians wanted to restore
9016-434: The Army's willingness to contribute to both Parliament's authority and to overthrow the Crown, and to establish a Commonwealth of England from 1649 to 1660, which included a period of direct military rule. The forces raised in 1642 by both Royalists and Parliamentarians were based on part-time militia known as Trained bands . Founded in 1572, these were organised by county , controlled by Lord-lieutenants appointed by
9177-428: The Chief of Sinners where he wrote that his father's house was "of that rank that is meanest and most despised in the country". As a child, Bunyan learned his father's trade of tinker and was given some schooling but it is not known which school he attended. It may have been at Houghton Conquest or Bedford Grammar . In Grace Abounding, Bunyan recorded few details of his upbringing, but he did note how he picked up
9338-451: The Chief of Sinners , a spiritual autobiography, was published in 1666, when he was still in prison. There is a small obelisk and an interpretation board marking his birthplace at Bunyan's End – in a field beside 'Bumpy Lane', which runs northwards from Old Harrowden Road. In 1862 a recumbent statue was created to adorn Bunyan's grave; it was restored in 1922. In 1874, a bronze statue of John Bunyan , sculpted by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm ,
9499-444: The Earl of Essex, Waller's Southern Association and the Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester. It comprised 6,600 cavalry, divided into eleven units of 600 men, 14,400 foot, comprising twelve regiments of 1,200 men, and 1,000 dragoons . Originally each regiment of cavalry had a company of dragoons attached, but at the urging of Fairfax on 1 March they were formed into a separate unit commanded by Colonel John Okey . Although
9660-416: The English language became more important even in the court, and the Normans were gradually assimilated, until, by the 14th century, both rulers and subjects regarded themselves as English and spoke the English language. Despite the assimilation of the Normans, the distinction between 'English' and 'French' people survived in some official documents long after it had fallen out of common use, in particular in
9821-413: The English language; 1,300 editions having been printed by 1938, 250 years after the author's death. Bunyan is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 30 August. Some other churches of the Anglican Communion , such as the Anglican Church of Australia , honour him on the day of his death (31 August). John Bunyan was born in 1628 to Thomas and Margaret Bunyan at Bunyan's End in
SECTION 60
#17327754823189982-578: The English. The establishment of an English parliament has also been backed by a number of Scottish and Welsh nationalists. Writer Paul Johnson has suggested that like most dominant groups, the English have only demonstrated interest in their ethnic self-definition when they were feeling oppressed. John Curtice argues that "In the early years of devolution...there was little sign" of an English backlash against devolution for Scotland and Wales, but that more recently survey data shows tentative signs of "a form of English nationalism...beginning to emerge among
10143-410: The Grandees in the Army. The much-reduced Rump Parliament passed the necessary legislation to try Charles I. He was found guilty of high treason by the 59 Commissioners and beheaded on 30 January 1649. During 1649, there were three mutinies over pay and political demands. The first involved 300 infantrymen of Colonel John Hewson 's regiment, who declared that they would not serve in Ireland until
10304-576: The Iberian Bell Beakers, but appeared to be an offshoot of the Corded Ware single grave people, as developed in Western Europe. It is currently unknown whether these Beaker peoples went on to develop Celtic languages in the British Isles , or whether later Celtic migrations introduced Celtic languages to Britain. The close genetic affinity of these Beaker people to Continental North Europeans means that British and Irish populations cluster genetically very closely with other Northwest European populations, regardless of how much Anglo-Saxon and Viking ancestry
10465-537: The King without major democratic reforms or religious freedom. Two representatives, called Agitators, were elected from each regiment. The Agitators, with two officers from each regiment and the Generals, formed a new body called the Army Council . At a meeting ("rendezvous") held near Newmarket, Suffolk on 4 June 1647 this council issued "A Solemne Engagement of the Army, under the Command of his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax" to Parliament on 8 June making their concerns known. Having come into contact with ideas from
10626-426: The Levellers' programme had been realised. They were cashiered without arrears of pay, which was the threat that had been used to quell the mutiny at the Corkbush Field rendezvous. In the Bishopsgate mutiny , soldiers of the regiment of Colonel Edward Whalley stationed in Bishopsgate , in London, made demands similar to those of Hewson's regiment. They were ordered out of London. Less than two weeks later, there
10787-414: The Lords, the Ordinance came into force on 3 April 1645. Since Cromwell was MP for Cambridge , command of the cavalry was initially given to Colonel Bartholomew Vermuyden , a former officer in the Eastern Association who was of Dutch origin and wanted to return home. Fairfax asked that Cromwell be appointed Lieutenant General of the Horse in place of Vermuyden, making him one of two original exceptions to
10948-455: The Militia and other sources were attached to the regiments of horse and foot as required. This was the case at the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650. The Regiments of Foot consisted of ten companies, in which musketeers and pikemen were mixed, at least on the march. Seven companies consisted of one hundred soldiers, plus officers, specialists and so on, and were commanded by captains. The other three companies were nominally commanded by
11109-455: The New Model Army were sent to Portugal, to support the Portuguese Restoration War and help Portugal regain its independence after many decades of Spanish rule. The British brigade, which numbered 3,000, arrived in Portugal in August 1662 and proved a decisive factor in winning back Portugal's independence, defeating the Spanish in a major engagement at Ameixial on 8 June 1663, and this forced John of Austria to abandon Évora and retreat across
11270-432: The New Model cavalry could charge, break an enemy force, regroup and charge again at another objective. On the other hand, when required to pursue, they did so relentlessly, not breaking ranks to loot abandoned enemy baggage as Royalist horse often did. The New Model Army contained one regiment of dragoons of twelve companies, each of one hundred men, under Colonel John Okey . Dragoons were mounted infantry, and wore much
11431-491: The Norman-French name Buignon. There had been Bunyans in Bedfordshire since at least 1199. Bunyan's father was a brazier or tinker who travelled around the area mending pots and pans, and his grandfather Thomas served as a member of the Elstow Manor court and was a chapman (or small trader). Thomas Bunyan had, until his later years, owned land and properties in Elstow, so Bunyan's origins were not quite as humble as one might assume from his autobiographical work Grace Abounding to
11592-526: The Parliamentarian army in Ireland between 1649 and 1653, in addition to some 9,000 Irish Protestants. The Army generally performed well when storming fortifications, for example at the siege of Drogheda , but paid a heavy price at Clonmel when Cromwell ordered them to attack a well-defended breach. In 1650, while the campaign in Ireland was still continuing, part of the New Model Army was transferred to Scotland to fight Scottish Covenanters at
11753-557: The Parliamentarians. The New Model Army was raised partly from among veteran soldiers who already had deeply held Puritan religious beliefs, and partly from conscripts who brought with them many commonly held beliefs about religion or society. Many of its common soldiers therefore held dissenting or radical views unique among English armies. Although the Army's senior officers did not share many of their soldiers' political opinions, their independence from Parliament led to
11914-591: The Royalists at the Battle of Worcester , the last pitched battle of the English Civil Wars. In England, the New Model Army was involved in numerous skirmishes with a range of opponents, but these were little more than policing actions. The largest rebellion of the Protectorate took place when the Sealed Knot instigated an insurrection in 1655. The major foreign entanglement of this period
12075-712: The Self-denying Ordinance, the other being Sir William Brereton , commander in Cheshire . They were allowed to serve under a series of three-month temporary commissions that were continually extended. Other Parliamentarian forces were consolidated into two regional armies, the Northern Association under Sydnam Poyntz and Western Association under Edward Massey . Parliament authorised an Army of 22,000 soldiers, most of whom came from three existing Parliamentarian armies; that commanded by
12236-619: The UK generally, as immigration from the British Empire and the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations was encouraged due to labour shortages during post World War II rebuilding. However, these groups are often still considered to be ethnic minorities and research has shown that black and Asian people in the UK are more likely to identify as British rather than with one of the state's four constituent nations, including England. A nationally representative survey published in June 2021 found that
12397-525: The UK, it is also "problematic for the English [...] when it comes to conceiving of their national identity. It tells of the difficulty that most English people have of distinguishing themselves, in a collective way, from the other inhabitants of the British Isles". In 1965, the historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote, When the Oxford History of England was launched a generation ago, "England"
12558-415: The UK. In his study of English identity, Krishan Kumar describes a common slip of the tongue in which people say "English, I mean British". He notes that this slip is normally made only by the English themselves and by foreigners: "Non-English members of the United Kingdom rarely say 'British' when they mean 'English ' ". Kumar suggests that although this blurring is a sign of England's dominant position with
12719-543: The United Kingdom . The majority of people living in England are British citizens. In the Acts of Union 1707 , the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged to become the Kingdom of Great Britain . Over the years, English customs and identity have become fairly closely aligned with British customs and identity in general. The demonyms for men and women from England are Englishman and Englishwoman. England itself has no devolved government. The 1990s witnessed
12880-537: The United Kingdom. Wales was annexed by England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 , which incorporated Wales into the English state. A new British identity was subsequently developed when James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well, and expressed the desire to be known as the monarch of Britain. In 1707, England formed a union with Scotland by passing an Act of Union in March 1707 that ratified
13041-597: The United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. In the 2020 United States census , English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.5 million Americans self-identifying as having some English origins (many combined with another heritage) representing (19.8%) of the White American population. This includes 25.5 million (12.5%) who were "English alone" - one origin. However, demographers regard this as an undercount, as
13202-465: The actual charging powder, for 3 lbs of lead. They were normally deployed six ranks deep, and were supposed to keep up a constant fire by means of the countermarch —either by introduction whereby the rear rank filed to the front to fire a volley, or by retroduction where the front rank fired a volley then filed to the rear. By the time that they reached the front rank again, they should have reloaded and been prepared to fire. At close quarters, there
13363-422: The administration of the Army was more centralised, with improved provision of adequate food, clothing and other supplies. At the same time, recruits were also supposed to be motivated by religious fervour, as demonstrated in the "Soldier's catechism", written by Robert Ram . On 9 June 1645, Sir Samuel Luke , one of the officers discharged, wrote the Army was "the bravest for bodies of men, horse and arms so far as
13524-583: The age of sixteen, joined the Parliamentary Army at Newport Pagnell during the first stage of the English Civil War . After three years in the army, he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker , which he had learned from his father. He became interested in religion after his marriage, attending first the parish church and then joining the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist group in St John's church Bedford, and later became
13685-1069: The army marched slowly towards London over the next few months. In late October and early November at the Putney Debates , the Army debated two different proposals. The first was the Agreement of the People ; the other was the Heads of Proposals , put forward by Henry Ireton for the Army Council. The army remained under control and intact, so it was able to take the field when the Second English Civil War broke out in July 1648. The New Model Army routed English royalist insurrections in Surrey and Kent , and in Wales , before crushing
13846-481: The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and their relationship with the Romano-British is a matter of debate. The traditional view is that a mass invasion by various Anglo-Saxon tribes largely displaced the indigenous British population in southern and eastern Britain (modern-day England with the exception of Cornwall ). This is supported by the writings of Gildas , who gives the only contemporary historical account of
14007-417: The battlefield, a regiment was normally formed as two "divisions" of three troops, one commanded by the regiment's colonel (or the major, if the colonel was not present), the other by the lieutenant colonel. Their discipline was markedly superior to that of their Royalist counterparts. Cromwell specifically forbade his men to gallop after a fleeing enemy, but demanded they hold the battlefield. This meant that
14168-482: The biblical references and editorial footnotes present in Offor's collection. Among Bunyan's many works were the following: The Works of John Bunyan , edited by George Offor: Biographies of John Bunyan: Illustrations: English people Modern ethnicities The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England , who speak the English language , a West Germanic language, and share
14329-417: The book had been printed. During the 18th century Bunyan's unpolished style fell out of favour, but his popularity returned with Romanticism . Many critics deem a turning point in Bunyan scholarship to be when poet Robert Southey wrote a lengthy appreciative biography in 1830 to accompany an edition of The Pilgrim's Progress . Bunyan's reputation was further enhanced by the evangelical revival and he became
14490-574: The cases of eastern regions such as East Anglia and Lincolnshire, while in parts of Northumbria, much of the native population likely remained in place as the incomers took over as elites. In a study of place names in northeastern England and southern Scotland, Bethany Fox found that the migrants settled in large numbers in river valleys, such as those of the Tyne and the Tweed, with the Britons moving to
14651-505: The cavalry regiments were already up to strength, the infantry was severely understrength and in May 1645 was still 4,000 men below the approved level. By creating fewer but larger regiments, the re-organisation greatly reduced the requirement for officers and senior NCOs . Fairfax had more than double the number of officers available for his 200 vacancies and those deemed surplus to requirements were either discharged or persuaded to re-enlist at
14812-585: The church "for fear the steeple should fall upon my head." During this time Bunyan, whilst on his travels as a tinker , happened to be in Bedford when he passed a group of women on a doorstep, talking about spiritual matters. The women were some of the founding members of the Bedford Free Church (or Bedford Meeting) and Bunyan, who had been attending the parish church of Elstow, was so impressed by their talk that he joined their church. At that time
14973-472: The collar and ends of the sleeves, and generally matched the colours of the regimental and company standards. In time, they became the official " Facing colour ". On some occasions, regiments were referred to, for example, as the "blue" regiment or the "white" regiment from these colours, though in formal correspondence they were referred to by the name of their colonel. Each company had its own standard, 6 feet (180 cm) square. The colonel's company's standard
15134-399: The common soldiers as ever I saw in my life". However, he later complained many soldiers were drunk and their officers were often indistinguishable from enlisted men. The extent to which the Army can be seen as a hotbed of religious and political radicalism is disputed, particularly since many of those now viewed as radicals, like Thomas Horton or Thomas Pride , were not considered such at
15295-472: The complex nature of national identities, with many people considering themselves both English and British. A 2017 survey by YouGov found that 38% of English voters considered themselves both English and British, alongside 19% who felt English but not British. Recent surveys of public opinion on the establishment of an English parliament have given widely varying conclusions. In the first five years of devolution for Scotland and Wales, support in England for
15456-687: The conduct of certain senior commanders; in July 1644, a Parliamentarian force under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell secured control of Northern England by victory at Marston Moor . However, this was offset first by defeat at Lostwithiel in September, then lack of decisiveness at the Second Battle of Newbury in October. The two commanders involved, Essex and Manchester , were accused by many in Parliament of lacking commitment,
15617-605: The context of Indo-European migrations 5,000 years ago. Recent genetic studies have suggested that Britain's Neolithic population was largely replaced by a population from North Continental Europe characterised by the Bell Beaker culture around 2400 BC, associated with the Yamnaya people from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe . This population lacked genetic affinity to some other Bell Beaker populations, such as
15778-619: The death of King Stephen in 1154, when the succession passed to Henry II , House of Plantagenet (based in France), and England became part of the Angevin Empire until its collapse in 1214. Anglo-Norman and Latin continued to be the two languages used officially by the Plantagenet kings until Edward I came to the throne, when Middle English became used in official documents, but alongside Anglo-Norman and Latin. Over time
15939-564: The earliest use of the phrase "New Model Army" to the works of the Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle in 1845, and the exact term does not appear in 17th- or 18th-century documents. Records from February 1646 refer to the "New Modelled Army"—the idiom of the time being to refer to an army that was "new-modelled" rather than appending the word "army" to "new model". The order of battle was as follows: The New Model Army's elite troops were its Regiments of Horse . They were armed and equipped in
16100-511: The end of the Civil War, although it is not certain that none had iron helmets at the beginning. They wore a bandolier from which were suspended twelve wooden containers, each with a ball and measured charge of powder for their matchlock muskets. These containers are sometimes referred to as the "Twelve Apostles". According to one source, they carried 1 lb of fine powder, for priming, to 2 lbs of lead and 2 lbs of ordinary powder,
16261-765: The establishment of a centralised, professional force. On 30 January 1645, committeemen of the Eastern Association discussed their concerns at the Bury Conference at Bury St Edmunds . On 17 February 1645, the New Model Army Ordinance became law, with Fairfax being appointed Captain General, or commander in chief, and Philip Skippon being appointed Major General of the Foot. The review coincided with increasing dissatisfaction as to
16422-613: The establishment of an English parliament was low at between 16 and 19%, according to successive British Social Attitudes Surveys . A report, also based on the British Social Attitudes Survey, published in December 2010 suggests that only 29% of people in England support the establishment of an English parliament, though this figure had risen from 17% in 2007. One 2007 poll carried out for BBC Newsnight , however, found that 61 per cent would support such
16583-416: The ethnic identities of British people with their perceived national identity . They found that while 58% of white people in England described their nationality as "English", non-white people were more likely to describe themselves as "British". It is unclear how many British people consider themselves English. The words "English" and "British" are often incorrectly used interchangeably, especially outside
16744-449: The exact date of his marriage are not known, but Bunyan did recall that his wife, a pious young woman, brought with her into the marriage two books that she had inherited from her father: Arthur Dent 's Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven and Lewis Bayly 's Practice of Piety . He also recalled that, apart from these two books, the newly-weds possessed little: "not having so much household-stuff as
16905-463: The first stage of the English Civil War . A muster roll for the garrison of Newport Pagnell shows him as private "John Bunnian". In Grace Abounding , he recounted an incident from this time, as evidence of the grace of God: When I was a Souldier, I, with others, were drawn out to go to such a place to besiege it; But when I was just ready to go, one of the company desired to go in my room, to which, when I had consented, he took my place; and coming to
17066-449: The general public". Michael Kenny, Richard English and Richard Hayton, meanwhile, argue that the resurgence in English nationalism predates devolution, being observable in the early 1990s, but that this resurgence does not necessarily have negative implications for the perception of the UK as a political union. Others question whether devolution has led to a rise in English national identity at all, arguing that survey data fails to portray
17227-503: The great disturbance and distraction of the good subjects of this kingdom". He was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with transportation to follow if at the end of this time he did not agree to attend the parish church and desist from preaching. As Bunyan refused to agree to give up preaching, his period of imprisonment eventually extended to 12 years and brought great hardship to his family. Elizabeth, who made strenuous attempts to obtain his release, had been pregnant when her husband
17388-517: The habit of swearing (from his father), suffered from nightmares, and read the popular stories of the day in cheap chap-books . In the summer of 1644 Bunyan lost both his mother and his sister Margaret. That autumn, shortly before or after his sixteenth birthday, Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary army when an edict demanded 225 recruits from the town of Bedford. There are few details available about his military service, which took place during
17549-560: The head of his Wife and Children; yet thought I, I must do it, I must do it". Bunyan spent his 12 years' imprisonment in Bedford County Gaol, which stood on the corner of the High Street and Silver Street. There were, however, occasions when he was allowed out of prison, depending on the gaolers and the mood of the authorities at the time, and he was able to attend the Bedford Meeting and even to preach. His daughter Sarah
17710-515: The index of inconsistency is high, and many, if not most, people from English stock have a tendency (since the introduction of a new 'American' category and ignoring the ancestry question in the 2000 census) to identify as simply Americans or if of mixed European ancestry, identify with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. Prior to this, in the 2000 census , 24,509,692 Americans described their ancestry as wholly or partly English. In addition, 1,035,133 recorded British ancestry. This
17871-501: The king (although this was not the case with Bunyan's meetings). The Act of Uniformity , which made it compulsory for preachers to be ordained by an Anglican bishop and for the revised Book of Common Prayer to be used in church services, was still two years away, and the Act of Conventicles , which made it illegal to hold religious meetings of five or more people outside the Church of England
18032-628: The king, and constituted the only permanent military force in the country. The muster roll of February 1638 shows wide variations in size, equipment and training; the largest and best trained were based in London with 8,000, later increased to 20,000. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, many of the largest militia were based in Parliamentarian areas like London, while Royalist counties like Shropshire or Glamorgan had fewer than 500 men. The weakness of this system
18193-479: The late 9th century. This was followed by the Norman Conquest and limited settlement of Normans in England in the late 11th century and a sizeable number of French Protestants who emigrated between the 16th and 18th centuries. Some definitions of English people include, while others exclude, people descended from later migration into England. England is the largest and most populous country of
18354-400: The legal process Presentment of Englishry (a rule by which a hundred had to prove an unidentified murdered body found on their soil to be that of an Englishman, rather than a Norman, if they wanted to avoid a fine). This law was abolished in 1340. Since the 18th century, England has been one part of a wider political entity covering all or part of the British Isles, which today is called
18515-544: The less fertile hill country and becoming acculturated over a longer period. Fox describes the process by which English came to dominate this region as "a synthesis of mass-migration and elite-takeover models." From about 800 AD, waves of Danish Viking assaults on the coastlines of the British Isles were gradually followed by a succession of Danish settlers in England. At first, the Vikings were very much considered
18676-432: The men accustomed to marching with heavy loads by regular route marches. In irregular fighting in Ireland, the New Model temporarily gave up the pike. In battle, the pikemen were supposed to project a solid front of spearheads, to protect the musketeers from cavalry while they reloaded. They also led the infantry advance against enemy foot units, when things came to push of pike . The musketeers wore no armour, at least by
18837-622: The new French-speaking Norman elite almost universally replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and church leaders. After the conquest, "English" normally included all natives of England, whether they were of Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian or Celtic ancestry, to distinguish them from the Norman invaders, who were regarded as "Norman" even if born in England, for a generation or two after the Conquest. The Norman dynasty ruled England for 87 years until
18998-432: The other commanders of the Army were not trained in siege warfare and generally tried to take fortified towns by storm rather than go through the complex and time-consuming process of building earthworks and trenches around it so that batteries of cannon could be brought close to the walls to pound it into surrender. The Army generally performed well when storming fortifications, for example at the siege of Drogheda , but paid
19159-562: The parish of Elstow , Bedfordshire . Bunyan's End is about halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford ) and Elstow High Street. Bunyan's exact date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 30 November 1628, the baptismal entry in the parish register reading "John the sonne of Thomas Bunnion Jun., the 30 November". The name Bunyan was spelt in many ways (there are 34 variants in Bedfordshire Record Office) and probably had its origins in
19320-413: The period, and describes the slaughter and starvation of native Britons by invading tribes ( aduentus Saxonum ). Furthermore, the English language contains no more than a handful of words borrowed from Brittonic sources. This view was later re-evaluated by some archaeologists and historians, with a more small-scale migration being posited, possibly based around an elite of male warriors that took over
19481-678: The population of Northern Ireland and 20% of the Welsh population were born in England. Similarly, the census of the Republic of Ireland does not collect information on ethnicity, but it does record that there are over 200,000 people living in Ireland who were born in England and Wales . English ethnic descent and emigrant communities are found primarily in the Western world , and settled in significant numbers in some areas. Substantial populations descended from English colonists and immigrants exist in
19642-459: The proportion of people who consider being white to be a necessary component of Englishness has declined over time. The 1990s witnessed a resurgence of English national identity. Survey data shows a rise in the number of people in England describing their national identity as English and a fall in the number describing themselves as British. Today, black and minority ethnic people of England still generally identify as British rather than English to
19803-599: The radical movement called the Levellers , the troops of the Army proposed a revolutionary new constitution named the Agreement of the People , which called for almost universal male suffrage, electoral boundary reform, power to rest with a Parliament elected by the people every two years, religious freedom, and an end to imprisonment for debt. Increasingly concerned at the failure to pay their wages and by political manoeuvrings by King Charles I and by some in Parliament,
19964-522: The radicals: they would have to execute him. After the Long Parliament rejected the Army's Remonstrance by 125 to 58, the Grandees decided to reconstitute Parliament so that it would agree with the Army's position. On 6 December 1648, Colonel Thomas Pride instituted Pride's Purge and forcibly removed from the House of Commons all those who were not supporters of the religious independents and
20125-416: The regiment's colonel, lieutenant colonel and major, and were stronger (200, 160 and 140 ordinary soldiers respectively). The regiments of foot were provided with red coats . Red was chosen because uniforms were purchased competitively from the lowest bidder, and Venetian red was the least expensive dye. Those used by the various regiments were distinguished by differently coloured linings, which showed at
20286-558: The riots led by Thomas Venner in 1661, which were quelled with the aid of soldiers from Monck's Regiment of Foot and the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the New Model Army was ordered disbanded, with the large arrears of pay financed by a poll tax . Monck's Regiment of Foot, upon the end of the New Model Army, was incorporated into the army of Charles II as the Coldstream Guards . Some of the demobilized soldiers and officers of
20447-509: The rule of the country and gradually acculturated the people living there. Within this theory, two processes leading to Anglo-Saxonisation have been proposed. One is similar to culture changes observed in Russia, North Africa and parts of the Islamic world, where a politically and socially powerful minority culture becomes, over a rather short period, adopted by a settled majority. This process
20608-489: The same time, after the Union of 1707, the English, along with the other peoples of the British Isles, have been encouraged to think of themselves as British rather than to identify themselves with the constituent nations. England has been the destination of varied numbers of migrants at different periods from the 17th century onwards. While some members of these groups seek to practise a form of pluralism, attempting to maintain
20769-495: The same uniform as musketeers although they probably wore stout cloth gaiters to protect the legs while they rode. They were armed with flintlock " snaphaunces ". On the battlefield, their major function was to clear enemy musketeers from in front of their main position. At the Battle of Naseby , they were used to outflank enemy cavalry. In 1650, Okey's dragoons were converted into a regiment of horse. It appears that after that date, unregimented companies of dragoons raised from
20930-616: The siege, as he stood Sentinel, he was shot into the head with a Musket bullet and died. Bunyan's army service provided him with a knowledge of military language which he then used in his book The Holy War , and also exposed him to the ideas of the various religious sects and radical groups he came across in Newport Pagnell . The garrison town also gave him opportunities to indulge in the sort of behaviour he would later confess to in Grace Abounding : "So that until I came to
21091-576: The start of the Third English Civil War . The Covenanters, who had been allied to the Parliament in the First English Civil War, had now crowned Charles II as King. Despite being outnumbered, Cromwell led the Army to crushing victories over the Scots at the battles of Dunbar and Inverkeithing . Following the Scottish invasion of England led by Charles II, the New Model Army and local militia forces soundly defeated
21252-555: The state of Marriage, I was the very ringleader of all the Youth that kept me company, in all manner of vice and ungodliness". Bunyan spent nearly three years in the army, leaving in 1647 to return to Elstow and his trade as a tinker. His father had remarried and had more children and Bunyan moved from Bunyan's End to a cottage in Elstow High Street. Within two years of leaving the army, Bunyan married. The name of his wife and
21413-854: The strait gate being a version of the wicket gate at Elstow Abbey church; the Slough of Despond is a reflection of Squitch Fen, a wet and mossy area near his cottage in Harrowden; the Delectable Mountains are an image of the Chiltern Hills surrounding Bedfordshire. Even his characters, like the Evangelist as influenced by John Gifford, are reflections of real people. Further allegorical works were to follow: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), The Holy War (1682), and Pilgrim's Progress Part II (1684). Grace Abounding to
21574-567: The study. A third study combined the ancient data from both of the preceding studies and compared it to a large number of modern samples from across Britain and Ireland. This study found that modern southern, central and eastern English populations were of "a predominantly Anglo-Saxon-like ancestry" while those from northern and southwestern England had a greater degree of indigenous origin. A major 2020 study, which used DNA from Viking-era burials in various regions across Europe, found that modern English samples showed nearly equal contributions from
21735-514: The style known at the time as harquebusiers , rather than as heavily armoured cuirassiers . They wore a back-and-front breastplate over a buff leather coat , which itself gave some protection against sword cuts, and normally a lobster-tailed pot helmet with a movable three-barred visor. Regiments were organised into six troops, of one hundred troopers plus officers, non-commissioned officers and specialists ( drummers , farriers etc.). Each troop had its own standard, 2 feet (61 cm) square. On
21896-605: The surviving Britons in areas of predominantly Anglo-Saxon settlement, either archaeologically or linguistically, is still one of the deepest problems of early English history." An emerging view is that the degree of population replacement by the Anglo-Saxons, and thus the degree of survival of the Romano-Britons, varied across England, and that as such the overall settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons cannot be described by any one process in particular. Large-scale migration and population shift seems to be most applicable in
22057-483: The time. It is generally agreed that Fairfax, himself a moderate Presbyterian, sought to achieve a balance, while Essex and Manchester tried to remove those they viewed as unsuitable. What is debated is whether they did so for military reasons, favouring the retention of established officer cadres, or to eliminate personal enemies and those considered too radical. Ultimately they failed and Fairfax successfully achieved his objective. The Oxford English Dictionary dated
22218-606: The town's defenders skilfully beat back numerous Parliamentarian assaults before being forced to surrender. Shortly afterwards, about 2,000 soldiers of the New Model died in abortive assaults against a breach defended by veteran Ulstermen in the siege of Clonmel . These bloody scenes were repeated during the siege of Charlemont Fort later that year. The Army was also constantly at risk of attack by Irish guerrillas called tóraithe ("tories" in English), literally meaning "pursuer". Overall, around 43,000 English soldiers fought in
22379-408: The troops carried with them seven days' rations, consisting exclusively of biscuit and cheese. The Army took the field in late April or May, 1645. After an attempt to raise the siege of Taunton was abandoned, the Army began a siege of Oxford , sending a detachment of one regiment of cavalry and four of infantry to reinforce the defenders of Taunton. After the Royalists captured Leicester , Fairfax
22540-583: The west and south of England. The last fortress in the west surrendered in early 1646, shortly before Charles surrendered himself to a Scottish army and hostilities ended. Having won the First Civil War , the soldiers became discontented with the Long Parliament , for several reasons. Firstly, they had not been paid regularly – pay was weeks in arrears – and on the end of hostilities, the conservative MPs in Parliament wanted to either disband
22701-433: The whole satisfied with current constitutional arrangements". From the earliest times, English people have left England to settle in other parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is impossible to identify their numbers, as British censuses have historically not invited respondents to identify themselves as English. However, the census does record place of birth, revealing that 8.1% of Scotland's population, 3.7% of
22862-530: Was a larger mutiny involving several regiments over pay and political demands. After the resolution of the pay issue, the Banbury mutineers , consisting of 400 soldiers with Leveller sympathies under the command of Captain William Thompson , continued to negotiate for their political demands. They set out for Salisbury in the hope of rallying support from the regiments billeted there. Cromwell launched
23023-547: Was a numerical decrease from the census in 1990 where 32,651,788 people or 13.1% of the population self-identified with English ancestry. Parliamentary army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War , then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in
23184-420: Was again imprisoned – this time only for six months. During that time, he completed The Pilgrim's Progress. Bunyan's later years were spent in relative comfort and he continued to be a popular author and preacher, and was the pastor of the Bedford Meeting. He died aged 59 after falling ill on a journey to London and is buried in Bunhill Fields . The Pilgrim's Progress became one of the most published books in
23345-419: Was arrested and she subsequently gave birth prematurely to a still-born child. Left to bring up four step-children, one of whom was blind, she had to rely on the charity of Bunyan's fellow members of the Bedford Meeting and other supporters and on what little her husband could earn in gaol by making shoelaces. But Bunyan remained resolute: "O I saw in this condition I was a man who was pulling down his house upon
23506-472: Was born during his imprisonment (the other child of his second marriage, Joseph, was born after his release in 1672). In prison, Bunyan had a copy of the Bible and of John Foxe 's Book of Martyrs , as well as writing materials. He also had at times the company of other preachers who had been imprisoned. It was in Bedford Gaol that he wrote Grace Abounding and started work on The Pilgrim's Progress , as well as penning several tracts that may have brought him
23667-417: Was erected in Bedford . This stands at the south-western corner of St Peter's Green, facing Bedford 's High Street. The site was chosen by Boehm for its significance as a crossroads. Bunyan is depicted expounding the Bible, to an invisible congregation, with a broken fetter representing his imprisonment by his left foot. There are three scenes from "The Pilgrim's Progress" on the stone plinth: Christian at
23828-488: Was for the most part a politically unified entity, and remained permanently so after 954. The nation of England was formed in 12 July 927 by Æthelstan of Wessex after the Treaty of Eamont Bridge , as Wessex grew from a relatively small kingdom in the South West to become the founder of the Kingdom of the English, incorporating all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Danelaw. The Norman conquest of England during 1066 brought Anglo-Saxon and Danish rule of England to an end, as
23989-527: Was freed in May 1672 and immediately obtained a licence to preach under the declaration of indulgence. Following his release from prison in 1672 Bunyan probably did not return to his former occupation of a tinker. Instead, he devoted his time to writing and preaching. He continued as pastor of the Bedford Meeting and traveled over Bedfordshire and adjoining counties on horseback to preach, becoming known affectionately as "Bishop Bunyan". His preaching also took him to London, where Lord Mayor Sir John Shorter became
24150-473: Was inspired by a dispute with Ranters and Quakers . In 1658 Bunyan's wife died, leaving him with four young children, one of them being blind. A year later he married an eighteen-year-old woman named Elizabeth. The religious tolerance which had allowed Bunyan the freedom to preach became curtailed with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The members of the Bedford Meeting were no longer able to meet in St John's church, which they had been sharing with
24311-433: Was interpreted as reflecting the legacy of French migration under the Normans. A landmark 2022 study titled "The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool", found the English to be of plurality Anglo-Saxon-like ancestry, with heavy native Celtic Briton , and newly confirmed medieval French admixture. Significant regional variation was also observed. The first people to be called "English" were
24472-681: Was introduced during the 1st millennium. The influence of later invasions and migrations on the English population has been debated, as studies that sampled only modern DNA have produced uncertain results and have thus been subject to a large variety of interpretations. More recently, however, ancient DNA has been used to provide a clearer picture of the genetic effects of these movements of people. One 2016 study, using Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon era DNA found at grave sites in Cambridgeshire, calculated that ten modern day eastern English samples had 38% Anglo-Saxon ancestry on average, while ten Welsh and Scottish samples each had 30% Anglo-Saxon ancestry, with
24633-443: Was not passed until 1664. The trial of Bunyan took place in January 1661 at the quarter sessions in Bedford, before a group of magistrates under John Kelynge , who would later help to draw up the Act of Uniformity. Bunyan, who had been held in prison since his arrest, was indicted of having "devilishly and perniciousy abstained from coming to church to hear divine service" and having held "several unlawful meetings and conventicles, to
24794-405: Was not politically unified until the 10th century. Before then, there were a number of petty kingdoms which gradually coalesced into a heptarchy of seven states, the most powerful of which were Mercia and Wessex . The English nation state began to form when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms united against Danish Viking invasions, which began around 800 AD. Over the following century and a half England
24955-426: Was often no time for musketeers to reload, and they used their musket butts as clubs. They carried swords , but these were often of inferior quality, and ruined by use for cutting firewood. The establishment of the New Model Army's artillery varied over time, and the artillery was administered separately from the Horse and Foot. At the Army's formation, Thomas Hammond (brother of Colonel Robert Hammond who commanded
25116-413: Was ordered to leave Oxford and march north to confront the King's army. On 14 June, the New Model destroyed King Charles' smaller but veteran army at the Battle of Naseby . Leaving the Scots and locally raised forces to contain the King, Fairfax marched into the West Country , where they destroyed the remaining Royalist field army at Langport on 10 July. Thereafter, they reduced the Royalist fortresses in
25277-455: Was plain, the lieutenant colonel's had a cross of Saint George in the upper corner nearest the staff, the major's had a "flame" issuing from the cross, and the captains' standards had increasing numbers of heraldic decorations, such as roundels or crosses to indicate their seniority. The New Model Army always had two musketeers for each pikeman, though depictions of battles show them present in equal numbers. Pikemen, when fully equipped, wore
25438-406: Was published, giving a total of 58 published titles. Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress , was completed during his second period of imprisonment but was not published until 1678. It was an immediate success, made Bunyan's name as an author and remains the book for which Bunyan is best remembered. The images Bunyan used in The Pilgrim's Progress are reflections of images from his own world:
25599-407: Was still an all-embracing word. It meant indiscriminately England and Wales; Great Britain; the United Kingdom; and even the British Empire. Foreigners used it as the name of a Great Power and indeed continue to do so. Bonar Law , by origin a Scotch Canadian , was not ashamed to describe himself as "Prime Minister of England" [...] Now terms have become more rigorous. The use of "England" except for
25760-427: Was the Anglo-Spanish War . In 1654, the English Commonwealth declared war on Spain, and regiments of the New Model Army were sent to conquer the Spanish colony of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. They failed in the conflict and sustained heavy casualties from tropical disease. They took over the lightly defended island of Jamaica . The English troops performed better in the European theatre of the war in Flanders . During
25921-456: Was the reluctance of locally raised troops to serve outside their "home" areas, a problem for both sides during the war. On 19 November 1644, the Parliamentarian Eastern Association announced that they could no longer meet the cost of maintaining their forces, which then comprised about half the field force available to Parliament. In response, the Committee of Both Kingdoms conducted a wide-ranging review of further military needs and recommended
#317682