The books a man takes with him to study in captivity or exile reflect his real interests, in much the same way as a choice of "Desert Island Discs", and this list gives a particular insight into Lambert's favourite military books.

Flavius Josephus' was the first century A.D. author of "The Jewish War", a panegyric of the Emperor's Titus' Suppression of the Jewish Revolt. Josephus had originally been one of the rebels. His work was highly regarded by Johann of Nassau, (2) regarded by many as one of the principal architects of the Dutch military reforms. The value of Josephus for readers Such as Johann of Nassau or John Lambert was its description of Roman military practices.

Claudius Aelianus was a second century A.D. military writer whose work on tactics was highly valued by Prince Maurice of Nassau (3) who used it as the basis of the training manuals developed for his reformed Dutch Army. Its English translator, John Bingham, commented that its particular value over works of other classical writers was that "it hath beene the manner of those writers for the most part, to applie their stile not to the ignorant, but to such as are already acquainted with the matters they intreat of". Aelian's work had the advantage that he explained the basis of classical tactics simply enough that it could be understood by a novice. Since those with the practical experience to explain classical tactics were long dead, only Aelian's work could provide Prince Maurice with the information he required to recreate it.

As the training of English Militia troops was based on the Dutch model, John Bingham's translation was one of the most important English military works in use before the Civil War.

William Barriffe's work was the foremost of the military books developed on the Dutch model for the use of the English Militia and became the most popular of all those in use during the Civil War itself.

The last two works, Bingham's translation of Aelian and William Barriffe's, were significant works of English military theory used to train Militia soldiers before the Civil War, and in Barriffe's case, used by regular soldiers during it as well. Their inclusion amongst the books Lambert chose for his exile provides a connection between the English military theory developed before the Civil War and one of the leading military figures of the New Model Army. An indication that officers like Lambert, who had no military experience before the Civil War, saw the manuals produced for the prc-war Militia as having practical value for actual service.

(Ed. Well there you have it, John Lambert, "Cromwell's Understudy", a fan of Barriffe's. If he was, Shouldn't you be ?)

Notes