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A novel study of the political, religious, and cultural worlds of
the principal Irish figures at the exiled court of Charles II
Shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society's Whitfield Prize,
2014 King Charles I's execution in January 1649 marked a moment of
deliverance for the victors in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but
for thousands of Royalists it signaled the onset of more than a
decade of penury and disillusionment in exile. Driven by an
enduring allegiance to the Stuart dynasty, now personified in the
young King Charles II, Royalists took up residence among thecourts,
armies, and cities of Continental Europe, clinging to hopes of
restoration and the solace of their companions as the need to
survive threatened to erode the foundations of their beliefs. The
King's Irishmen vividly illustrates the experience of these exiles
during the course of the 1650s, revealing complex issues of
identity and allegiance often obscured by the shadow of the Civil
Wars. Drawing on sources from across Britain, Ireland, and
Continental Europe, it looks at key Irish figures and networks in
Charles II's court-in-exile in order to examine broader themes of
memory, belief, honour, identity, community, dislocation and
disillusionment. Each chapter builds upon and challenges recent
historical interest in royalism, providing new insights into the
ways in which allegiances and identities were re-fashioned and
re-evaluated as the exiles moved across Europe in pursuit of aid.
TheKing's Irishmen offers not only a vital reappraisal of the
nature of royalism within its Irish and European dimensions but
also the nature of 'Irishness' and early modern community at large.
MARK WILLIAMS is Lecturer in Early Modern History at Cardiff
University.
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