This dissertation examines the petitioning strategies of parliament’s elite, maimed soldiers and war widows, all of whom sought compensation for the losses they had sustained during the Civil Wars. Analysing the petitions as responses to legislation, this study seeks to connect ruler and ruled, and centre and locality through the lens of the law. In doing so, this study adds to a post-revisionist historiography that has emphasised both the interconnectedness of Westminster and the localities, and the ability of the poor to negotiate with authority. It will argue that parliament’s maimed soldiers and war widows possessed a deep understanding of the law and that they exploited this knowledge in their negotiations for relief. By putting the petitions of the poor into conversation with those of the elite, this study will also demonstrate that social class, cultural expectations, and audience played a significant role in shaping the way petitioners sought to fashion their identities.
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