Solemn Engagement
Encyclopedia
The Solemn Engagement was a declaration to the English House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 adopted unanimously by the General Council of the Army commanded by Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...

 at Newmarket on May 29, 1647. Acting in response to a parliamentary threat of disbandment, the document asserted that the army would not disband until satisfactory terms were negotiated. This was in part because of weeks of arrears owed to the soldiers, and in frustration of the slow progress parliament had made in securing a settlement with the imprisoned Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

.

Events

The agreement was read, and assented to by all the officers and soldiers of the regiments 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...

 that rendezvoused on Kentford Heath near Newmarket on Friday and Saturday the 4 and 5 of June. On the 8 June Fairfax sent the Solemn Engagement to Parliament with a letter.

In the letter he explained that because the King was now with the Army (Cornet Joyce having taken Charles I from Parliament's custody at Holdenby House
Holdenby House
Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced and sometimes spelt Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp....

), it had been agreed on the 7 June that Charles would be held at Newmarket under the guard of two regiments of Ironside
Ironside (cavalry)
The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames...

s. So that the Army and Parliament's commissioners could discuss the Engagement, without the King present, Fairfax moved the rendezvous with the commissioners to "Triploe Heath" at 9 o'clock in on Thursday 10 June, which was as soon as was practicable.

At the Triploe Heath rendezvous the commissioners offers failed to pacify the New Model Army, largely because the officers and men were aware of the steps that Parliament and the City of London were taking against the Army, including an attempt to set up a rival army for which they were willing to pay while still withholding arrears of pay from the New Model Army. The Army rejected the commissioners offer and continued their slow advance towards London.

Further reading

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