What were the causes of the English Civil War? In recent years, traditional explanations involving the struggle for sovereignty and the bourgeois revolution have been increasingly questioned. Conrad Russell's new analysis brings into focus fundamental religious and constitutional issues of vital importance to contemporaries, but until now neglected by historians.

Basing his study on extensive research among both printed and unpublished sources, Professor Russell highlights the constitutional problems of multiple kingdoms within Britain; the religious problem of competing theologies within and outside a state church; and the economic problem of the inadequacy of royal revenue to meet the needs of the monarchy. In order to understand the events of the 1640s, he traces the story of the church and state back over the previous century. This is the fullest account yet available of the origins of one of the most significant events in British history. It will be essential reading for all students of the seventeenth century.

Contents: The Corpus Delicti 1637-1642; The problem of Multiple Kingdoms c. 1580-1630; The Church, Religion, and Politics: The Problem of the Definite Article; The Church of England 1559-1625: A Church Designed by a Committee?; Religious Unity in Three Kingdoms and in One 1630-1642; The Rule of Law: Whose Slogan?; The Poverty of the Crown and the Weakness of the King; The Man Charles Stuart; Conclusion; Appendix.