Charles I left Oxford and surrendered to the Scottish Covenanter army at Southwell in Nottinghamshire on 5 May 1646. He hoped to exploit disagreements between the Scots and the English Parliament. Instead, negotiations over monarchy, episcopacy and the Covenant continued while his remaining garrisons capitulated.

The king's surrender shifted political writing from battlefield news towards competing constitutional settlements. Charles's own carefully fashioned letters and arguments helped establish the literary image of a patient, conscientious captive.