Resumen de Canciones y baladas de los Caballeros de Inglaterra de 1642 a 1684

The 9 key ideas

1. Key idea 1 · free to read

   One ballad keeps a lost cause alive

   The collection opens with When the King Enjoys His Own Again, a ballad credited to Martin Parker. It first backs Charles I when his cause is fading. Later it cheers his son, and it goes on serving exiled kings and pretenders well into the next century.

   Its verses mock predictions drawn from the stars, naming Booker and the Man in the Moon among several almanac makers. The singer replies that he needs no stars to know that peace waits for the king's return. The ballad appeared without a name, because signing it was dangerous.

   The refrain is simple enough for a crowd to sing. That is the secret of the whole book, since these songs are slogans with a tune. Mackay adds that later ballads on the Restoration borrowed this very melody.

2. 2

   Alexander Brome pleads for peace and the crown

   Alexander Brome, a poet on the Cavalier side, writes several songs in the early war years.

   Start free to read
3. 3

   Cavaliers answer defeat with wine and song

   When the war goes badly, Brome and others turn drink into a sign of loyalty.

   Start free to read
4. 4

   Satire turns on preachers, Roundheads and Parliament

   Many songs mock the Puritan side with comic portraits.

   Start free to read
5. 5

   The king's captivity and death in song

   From 1647 the songs follow Charles I into captivity.

   Start free to read
6. 6

   Cromwell's rule is mocked in comic detail

   During the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, ballad writers keep up a steady laughter at the new rulers, often in the form of lists.

   Start free to read
7. 7

   The Rump collapses and Monk changes everything

   In 1659 and 1660 the mood shifts.

   Start free to read
8. 8

   The Restoration brings joy and bitterness together

   The return of Charles II in May 1660 fills the book with parades and bonfires.

   Start free to read
9. 9

   Old songs find new targets in later years

   After 1660 the same tunes and insults serve fresh quarrels.

   Start free to read