ABSTRACT
The several tens of thousands of men who voluntarily put their lives on the line during the civil wars did so partly out of fear of what their enemies would do to them if they did not fight, partly out of desire for material gain, partly from social panic, partly on account of political and constitutional grievances, partly out of loyalty and a sense of honor, and, more than anything else, out of zeal for religion whether the defence of the established church and its liturgy, or the desire to build a godly commonwealth. It was religion more than political principle that separated the two armies at the start of the civil war. Highprofile supporters of the king such as the marquesses of Worcester and Hertford, and the earls of Newcastle, Antrim, Ormond and Derby knew that if the king was defeated they could say goodbye to their property, and probably their lives as well.
