Why were Cavaliers called the Cavaliers and Why were the Roundheads called the Roundheads?

Cavalier is a name originating from the same root os Cavalry, from a time when the richest of an army, those of aristocratic background would ride the horses, whilst the common man would be on foot. This name spread to the whole army of the Royalists who were associated with the foppish image of the long haired aristocratic officer. By the end of the war the most talented horemen were not necessarily those who owned the horses.

Roundheads were named, not as commonly thought, for the helmets they wore, but for the 'pudding basin' haircuts favoured by the puritanical protestants of the time, who were the forming members of the parliamentary faction.

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Why were Cavaliers called the Cavaliers and Why were the Roundheads called the Roundheads?

Why were Cavaliers called the Cavaliers and Why were the Roundheads called the Roundheads? in the civil war in Charles I times?

'Roundheads' refered to the short haircuts worn by men of the Puritan persuasion. Apparently Queen Henrietta Maria once exclaimed "See the pretty roundhead" when admiring a young man with this short haircut, and the name stuck. Not all Parliamentarians would have had this austere haircut. The officers in particular were more likely to have had longish hair like the royalists, since they mostly came from much the same sort of upper class backgrounds.

The word 'cavalier' was first applied to the royalists as a term of abuse by the parliamentarians, originally used in the form 'cavellero' or similar Spanish, Portuguese or Italian forms, for a knightly horseman. The overtones of this usage were various but all initially hostile, they implied that the king's supporters were military-minded courtiers who were seeking the sort of arbitrary government backed by brute force which patriotic Englishmen associated with Roman Catholic and downtrodden Mediterranean countries. Gradually the Royalists adopted the term themselves, liking its implication of dashing gallantry.

There would have been both horsemen and foot soldiers on both sides, the royalists did not have a monopoly on horses.

Cavaliers comes from cavaliero, word for a Spanish ie Catholic horseman. Roundhead refers to the crop-headed London apprentices that formed a large part of the Parliamentary armies.

Cavalier means knight and derives from vulgar latin caballarius meaning a horse man. In england it usually meant someone who dressed up and swaggered about, someone who was a bit of a drunk and not to be trusted (a cavalier attitude) and wasn't a nice phrase to use. It was often used to refer to foreign troops and Charles had foreign troops in his army. Originally it was applied as an insult to the Kings supporters but then they adopted it for themselves. They in turn called the Parliamentarians roundheads in a bit of a name calling spat

it was primarily thought that the round heads were called so because of the metal helmets; though there is evidence to support the fact that most at the time were shaven headed and as a sign of their puritan belief had cut off all their hair and removed the gay and flamboyant trimmings of their clothes as a sign of piety..

The Cavaliers were so named after the courtiers of king charles and his attitude of flamboyance and abandon; hence to have a cavalier attitude means to be daring beyond what is the norm...

Also a "cavalier" was a cavalry man and hence would have been horse mounted a sign then of status; where as the majority of the opposition were foot soldiers. This too applies to grenadiers and bombardiers giving an indication of their status as well

At the time of the civil wars the recognized head gear with the nose guard was actually worn by foot soldiers and cavalry on both sides; but had become synonymous with the Cromwellian puritan army

The roundheads cut their hair short, possibly for religious reasons.

They live yet today in the US as part of the Religious Right, the most hateful of them, generally.

they where called roundheads for they wore a metal round helmet and they had a short cropped hair cut which also looked round.

Enjoyed some of these answers - how the myths are perpetuated! There were apprentice barbers in London that had their hair cut short. The were known as Roundheads.When London sided with Parliament, this became a form of insult for all Parliamentarians. They, in response, soon adopted the caballero insult for the Royalists.

Usually, which too long for me. I consider it depends on the guy and his face though. Certain guys may pull off long hair and other folks can't.