Lots of theories as to the cause of the English Revolution, but according to the judge Timothy Turner (1585-1677) it was all the fault of Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), who had convinced James I that the royal prerogative was 'transcendent' to the common law. Quite a few people at the time were prepared to accept the mid-century breakdown had origins in constitutional legal conflicts, notwithstanding those today who prefer to see it as largely religious.

Edward Dering is one of the most interesting figures to follow in the early months of the Long Parliament. He's a reformist at first, supporting the Strafford trial and 'root and branch' (albeit in a slightly lukewarm manner'), but by the end of the year he's a royalist. He famously moves away from the Junto around the time of the Grand Remonstrance, saying he 'did not dream that we would remonstrate downwards, tell stories to the People, and speak of the King as a third person'.

Roses are red,
I’m keen for enloverment.
Once you’ve accepted
The Instrument of Government. Roses are red
The Sin of Achan is a vice.
I can only accept,
The Additional Petition and Advice

Happy Christmas everyone! Now, while many folk will be enjoying turkey this holiday season, for historians the traditional festive dish is beef, served HOT. So, to help us all survive the annual Beef Season, here’s a game we can play. Points every time you see one of the following:

Seeing as we’re all discussing economic history, let me tell you all about the transition from feudalism to capitalism. It’s a helluva ride, I’ll tell ya. In the 17th century, everyone lived under the yoke of feudalism. Men were all called Henry, women were called Widow. You were married to three of your cousins.

The thing is, Mark Rylance, is that no-one who had *any* knowledge of 16th/17th century England could think a hereditary earl was more capable of writing Shakespeare's plays than a middling sort townsman. The literature on the vibrancy of middling sort culture in the period is so vast that it would take wilful ignorance, and snobbishness of quite stunning proportions, to think this way.

Historical generals pointing out the toilets: a short thread. Keppel is concerned that the toilets are quite some distance away and you look like you might be desperate.

Well since Jo Johnson has decided to ruin Boxing Day, let’s have a little think about this article in the Times. There's ultimately two substantive points here: Johnson believes that universities need to be forced to protect 'freedom of speech', and a group of Oxford academics has recently been involved in an attack on it.

So there’s a Daily Mail hatchet job on a number of my colleagues today. I don’t know everyone in it, but I know a few of them, and here’s some of the things they didn’t mention. Joanna Innes is a leading expert on eighteenth century social policy. She’s been an inspiration to everyone working in that field (myself included).