roundhead

Roundhead is a historical term used to describe supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War and the broader Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The name is traditionally associated with their hairstyle—a close-cropped, rounded appearance of the head—though it also signified the Parliamentarian political and religious alignment against King Charles I and his royalist opponents, the Cavaliers.

Most Roundheads were Puritans or others favoring parliamentary governance, and they included gentry, merchants, town militias, and clergy. The Parliamentarian military effort was organized from 1645 by the New Model Army, led by commanders such as Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. The army’s discipline and political influence helped Parliament win decisive battles, including Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645, which shifted the momentum of the war.

Following years of conflict, Charles I was executed in 1649, and England was declared a Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell and later his successors governed briefly as Lord Protectors during the Protectorate. The Roundhead label persisted as a political and cultural designation for those who supported Parliament and a republican or constitutional order, but its usage declined after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.