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The Peasants’ Revolt , 1381. How did the peasants get out of control?. How did the peasants get out of control?.
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The Peasants’ Revolt, 1381 How did the peasants get out of control?
It was all over. We had failed. We remaining peasants looked up at the rotting bodies of our friends hanging by chains and ropes from the trees. We wondered why we had let ourselves be tricked. It had all changed in those few moments outside the city walls of London. We could have taken the life of the boy king. We could have cut him down in a shower of arrows from our bows. But our leader had gone and we just did not know what to do. We had dared to trust our king. We travelled back to our villages in our thousands. But our young king Richard had lied. We were not made free. His soldiers had killed our friends. Our revolt had achieved nothing. Testament of a peasant who was present at the Peasants’ Revolt, 1381
Trends & Triggers When historians examine the causes of events such as the Peasants’ Revolt they sometimes describe them as either ‘trends’ or ‘triggers’. What is the difference?
Trends • England had been at war with France for nearly 50 years • Since the Black Death wages have been going up steadily • Some peasants have been able to buy their freedom, others (villeins) are still slaves • Priests (Lollards) are telling people that they are all the same in God’s eyes!
Triggers • In 1351 a new law (Statute of Labourers) fixed wages at 2d a day • A new king, Richard II came to the throne as a boy of ten. He was under the power of his unpopular advisers • The war with France had recently got worse – the French were threatening to invade • A popular priest called John Ball (a Lollard), was imprisoned for his beliefs • Poll taxes – everyone over 15 had to pay 4d!
In your own words… • What do we mean by a “trend”? • What do we mean by a “trigger”? • Complete the trend and trigger chart. • Which trend do you think was the most important? Explain your decision. • Which trigger do you think was the most important? Why?
May 1381 • King’s commissioners are attacked in Fobbing in Essex whilst trying to collect new poll tax. Three commissioners are beheaded and their heads put on poles and paraded around nearby villages.
May 1381 • 1000s of peasants meet in Maidstone and choose Wat Tyler, former soldier as their leader. He and his men take over the king’s castle at Rochester and march into Canterbury. • Tyler frees John Ball, the troublesome priest. He’d been imprisoned by the Archbishop of Canterbury for stirring up trouble.
June 1381 • Peasant numbers had reached about 60,000 • Peasants are armed with axes, scythes, some even have swords and bows and arrows. They begin to march on London to demand an audience with the King. Richard II (1377-99)
Thursday 13 June 1381 • Poor Londoners help peasants get through city gates • They break into Savoy Palace, home of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and blow it up with dynamite • One peasant caught looting is beheaded
Thursday 13 June 1381 • The Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury & Hales, the King’s Treasurer flee to the Tower of London • During the night drunken rebels riot. They attack and destroy the houses of lawyers and foreign traders.
Friday 14 June 1381 • Richard travels by boat along the Thames to meet rebels at Mile End. Amazingly, he agrees to abolish poll tax and grant free pardons if they go home immediately. • Peasants break into Tower of London, capture Sudbury & Hales and cut off their head (Sudbury’s takes 8 blows!) Sudbury’s decapitated head, preserved in a parish church
Saturday 15 June • King meets the rebels again, outside city walls at Smithfield. • Wat Tyler is killed under mysterious circumstances • Peasant leaders are rounded up and hanged.
Timeline • Using the information from the powerpoint complete the timeline.
Chronicle 1 An extract from an account written by a monk in York in 1399. “The commons were arrayed in battle formation in great numbers. Tyler dismounted, carrying his dagger. He called for some water and rinsed his mouth in a very rube disgusting fashion in front of the King. One of the King’s men called out that Tyler was the greatest robber in Kent. Tyler then made to strike the man with his dagger. The Mayor of London tried to arrest him, and because of this Way stabbed the Mayor with his dagger in the stomach. But the Mayor, as it pleased God, was wearing armour, and drew his cutlass and gave Wat a deep cut on the neck, and then a great cut on the head.”
Chronicle 2 The death of Wat Tyler as reported in the “Anonimalle Chronicle” in 1381. “Tyler stabbed the Mayor with his dagger, but the mayor was wearing armour under his robes and was not harmed. He drew his sword and struck back. He gave Tyler a deep cut on the neck and then a great cut on the head. One of the king’s followers drew his sword and ran Tyler two or three times through the body, killing him.”
Answer the following questions: • Who do the chronicles support? • What evidence can you find in a) Chronicle 1 b) Chronicle 2 to support your decision? • Why do you think these accounts do not support Tyler? • How reliable are these sources in helping historians explain the events that took place at Smithfield in 1381? (use the answers to the previous questions to help you)
Your task • Tell the story of the peasants revolt. • Talk about the causes of the revolt • The places & people they attacked en route to London • What happened to Wat Tyler when he met the king • Now change the story so it is the person on your role card re-telling the events.
