'THE FIRE OF HIS EYE': THOMAS, 3RD LORD FAIRFAX'S 'A TREATISE TOUCHING THE BREEDING OF HORSES.'.

In word, deed, and image, Thomas, 3rd Lord Fairfax, parliamentarian Commander-in-Chief during the English Civil Wars, has long been closely associated with the horse. However, there is a hitherto neglected equine link with Fairfax: an unpublished prose work entitled 'A treatise touching the breeding of horses', penned by the General himself in retirement at Nun Appleton. This article argues that Fairfax's treatise asserts a sense of control over the animal kingdom which its author had forfeited in the military and political arena, and explores how it deepens our understanding of the role and status of the horse in early modern England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]