The last fully armored knights took to battlefields in the 17th century. How did they fight and were they even successful as the warfare styles and weapons available became more deadly? In Steel Lobsters: Crown, Commonwealth, and the Last Knights of England, author and historian Myke Cole tells the little-known story of the last unit to fight on English soil wearing full armor, the English Civil War Parliamentarian regiment commissioned by Sir Arthur Hesilrige, colloquially known as, “Steel Lobsters.” They looked like the knights-in-shining-armor of the medieval world, only this time they carried guns instead of lances.
This amazing unit existed as the Lobsters for a single month, fighting in just three engagements and all fought in July 1643. As a result, much of this book is about things other than the Lobsters. Myke Cole is the master of storytelling and the medieval world, and this book is perfect for readers looking for an immersive history.
Steel Lobsters: Crown, Commonwealth, and the Last Knights in England by Myke Cole will be published, as a hardcover, by Osprey Publishing, on November 5, 2024. (ISBN: 9781472863584 | $32.00 | 272 Pages)