A RABBLE OF GENTILITY: The Royalist Northern Horse, 1644-45

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General George Monck once described the Royalist horse as 'a rabble of gentility.' Modern research has largely dispelled this image of the King's cavalry. However the description seems at first sight appropriate to the body of cavalry known as the Northern Horse.

Formed from those elements of the Marquis of Newcastle's Northern Royalist Army which elected to continue to fight after the crushing defeat at Marston Moor (2 July 1644) during the next 15 months the Northern Horse swept across much of England and Wales, becoming increasingly notorious in the process.

United and reorganized by their commander, the formidable Sir Marmaduke Langdale, the Northern Horse, whilst professing loyalty to the King, increasingly followed their own agenda, of renewing the war in the North, sometimes at the expense of the wider Royalist cause.

This book looks at the origins and composition of the Northern Horse, the characteristics of its officers and men, their motivation and behavior, and their impact on those they encountered. It examines their checkered fighting record, a subject of debate even among contemporaries. It will deal with their victories, notably their epic relief of Pontefract in March 1645, and there controversial role at such encounters as Naseby and Rowton Heath.

Includes 8 pages of color illustrations and 30 b/w illustrations and maps.