Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Stylistic Conventions
- Introduction
- 1 Scotland's Indigenous Military Cultures
- 2 The Scottish Military Diaspora
- 3 The Thirty Years' War Campaigns: Stralsund to Prague, 1628–35
- 4 Alexander Leslie and the Army of the Weser, 1635–9
- 5 The Home Front: Leslie, Ruthven and the Bishops' Wars, 1638–41
- 6 The Scottish ‘Veteran Generals’ in England, 1642–7
- 7 Going Full Circle: The New Scottish Command in Europe, 1639–48
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Introduction
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Stylistic Conventions
- Introduction
- 1 Scotland's Indigenous Military Cultures
- 2 The Scottish Military Diaspora
- 3 The Thirty Years' War Campaigns: Stralsund to Prague, 1628–35
- 4 Alexander Leslie and the Army of the Weser, 1635–9
- 5 The Home Front: Leslie, Ruthven and the Bishops' Wars, 1638–41
- 6 The Scottish ‘Veteran Generals’ in England, 1642–7
- 7 Going Full Circle: The New Scottish Command in Europe, 1639–48
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
Field Marshal Alexander Leslie and the majority of his fellow Scottish generals who served in the Thirty Years' War (1618–48) rose from predominantly humble social origins to make an impact on not only the campaigns of the continental conflicts in which they fought but also those that swept across the British Isles in the 1630s and 1640s. These men did so despite living in a contemporary culture dominated by the activities of Scotland's noble elite – a culture very often reimagined by a historiography solely concerned with the activities of the upper echelons of society. Through the study of Leslie and his contemporaries, however, a narrative emerges that demonstrates that the practice of military service, while helping to maintain the dominance of certain noble families within Scotland, also offered an effective vehicle towards social advancement for the soldiering class, both at home and abroad. This book does not suggest an alternative to the social structuring of society in early modern Scotland, but it does offer what has been lacking in previous biographies of Leslie and his contemporaries: an understanding of where and how they developed their military skills, and why they might have needed to immerse themselves in the art of war in the first place.
Tracing the origins of Alexander Leslie is not straightforward. His biographer, C. S. Terry, presents scant information on Leslie's roots or early years and lacks definite information on Alexander Leslie's parentage and place of birth.
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- Information
- Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014