John Lambert, Parliamentary Soldier and Cromwellian Major-General, 1619-1684

by David Farr

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Book cover for John Lambert, Parliamentary Soldier and Cromwellian Major-General, 1619-1684

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A biography of one of the most prominent soldiers in the New Model Army, who made Cromwell Lord Protector but stopped him becoming king.

John Lambert's life and career have long deserved this revealing study. The man who made Cromwell Lord Protector in 1653 also stopped him becoming king in 1657; and Lambert was the originator of the Instrument of Government, on which Cromwell's Protectorate was based. Committed to his deeply held, radical beliefs, Lambert first rose to prominence as a dashing cavalry commander in the civil wars of 1642 - 51, and he was a prominent upholder of the power ofthe New Model Army, particularly in his creation of the Major Generals, who ruled England in 1655. Lambert's refusal to countenance Cromwell as king saw his temporary fall from power, but he emerged after the Protector's death asa possible successor. His radical ideas seemed to threaten even 'his own side', and led to his imprisonment in the Tower in 1660, but he escaped and staged a last desperate republican stand against the return of Charles II. Although Lambert was subsequently convicted of treason, Charles did not have him executed - sure recognition that his character, private actions and beliefs were those of a man who was much more than a military revolutionary.
DAVID FARR is head of history at Norwich School.
  • ISBN10 1843830043
  • ISBN13 9781843830047
  • Publish Date 31 August 2003
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
  • Imprint The Boydell Press
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 278
  • Language English