Declaration of Lex Talionis
Encyclopedia
Early in the First English Civil War
the Long Parliament
threatened to retaliate in kind if the Royalists tried and executed John Lilburne
and two other Parliamentary offices for treason. Lilburne later described this as the declaration of Lex Talionis, and it brought about a practical—rather than moral—mutual restraint by the parties to the war on how they treated prisoners of war.
Early in the English Civil War
, John Lilburne
, a prominent supporter of the Parliamentary cause
who because of his radical views was known as "Free Born John", was captured by the Royalists during the Battle of Brentford
while serving as a captain in the Parliamentary army. Moves were taken to try him and two other prisoners of war in the civil court of the Kings Bench as traitors. Elizabeth, Lilburne's wife, appealed to Parliament and on 17 December 1642 Parliament stated that it would hold the Judge and officials of the court responsible for the treatment of the three men, and if they were tried and punished would retaliate in kind against Royalist prisoners of war. This lifted the threat to the men and in May 1643 Lilburne was exchanged for Royalist prisoners of war.
Thanks to the declaration of Lex Talionis, in England during the war Royalist prisoners of war were not tried and executed as traitors, but the Parliamentary side were well aware of what could happen if they lost the war, as Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
a Parliamentary general said "We may beat the king 99 times, and yet he will be king still. If he beats us but once, we shall be hanged".
At the end of the First Civil War the Parliamentarians allowed English Royalists to return to their homes paroled on terms that they would not take up arms against Parliament again.
After the Second Civil War
the Parliamentarians were not as inclined to offer such generous terms and they executed a number of leading Royalist prisoners. On the evening of the surrender of Colchester, Sir Charles Lucas
and Sir George Lisle
were shot. Major-General Rowland Laugharne
, and colonels John Poyer
and Rice Powell
all of whom had commanded Royalist forces in Wales, were sentenced to death, but Poyer alone was executed on 25 April 1649, being the victim selected by lot. Of five prominent Royalist peers who fell into the hands of Parliament, three, the Duke of Hamilton
, the Earl of Holland
, and Lord Capel, one of the Colchester prisoners and a man of high character, were beheaded at Westminster on 9 March. Above all, after long hesitations, even after renewal of negotiations, the Grandees of the New Model Army
and the Independents conducted "Pride's Purge
" of the House removing their ill-wishers, and created the High court of Justice
for the trial and sentence of King Charles I. At the end of the trial the 59 Commissioners (judges) found "Charles Stuart, that man of blood
" guilty of high treason
, as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy". He was beheaded on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House
of the Palace of Whitehall
on 30 January 1649.
to fight in England and in 1644 they passed the Ordinance of no quarter to the Irish when it looked possible that the Confederation of Kilkenny would send an army to assist Charles I. The terms of the ordinance as the name suggests decree that no quarter
should be given on the capture of any Irish Catholics found fighting for the Royalists in England or Wales (Scotland was another realm and under a different jurisdiction).
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
threatened to retaliate in kind if the Royalists tried and executed John Lilburne
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
and two other Parliamentary offices for treason. Lilburne later described this as the declaration of Lex Talionis, and it brought about a practical—rather than moral—mutual restraint by the parties to the war on how they treated prisoners of war.
Early in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, John Lilburne
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
, a prominent supporter of the Parliamentary cause
Good Old Cause
The Good Old Cause was the retrospective name given by the soldiers of the New Model Army for the complex of reasons for which they fought, on behalf of the Parliament of England....
who because of his radical views was known as "Free Born John", was captured by the Royalists during the Battle of Brentford
Battle of Brentford (1642)
The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle which took place on 12 November 1642, between a detachment of the Royalist army, under the command of Prince Rupert and two infantry regiments of Parliamentarians with some horse in support...
while serving as a captain in the Parliamentary army. Moves were taken to try him and two other prisoners of war in the civil court of the Kings Bench as traitors. Elizabeth, Lilburne's wife, appealed to Parliament and on 17 December 1642 Parliament stated that it would hold the Judge and officials of the court responsible for the treatment of the three men, and if they were tried and punished would retaliate in kind against Royalist prisoners of war. This lifted the threat to the men and in May 1643 Lilburne was exchanged for Royalist prisoners of war.
Thanks to the declaration of Lex Talionis, in England during the war Royalist prisoners of war were not tried and executed as traitors, but the Parliamentary side were well aware of what could happen if they lost the war, as Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
a Parliamentary general said "We may beat the king 99 times, and yet he will be king still. If he beats us but once, we shall be hanged".
At the end of the First Civil War the Parliamentarians allowed English Royalists to return to their homes paroled on terms that they would not take up arms against Parliament again.
After the Second Civil War
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
the Parliamentarians were not as inclined to offer such generous terms and they executed a number of leading Royalist prisoners. On the evening of the surrender of Colchester, Sir Charles Lucas
Charles Lucas
Sir Charles Lucas was an English soldier, a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.-Biography:Lucas was the son of Sir Thomas Lucas of Colchester, Essex. As a young man Lucas served in the Netherlands under the command of his brother, and in the "Bishops' Wars" he commanded Cheesea troop of...
and Sir George Lisle
George Lisle
Sir George Lisle was a Royalist leader in the English Civil War. Lisle's execution without trial, following the siege of Colchester, came to be regarded as a serious miscarriage of justice and Lisle himself was seen as a martyr to the Royalist cause.The known facts suggest that Lisle came from...
were shot. Major-General Rowland Laugharne
Rowland Laugharne
Major General Rowland Laugharne was a soldier in the English Civil War.His family came from St. Brides House, Pembrokeshire, Wales.Major-General Laugharne, Parliament's commander in south Wales during the First Civil War, sided with the insurgents and took command of the rebel army...
, and colonels John Poyer
John Poyer
John Poyer was a soldier in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War in South Wales. He later rebelled and was executed for treason.- Background :...
and Rice Powell
Rice Powell
Rice Powell was a Colonel in the Parliamentary army during the First English Civil War. In the Second English Civil War he allied himself with the Royalist cause. English Civil Wars. He fought in South Wales and played a significant part in events between 1642 and 1649 including a senior role...
all of whom had commanded Royalist forces in Wales, were sentenced to death, but Poyer alone was executed on 25 April 1649, being the victim selected by lot. Of five prominent Royalist peers who fell into the hands of Parliament, three, the Duke of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton
General Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton KG was a Scottish nobleman and influential Civil war military leader.-Young Arran:...
, the Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
, and Lord Capel, one of the Colchester prisoners and a man of high character, were beheaded at Westminster on 9 March. Above all, after long hesitations, even after renewal of negotiations, the Grandees of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
and the Independents conducted "Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
" of the House removing their ill-wishers, and created the High court of Justice
High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
The High Court of Justice is the name given to the court established by the Rump Parliament to try King Charles I of England. This was an ad hoc tribunal created specifically for the purpose of trying the king, although the same name was used again for subsequent courts.Neither the involvement of...
for the trial and sentence of King Charles I. At the end of the trial the 59 Commissioners (judges) found "Charles Stuart, that man of blood
Charles Stuart, that man of blood
Charles Stuart, that man of blood was a phrase used by Independents, during the English Civil War to describe King Charles IThe phrase is derived from the Bible:and other verses were used to justify regicide:-Windsor Castle prayer meeting:...
" guilty of high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy". He was beheaded on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House
Banqueting House
In Tudor and Early Stuart English architecture a banqueting house is a separate building reached through pleasure gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining. It may be raised for additional air or a vista, and it may be richly decorated, but it contains no bedrooms or...
of the Palace of Whitehall
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...
on 30 January 1649.
Irish Catholics were an exception
Parliament did not consider this restraint as binding on their treatment of any Irish Catholics who might cross the Irish SeaIrish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
to fight in England and in 1644 they passed the Ordinance of no quarter to the Irish when it looked possible that the Confederation of Kilkenny would send an army to assist Charles I. The terms of the ordinance as the name suggests decree that no quarter
No quarter
A victor gives no quarter when the victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life in return for the surrender at discretion of a vanquished opponent....
should be given on the capture of any Irish Catholics found fighting for the Royalists in England or Wales (Scotland was another realm and under a different jurisdiction).