heard of it; but because the Continental laws of war were applied to an English town the outcry was terrible. Trevor Royal writing in 2004 draws the same conclusions as Bund, and says "By laying waste to the town and setting fire to many of its houses, Rupert's force provided parliament with a propaganda coup ... Charles rebuked Rupert for his men's behaviour — the prince had in fact done his best to curb his men ... but the damage was done: Birmingham had paid the price for supporting parliament and being seen to profit from it". Contemporary reports Clarendon's account in his History of the Civil War, written during and after the Civil War and published after the Restoration, show that there were strong feeling on the affair. Clarendon says that Rupert Clarendon then justifies the death of the clergyman: Clarendon adds that if it had not been for the death of the Earl of Denbigh he should not "have mentioned an action of so little moment as this of Birmingham". He deplores it, because The death of the Earl of Denbigh had a greater significance than many other earls because the Earl's son and successor (Basil Fielding) was a strong Parliamentarian, and the death of the Earl meant the transfer of the family influence, which was considerable, from the King to the Parliament The organs of the Parliament extolled the Birmingham bravery and the Royalist cruelty—their wanton cruelty—in burning houses. The Royalist organs rejoiced at the just judgment which had befallen the disloyal town, and the punishment it had pleased the Lord to inflict on the inhabitants for their rebellious views. Three accounts of the fight were published. The first of the three was published on 3 April 1643. It is a Parliamentary account, gives their idea of the affair. Its title and introduction is: This pamphlet sets out the grievances of the Parliament against Rupert's action. The pamphlet contains two reports, one signed "R. P.", who, it is usually said, was Robert Porter, the sword-cutler mentioned in the Prelude, whose mill was burnt by the Royalists for his refusal to sell swords to the King. He is said to have known not only how to make, but also how to use, a sword when made, and that he used his own sword with some effect on that 3 April, being one of those troopers of Captain Greaves