I'm delighted you've shared this, as it falls right into my wheelhouse, so to speak! All the 1642 newsbooks are now transcribed, and there's no mention of Nottingham before July, so I don't have an account of a particular incident. 1 /

<< There's another possibility for Donha: Henrietta Maria returned from the Continent in summer 1643, landed at Bridlington then came south via the Midlands. It's entirely possible Donha joined her entourage in Holland (your report says his mother was there?), and crossed the Channel with her.

<< He might have been in England for other reasons and decided to get involved, but young Brits frequently went soldiering in Europe, so perhaps it's no surprise that a young Continental gentleman saw adventure in coming over here. If I spot anything else about him, I'll let you know. 5 |

So why was Dona there? Aged 19 he'd not be a seasoned "professional soldier", many of whom were already arriving in England to sniff out opportunity before war was formally underway. A bunch of French came in July, complete with arms and ammo, offering their services to whoever paid the most! 4/

<< Typically the commissioners were backed with some kind of force, and often the situation turned into a standoff with the town concerned. I've seen several reports of ordnance being fired against commissioners and their entourage. 3/

<< As he was hit by ordnance *from* the town, he was almost certainly with the Royalists. At this point there were no formal armies (no formal war until Aug) but a lot of localised action against the King's Commissioners of Array, who were approaching towns and trying to raise troops. 2/