Peasants' Revolt

The Peasants' Revolt, Tyler’s Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the best documented popular rebellion ever to have occurred during medieval times. The names of some of its leaders, John Ball, Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, are still familiar even though very little is actually known about these individuals.

The rising is significant because it marked the beginning of the end of serfdom in medieval England. It led to calls for the reform of feudalism in England and an increase in rights for the serf class.

Events leading to the revolt

The revolt was precipitated by heavy-handed attempts to enforce the third poll tax, first levied in 1377 supposedly to finance military campaigns overseas — a continuation of the Hundred Years' War initiated by King Edward III of England. The third poll tax, unlike the two earlier, was not levied on a flat rate basis (as in 1377) nor according to schedule (as in 1379), but in a manner that allowed some of the poor to pay a reduced rate, but others with essentially the same economic position to pay the full tax, prompting calls of injustice.: it was also set at 3 Groat compared with the 1399 rate of 1 groat. The young King, Richard II, was also another reason for the uprising, as he was only 14 at the time, and therefore unpopular men such as John of Gaunt (the acting regent), Simon Sudbury (Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, who in fact acted as the figurehead to what many saw as a corrupt Church at the time) and Sir Robert Hales (the Lord Treasurer, responsible for the poll tax) were left to rule instead, and many saw them as corrupt officials, trying to exploit the weakness of the King. A longer-term factor was the way the Statute of Labourers of 1351 was enforced. The Black Death that ravaged England in 1348 and 1349 had greatly reduced the labour force, and, as a consequence, labourers were able to demand enhanced terms and conditions. The Statute attempted to curb this by pegging wages and restricting the mobility of labour, but the probable effect was that labourers employed by lords were effectively exempted, but labourers working for other employers, both artisans and more substantial peasants, were liable to be fined or held in the stocks.

There were far fewer labourers to do all the work on the manors of England, so the ones that were not wiped out by the Black Death were left to work alone on the land. These people began to ask for higher wages and fewer hours of work. Some of them asked for their freedom. They often got what they asked for: the lords of the manors were desperate to get their land farmed and their animals looked after. Then, in 1351, King Edward III summoned parliament to make a new law. The law was called the Statute of Labourers and it tried to make sure that the landowners had as many labourers as they wanted - and that they paid them no more than before the Black Death. This angered the peasants greatly.

Incidents in the Essex villages of Fobbing [ [http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peasants_revolt.htm ::Peasants Revolt:: ] ] and Brentwood triggered the uprising. On 30th May, John Brampton attempted to collect the poll tax from villagers at Fobbing. The villagers, led by Thomas Baker, a local landowner, told Brampton that they would give him nothing and he was forced to leave the village empty handed. Robert Belknap (Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas) was sent to investigate the incident and to punish the offenders. On 2nd June, he was attacked at Brentwood. By this time the violent discontent had spread, and the counties of Essex and Kent were in full revolt. Soon people moved on London in an armed uprising. [Maurice Hugh Keen, "England in the Later Middle Ages: A Political History" (Routledge, 1975)]

First protests

In June 1381, Kentish rebels formed behind Wat Tyler and joined with rebels from Essex and marched on London. When the rebels arrived in Blackheath on June 12, the renegade Lollard priest, John Ball, preached a sermon including the famous question that has echoed down the centuries: "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?" [See ] . (I.e. "While Adam delved, and Eve spun, who then was the Gentleman ?") The following day, the rebels, encouraged by the sermon, crossed London Bridge into the heart of the city. Meanwhile the 'Men of Essex' had gathered with Jack Straw at Great Baddow and had marched on London, arriving at Stepney. Instead of what was expected from a riot however, there was only a systematic attack on certain properties, many of them associated with John of Gaunt and/or the Hospitaller Order. On June 14, they are reputed to have been met by the young king himself, and, led by Richard of Wallingford to have presented him with a series of demands, including the dismissal of some of his more unpopular ministers and the effective abolition of serfdom. One of the more intriguing demands of the peasants was "that there should be no law within the realm save the law of Winchester". This is often said to refer to the statutes of the Charter of Winchester (1251), though it is sometimes considered to be a reference to the more equitable days of king Alfred the Great, when Winchester was the capital of England.

torming the Tower of London

At the same time, a group of rebels stormed the Tower of London— probably after being let in— and summarily executed those hiding there, including the Lord Chancellor (Simon of Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was particularly associated with the poll tax), and the Lord Treasurer (Robert de Hales, the Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitallers of England). The Savoy Palace of the king's uncle John of Gaunt was one of the London buildings destroyed by the rioters.

mithfield

At Smithfield, on the following day, further negotiations with the king were arranged, but on this occasion the meeting did not go according to plan. Wat Tyler left his army and rode forth to parlay with the King and his party. Tyler, it is alleged by the chroniclers, behaved most belligerently and dismounted his horse and called for a drink most rudely. In the ensuing dispute, Tyler drew his dagger and William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, drew his sword and attacked Tyler, mortally wounding him in the neck; Sir Ralph de Standish, one of the King's squires, drew his sword and ran it through Tyler's stomach, killing him almost instantly. Seeing him surrounded by the King's entourage, the rebel army was in uproar, but King Richard, seizing the opportunity, rode forth and shouted "You shall have no captain but me.", [ Simon Schama's A History of Britain, Episode 5 'King Death'] a statement left deliberately ambiguous to defuse the situation. He promised the rebels that all was well, that Tyler had been knighted, and that their demands would be met - they were to march to St John's Fields, where Wat Tyler would meet them. This they duly did, but the King broke his promise. The nobles quickly re-established their control with the help of a hastily organised militia of 7000, and most of the other leaders were pursued, captured and executed, including John Ball and Jack Straw, who was beheaded. Following the collapse of the revolt, the king's concessions were quickly revoked.

Despite its name, participation in the Peasants' Revolt was not confined to serfs or even to the lower classes. Although the most significant events took place in the capital, there were violent encounters throughout eastern England -- but those involved hastened to dissociate themselves in the months that followed.

Although the Revolt is generally considered a failure, it did succeed in showing the peasants that they were of some value and had some power. After the revolt, the term poll tax was no longer used, although English governments continued to collect broadly similar lay subsidies until the 17th century. The Community Charge, introduced six hundred years after the peasants revolt, was popularly known as the poll tax (particularly by its opponents).

The Cutty Wren

"The Cutty Wren", one of the earliest known protest songs, dates from the time of the revolt. It tells the story of the capture of the wren - a symbol for the King (or perhaps for England itself) - and its division amongst the poor people. [ [http://unionsong.com/u080.html The Cutty Wren ] ] A version of the song appeared on Chumbawamba's English Rebel Songs 1381-1984.

Literary mention

John Gower, friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, saw the peasants as unjustified in their cause. In his "Vox Clamantis", he sees the peasant action as the work of the Anti-Christ and a sign of evil prevailing over virtue, writing "....according to their foolish ideas there would be no lords, but only kings and peasants...".

Geoffrey Chaucer mentions Jack Straw, one of the leaders of the Revolt, in his satiric 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' of "The Canterbury Tales".

"Froissart's Chronicles" devotes twenty pages to the revolt.

William Morris described the revolt in "A Dream of John Ball" (1888)

Further reading

*R. B. Dobson, editor, (2002), "The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 (History in Depth)" ISBN 0-333-25505-4; a collection of source materials
*Alastair Dunn (2002), "The Great Rising of 1381: The Peasant's Revolt and England's Failed Revolution", ISBN 0-7524-2323-1
*Charles Oman (1906), [http://www.archive.org/details/greatrevoltof13800omanuoft "The Great Revolt of 1381"] ; a classic account
*P. J. P. Goldberg (2004), "Medieval England 1250-1550: A Social History", ISBN 0-340-57745-2; Chapter 13 is devoted to the Peasants' Revolt
* John J. Robinson, (1990), "Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry" ISBN 0-87131-602-1; Chapters 1-5 are dedicated to the Peasants' Revolt, tracing some of its features (eg, the names of leaders, especially Wat Tyler, the special targets of the destruction in London, etc) to a Templar tradition which survived the earlier suppression of that Order
*A [http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/peasant.html contemporary chronicle] , the final meeting of king Richard II and the leader of the Peasants' Revolt Wat Tyler.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices/voices_revolt.shtml "The Peasants' Revolt"] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices/voices_reading_revolt.shtml Voices of the powerless - readings from original sources] BBC Radio programme, Thursday 25 July 2002, 9.02 am - 9.30 am.
* [http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html Britannia:The History of the Peasants' Revolt by Jeff Hobbs] with useful bibliography
* [http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/texts/froissart.html "Wat Tyler's Rebellion"] , from "The Chronicles of Froissart", , pp 61-63 includes John Ball's speech.
* [http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/froissart/king.htm "King Richard punishes the rebels in Kent"] from "The Chronicles of Froissart", edited by Steve Muhlberger, Nipissing University.
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/357 "A Dream of John Ball; and, a King's Lesson"] by William Morris (Project Gutenberg etext)
* [http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa071798.htm "Conflagration: The Peasants' Revolt"] , by Melissa Snell.

Footnotes