The Peasants Revolt, Dissent and War

After this said commons went to many places, and raised all the folk, some willingly and some unwillingly, till they were gathered together full sixty thousandAnonimalle Chronicle, 1381

The catalyst for the peasants revolt was very simple taxation.A poll tax had been levied in 1379 and 1380 to help pay for the ongoing 100 Years War.Peasants initially tried to avoid tax collectors, but in 1381 villagers in Essex started to kill the tax collectors.This soon snowballed into an outright revolt and a call for all peasants to join together.The Lollards helped spread the wordThe two leaders of the revolt were Wat Tyler and John Ball.

Soon it became a revolt against the entire feudal system and the Roman Church.The rebels took Canterbury, burning monasteries, manor houses and destroying all papers/records concerned with serfs and their duties.Anger took them to London on 12th June. The city was taken without a shot being fired.Richard II was as good a prisoner as he was blockaded into the Tower.The rebels were surprisingly disciplined, any looters among them were punished .On 14th June Richard met the rebels and agreed (under pressure from his advisers) to their demands, which were: the abolition of serfdom, a pardon for all involved in the revolt, the right to conduct business, repeal of all labor laws fixing wages to pre-plague levels.

Another meeting was arranged for Smithfield to discuss further demands, however, it did not go according to plan and Wat Tyler was fatally wounded. His body was then dragged through London, beheaded, his head stuck on a lance and taken to the rebels.Understandably the peasants were disheartened.They were encouraged to go home as their demands had been met.

The king, however, had no intention of honouring his pledges.He called on his supporters to put down what was left of the revolt.All demands that had been met were rescinded and anyone suspected of participating in the revolt was summarily executed.Although the peasant revolt had been well and truly defeated, it marked the beginning of the end for feudalism.By 1480 there was hardly a serf left in England.

The LollardsFirst English movement resembling Protestantism.John Wycliffe TransubstantiationItinerant preachers poor, sick, neglected and diseasedSimple life vs. priestly lifeLessons of faith rather than mysteriesPersecuted but never died outPrepared way for 16th century Reformation 1. Hostile to authority, 2.Focus on scriptures, 3. belief in an English bible.

15th Century DevelopmentsEngland had become a powerful nationAll necessary institutions/activities were in place:Commerce and trade (vs. feudal system)An army (vs. independent knights and armed peasants)Universities (vs. monastic schools)Parliamentary governmentAn established churchCulture (indigenous)

ParliamentUnique in EuropePower to taxHighest court in the landMade and modified existing lawMPs also had privilege of free speech and the right not to be arrested while in session.However, still at the Kings disposal.

An English ChurchShared Catholic faith and doctrine with other Latin churches.Englishness of church more pronounced.English language/English experience/English law/English customs the faithful (including the clergy) lived within this.The C.of E. was established and patronised by English kings, noblemen and gentry.Bishops were great landowners.The French wars (100 years war) had eroded the power of Rome over the English church.

The movement towards an English church can be illustrated with the following developments: Church law limited by royal authority e.g. Popes ability to tax clergy was restricted, in reality most papal tax went into royal coffers.Popes power to appoint English bishops limited. Anti-papal statutes of 1351 and 1390 plus the Great Schism (1378-1417) meant church appointments were the Kings business.English expressions of faith: The Devotional movement and the Lollards.

Chaos and AnarchySign of the times: Hundred Years war ended in 1453 only for the Wars of the Roses to begin just two years later.Reasons for instability=many but a couple can be isolated:Knightly behavior during war and peacetimeLegal tricks and violence.

Period of contrast:Seen as an age of chivalry, of damsels in distress and knights in shining armor carrying them off.Reality was that wife beating a recognised right, if a daughter refused to marry her father1s choice, she was likely to be locked up and beatenmarriage was for financial advancement.Arranged marriages in the cradle.YetOxford and Cambridge foundedE(a)ton and WinchesterReading and writing were no longer the preserve of the Clergy.

The Wars Of The Roses No principles involved wealth, power and ultimately the monarchy.Lancastrians (red) vs. Yorkists (white)Both houses descended from Edward IIINoble on noble life as normal for majorityHenry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, came out on top becoming Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth Field.Won due to luck and good fortune:Richard III and all his advisors/court etc. killed on the fieldAll other contenders already eradicatedHenry had proclaimed himself king BEFORE the battle.Henry quickly married Elizabeth of York thus appeasing Yorkists.In 1454 there had been 53 peers in the House of Lords by the wars end only 18 remained.J.M.Trevalyn ..the Wars Of The Roses were a bleeding operation performed by the nobility upon their own body. To the nation it was a blessing in disguise.