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{{Short description|Royalist supporter in the English Civil War}}
{{About|the Royalists during the English Civil War|other uses|Cavalier (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Cavaliers|the NBA team|Cleveland Cavaliers|the NCAA team|Virginia Cavaliers}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
[[File:Anthonis van Dyck 058.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]], often considered to be an archetypal Cavalier]]
{{Toryism}}
The term '''''Cavalier''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|æ|v|ə|ˈ|l|ɪər}}) was first used by [[Roundhead]]s as a term of abuse for the wealthier [[royalist]] supporters of [[Charles I of England]] and his son [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] during the [[English Civil War]], the [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]], and the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] (1642 – {{circa|1679}}). It was later adopted by the Royalists themselves. Although it referred originally to political and social attitudes and behaviour, of which clothing was a very small part, it has subsequently become strongly identified with the fashionable clothing of the court at the time. [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine|Prince Rupert]], commander of much of Charles I's cavalry, is often considered to be an archetypal Cavalier.{{sfn|Manganiello|2004|p=476}}

==Etymology==
''Cavalier'' derives from the same Latin root as the Italian word {{lang|it|cavaliere}}, the French word {{lang|fr|chevalier}}, and the Spanish word {{lang|es|caballero}}, the [[Vulgar Latin]] word ''[[wikt:caballarius|caballarius]]'', meaning 'horseman'. [[Shakespeare]] used the word ''cavaleros'' to describe an overbearing [[swashbuckler]] or swaggering [[wikt:gallant|gallant]] in ''[[Henry IV, Part 2]]'' (c. 1596–1599), in which [[Robert Shallow]] says, "I'll drink to Master Bardolph, and to all the cavaleros about London".{{sfn|OED|1989|loc="Cavalier"}} Shallow returns in ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' (c. 1597), where he is called "Cavaleiro Justice" (knightly judge) and "bully rook", a term meaning "blustering cheat".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brewer|first=E. Cobham|chapter-url=https://www.bartleby.com/81/2654.html|title=Dictionary of Phrase and Fable|chapter=Bully-rook|publisher=Henry Altemus|year=1898|location=Philadelphia, PA|via=www.bartleby.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oU8xxzKv_7IC&q=Cavaleiro-justice&pg=PA128|title=Linguistic Variation in the Shakespeare Corpus: Morpho-syntactic Variability of Second Person Pronouns|first=Ulrich|last=Busse|date=22 September 2002|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=1588112802|via=Google Books}}</ref>

===English Civil War===
"Cavalier" is chiefly associated with the Royalist supporters of King Charles I in his struggle with Parliament in the English Civil War. It first appears as a term of reproach and contempt, applied to Charles' followers in June 1642:
{{quote|1642 (June 10) ''Propositions of Parlt''. in Clarendon v. (1702) I. 504 Several sorts of malignant Men, who were about the King; some whereof, under the name of Cavaliers, without having respect to the Laws of the Land, or any fear either of God or Man, were ready to commit all manner of Outrage and Violence. 1642 ''Petition Lords & Com.'' 17 June in Rushw. Coll. III. (1721) I. 631 That your Majesty..would please to dismiss your extraordinary Guards, and the Cavaliers and others of that Quality, who seem to have little Interest or Affection to the publick Good, their Language and Behaviour speaking nothing but Division and War.{{sfn|OED|1989|loc="Cavalier"}}}}

Charles, in the Answer to the Petition 13 June 1642, speaks of Cavaliers as a "word by what mistake soever it seemes much in disfavour".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=562}} It was soon [[reappropriated]] as a title of honour by the king's party, who in return applied Roundhead to their opponents. At the Restoration, the court party preserved the name, which survived until the rise of the term [[Tory]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=562}}

== Social perceptions ==
[[File:Sir-Anthony-van-Dyck-Lord-John-Stuart-and-His-Brother-Lord-Bernard-Stuart.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart]]'', {{Circa|1638}}, by Sir [[Anthony van Dyck]]. Both [[Lord John Stewart]] and [[Lord Bernard Stewart]] died in the [[English Civil War]], fighting on the Royalist side.]]
Cavalier was not understood at the time as primarily a term describing a style of dress, but a whole political and social attitude. However, in modern times the word has become more particularly associated with the [[1600–50 in Western European fashion|court fashions of the period]], which included long flowing hair in ringlets, brightly coloured clothing with elaborate trimmings (i.e., lace collars and cuffs), and plumed [[Cavalier hat|hats]].<ref>{{harvnb|OED|1989|loc="Cavalier"}}, Meaning 4. ''attrib.'', First quotation "1666 EVELYN ''Dairy'' 13 Sept., The Queene was now in her cavalier riding habite, hat and feather, and horseman's coate".</ref> This contrasted with the dress of at least the most extreme Roundhead supporters of [[Parliament of England|Parliament]], with their preference for shorter hair and plainer dress, although neither side conformed to the [[stereotypical]] images entirely.<ref>Ashelford, Jane, ''The Art of Dress: Clothes and Society 1500–1914'', pp. 73–75, 2009, {{ISBN|9781905400799}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uMr375uL_-8C&dq=%22John+Russell%22+Royalist&pg=PA75 google books]</ref>

Most Parliamentarian generals wore their hair at much the same length as their Royalist counterparts,<ref>Ashelford, 73</ref> though [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]] was something of an exception. The best patrons in the nobility of Charles I's court painter Sir [[Anthony van Dyck]], the archetypal recorder of the Cavalier image, all took the Parliamentary side in the Civil War. Probably the most famous image identified as of a "cavalier", [[Frans Hals]]' ''[[Laughing Cavalier]]'', shows a gentleman from the strongly [[Calvinist]] Dutch town of [[Haarlem]], and is dated 1624. These derogatory terms (for at the time they were so intended) also showed what the typical Parliamentarian thought of the Royalist side – capricious men who cared more for vanity than the nation at large.{{sfn|Stoyle|2003}} 

The chaplain to King Charles I, Edward Simmons described a Cavalier as "a Child of Honour, a Gentleman well borne and bred, that loves his king for conscience sake, of a clearer countenance, and bolder look than other men, because of a more loyal Heart".{{sfn|Carlton|2002|p=52}} There were many men in the Royalist armies who fit this description since most of the Royalist field officers were typically in their early thirties, married with rural estates which had to be managed. Although they did not share the same outlook on how to worship God as the English [[Independent (religion)|Independents]] of the [[New Model Army]], God was often central to their lives.{{sfn|Woolrych|2002|p=249}} This type of Cavalier was personified by [[Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading]], whose prayer at the start of the [[Battle of Edgehill]] has become famous "O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not forget me".{{sfn|Hume|1841|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rBcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA216 216] See footnote r. cites Warwick 229}}

At the end of the [[First English Civil War|First Civil War]], Astley gave his word that he would not take up arms again against Parliament and having given his word he felt duty bound to refuse to help the Royalist cause in the [[Second English Civil War|Second Civil War]]; however, the word was coined by the Roundheads as a pejorative propaganda image of a licentious, hard drinking and frivolous man, who rarely, if ever, thought of God. It is this image which has survived and many Royalists, for example [[Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester]], fitted this description to a tee.{{sfn|Barratt|2005|p=177}} Of another Cavalier, [[George Goring, Lord Goring]], a general in the Royalist army,{{sfn|Memegalos|2007|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1JFoOlQlLjQC inside front cover]}} the principal advisor to [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]], said:
[[File:England (Great Britain) 1644 Triple Unite of Charles I.jpg|thumb|[[Triple Unite (English coin)|Triple Unite]] gold coin of 1644: the [[Latin]] legend translates as "The Protestant religion, the laws of England, the liberty of Parliament. [[Psalm 68|Let God arise and His enemies be scattered.]]"]]
{{quote|[He] would, without hesitation, have broken any trust, or done any act of treachery to have satisfied an ordinary passion or appetite; and in truth wanted nothing but industry (for he had wit, and courage, and understanding and ambition, uncontrolled by any fear of God or man) to have been as eminent and successful in the highest attempt of wickedness as any man in the age he lived in or before. Of all his qualifications dissimulation was his masterpiece; in which he so much excelled, that men were not ordinarily ashamed, or out of countenance, with being deceived but twice by him.{{sfn|Clarendon|1839|p=3}}{{sfn|Chisholm|1911a|p=259}}}}

This sense has developed into the modern English use of "cavalier" to describe a recklessly nonchalant attitude, although still with a suggestion of stylishness. Cavalier remained in use as a description for members of the party that supported the monarchy up until the [[Exclusion Crisis]] of 1678–1681 when the term was superseded by "Tory" which was another term initially with pejorative connotations. Likewise, during the Exclusion Bill crisis, the term Roundhead was replaced with "[[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]", a term introduced by the opponents of the Whigs and also was initially a pejorative term.{{sfn|Worden|2009|p=4}}

==In arts==
{{see also|1600–1650 in Western European fashion|Cavalier poet}}
[[File:Sir Anthony Van Dyck - Charles I (1600-49) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Charles I in Three Positions]]'', the triple portrait of Charles I by [[Anthony van Dyck]]]]
An example of the Cavalier style can be seen in the painting ''Charles I, King of England, from Three Angles'' by Anthony van Dyck.

==See also==

* [[Virginia Cavaliers (historical)]]

==References ==
===Notes===
{{reflist|35em}}

'''Attribution'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Cavalier|volume=5|pages=562–563}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book |last=Barratt |first=John |year=2005 |title=Cavalier Generals: King Charles I and His Commanders in the English Civil War, 1642–46 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military}}
*{{cite book |last=Carlton |first=Charles |year=2002 |title=Going to the Wars: The Experience of the British Civil Wars 1638–1651 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-42558-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tVugNXnVrVAC&pg=PA52 52]}}
*{{Cite EB1911|date=1911a|wstitle=Goring, George Goring, Lord |volume=12 |pages=258–259}}
*{{cite book|last=Clarendon| first=Edward Hyde, 1st earl of |year=1839 |title=The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England |edition=seven volumes |volume=5 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rZ4NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}
*{{cite book|last=Hume |first=David |author-link=David Hume |year=1841 |title=The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution 1688 |volume=V |publisher=.T. Cadell}}
*{{cite book|last=Manganiello |first=Stephen C. |title=The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639–1660 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=an-eXXA3DBMC&pg=PA476|year=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5100-9|page=476}}
*{{cite book|last=Memegalos |first=Florene S. |year=2007 |title=George Goring (1608–1657): Caroline Courtier and Royalist General |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-0-7546-5299-1}}
*{{cite book|author=OED |year=1989 |chapter=Cavalier |title=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |edition=Second}}
*{{cite web|last=Stoyle |first=Mark |date=2003 |author-link = Mark Stoyle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/choosingsides_01.shtml |title=Choosing Sides in the English Civil War |publisher=[[BBC]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041129231615/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/englishcivilwar/choosingsides_01.shtml |archive-date=29 November 2004}}
*{{cite book|last=Woolrych |first=Austin |year=2002 |title=Britain in Revolution: 1625–1660 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0191542008 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S54CsDh5JOsC&pg=PA249 249]}}
*{{cite book|last=Worden |first=Blair |year=2009 |title=The English Civil Wars 1640–1660|location=London |publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-100694-9}}

===Further reading===
*''Military instructions for the cavallrie'' by [[John Cruso]]; editions:
**1632: {{Cite book |title=MILITARIE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CAVALLRIE: OR RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE SERVICE OF HORSE, COLLECTED OUT OF DIVERS FORRAIN AUTHORS ANCIENT AND MODERN, AND RECTIFIED AND SUPPLIED, ACCORDING TO THE PRESENT PRACTISE OF THE LOW-COUNTREY WARRES. |date=1632 |publisher=Printed by the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge |id=University of Michigan Library Digital Collections, ''Early English Books Online 2'', [https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A19676.0001.001 A19676.0001.001] ([https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/eebo2:a35316.0001.001 manifest]).}} (Cited in: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070228130758/http://www.drizzle.com/~celyn/jherek/16thMilSci.pdf "Military science in western Europe in the sixteenth century"], p. 45)
**1644: {{cite book |last=Cruso |first=John |author-link=John Cruso |url=<!-- dead link: http://hermes.ucop.edu:8085/F/?func=direct&doc_number=027717002&current_base=CDL90&format=999 --> |title=Military Instructions for the CAVALLRIE: Or RULES AND DIRECTIONS for the SERVICE OF HORSE, Collected out of divers forrein Authours, Ancient and Modern: And Rectified and Supplied, according to the present practise of the Lovv-Countrey Warres. |date=1644|publisher=Printed by Roger Daniel, Printer to the Universitie|id=University of Michigan Library Digital Collections, ''Early English Books Online 2'', [https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A35316.0001.001 A35316.0001.001] ([https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/eebo2:a35316.0001.001 manifest]).|publication-place=Cambridge}}

== External links ==
*{{wiktionary-inline}}

[[Category:English Civil War]]
[[Category:Cavaliers|*Cavalier]]