ABSTRACT
On both sides the peers took a leading part at the beginning of the war. The lords at York subscribed to levy horse to assist the King, each promising to maintain so many for three months. The Lords might and did oppose the policy of the Commons from time to time during the later part of the civil war. But their substantial power was gone; the supreme control of military and political affairs alike had passed into the hands of commanders, nominated by the Commons, or committees, of which commoners formed a majority. The Committee of the Admiralty and Navy which succeeded to Warwick’s authority consisted of six lords and twelve commoners. On the other hand, the Commons, in removing noblemen from command, had not been moved by any animosity against the House of Lords itself, or by any desire to invade its rights.
