ABSTRACT
Between about 1615 and 1639, Philip Skippon fought in English regiments serving in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. This chapter seeks to establish what was distinctive about the armies and campaigns that Skippon was involved in during this period, and how this may have impacted upon his personal sense of military honour and professionalism. It uses Skippon’s experiences of, and reflections upon, fighting in European armies to contribute to the debate surrounding the perceived conflict in early seventeenth-century military culture between martial honour and the principles and practices of modern warfare. This chapter will maintain that military honour and professionalism were not irreconcilable extremes. Whilst such arguments are broadly in line with current scholarship, and although historians have increasingly acknowledged the importance of European military culture in influencing the Civil Wars, no other study of an English officer in the British Civil Wars has dedicated any sustained attention to pre-Civil War military service on the Continent. Skippon’s prolonged Continental service provides the ideal opportunity to explore this subject and it is one that is essential to address in order to fully explore the nature of Skippon’s Civil War experiences.
