Guest blog: The 17th Century Military Revolution on the Celtic Fringe (Charles Singleton, author)

Montrose’s Irish Brigade at the Battle of Aberdeen, 13 September 1644. Divisions of pike and musket deploy into firing lines to fight with the centre of the Covenanter Army at Aberdeen. Painting by Peter Dennis © Helion & Company Limited.

The significance of the role played by the Earl of Montrose (see previous interactive map) in upholding the Royalist cause in Scotland has been much discussed, though less has been written about the influence of the military tactics and technology Montrose was exposed to as a veteran of fighting in the Thirty Years War. Less still has been investigated about the impact of continental war-fighting techniques on Irish troops who fought aboard before returning to the domestic theatres of the 1640s and 50s.

In the guest article below, author Charles Singleton introduces both of these topics, explored in detail in his new book Famous by my Sword: The Army of Montrose and the Military Revolution, and suggests how they helped contribute to a 'Military Revolution' of the 17th century ...

Repair work to begin at Newark Castle

Newark Castle. Photo: David Ingham (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Newark Castle, partially destroyed by the siege of 1645-6 - the third and final siege of the English Civil War - is undergoing a structured series of repair works.

The recommendations were made after two areas of the castle grounds were fenced off to the public due to risk of falling masonry ...

York skeletons confirmed as English Civil War dead

Google map of the excavation site on the junction of Fawcett Street/Kent Street, York, prior to re-development. View larger map
113 skeletons found in York have been proven to be from the English Civil War siege of 1644.

Scientists from BBC History Cold Case conducted a series of tests on the bones, which were found at the junction of Fishergate and Kent Street after a routine rescue excavation in 2007-8 ...