cavalier King Charles spaniel, breed of small dog developed in the early 20th cent. from the English toy spaniel. It stands about 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 13 to 18 lb (6-8 kg). Its long, silky coat may be slightly wavy, but never curly, and forms a fringe of longer hair, or feathers, on the ears, legs, tail, and feet. Although it is usually white with chestnut markings, it may have any of the color patterns of the English toy spaniel. Around 1926 there began a revival of interest in the toy spaniel that had been popular in 17th cent. England. This dog, often depicted in the paintings of that period, was larger than the modern type and had a less domed skull and longer nose. By selective breeding of modern toy spaniels that resembled this older type, a new breed, the cavalier, was developed in the relatively short span of approximately 20 years. A widely popular dog in England that is also gaining recognition in the United States, the cavalier King Charles is exhibited in the miscellaneous class at dog shows sanctioned by the American Kennel Club. See dog.

cavalier, in general, an armed horseman. In the English civil war the supporters of Charles I were called Cavaliers in contradistinction to the Roundheads, the followers of Parliament. The royalists used the designation until it was replaced by Tory.

Cavalier, Jean, 1681?-1740, French Protestant soldier, a leader of the Camisards. From his home in the Cévennes region of France, he fled to Geneva (1701) when persecution of the Protestants became intolerable, but he returned when he knew that the Protestants were about to rebel. As chief leader of the Camisards, he showed remarkable military genius. In 1704 he made peace with Marshal Villars and received from King Louis XIV a commission as colonel and a pension. The peace was repudiated by his followers because it did not restore the Edict of Nantes (see Nantes, Edict of). Distrustful of the king, Cavalier fled from France. He fought for the duke of Savoy and later for England in Spain against the French. His later years were spent in Great Britain, where he was given a pension, made major general, and appointed governor of the isle of Jersey. The Memoirs of the Wars of the Cévennes, published in 1726 and dedicated to Lord Carteret, is attributed to Cavalier.

Cavalier poets, a group of English poets associated with Charles I and his exiled son. Most of their work was done between c.1637 and 1660. Their poetry embodied the life and culture of upper-class, pre-Commonwealth England, mixing sophistication with naïveté, elegance with raciness. Writing on the courtly themes of beauty, love, and loyalty, they produced finely finished verses, expressed with wit and directness. The poetry reveals their indebtedness to both Ben Jonson and John Donne. The leading Cavalier poets were Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling, and Thomas Carew.

Group of English gentlemen poets who were Cavaliers (supporters of Charles I during the English Civil Wars). The term embraces Sir John Suckling, Edmund Waller, Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew (1594?–1640?), and Richard Lovelace (1618–57). Accomplished as soldiers, courtiers, gallants, and wits, they wrote polished and elegant lyrics, typically on love and dalliance and sometimes on war, honour, and duty to the king.

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In the English Civil Wars, the name adopted by Charles I's supporters, who contemptuously called their opponents Roundheads (a reference to the short-haired apprentices who had formed part of an anti-Cavalier mob). The term (similar to the French chevalier) originally meant a rider or cavalryman. At the Restoration, the court party preserved the name Cavalier, which survived until the rise of the term Tory. Seealso Cavalier poet.

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