Black

Black Death

Death and

and the

the

Peasants

Peasants’

’ Revolt

Revolt of 1381

of 1381

Lecture 10

England

England in1348

in1348



estimated number of inhabitants: between 3

to 7 million



earlier demographic crises, e.g. the Great

Famine of 1315–1317 had resulted in great

numbers of deaths



England a predominantly rural and

agrarian society



close to 90% of the population lived in the

countryside



the major cities

◦

London - 70,000 inhabitants

◦

Norwich - around 12,000 people

◦

York - around 10,000

Cloth

Cloth industry

industry



wool - the main export and the source of the

nation's wealth



up until the middle of the 14th century raw

wool exported to Flanders



gradually the technology for cloth making

used on the Continent appropriated by

English manufacturers



around mid-century an export of cloth

started (to boom over the following

decades)

The

The Black

Black Death

Death



The terms used by contemporaries:

◦

"Great Pestilence„

◦

"Great Mortality“



The plague caused by Yersinia pestis
bacteria carried by fleas transferred to

humans through contact with rats

images\Video\Secrets of the Black Death.flv

The

The bubonic

bubonic plague

plague



flea bites carry the disease into the

lymphatic system



in the lymph nodes the bacteria multiply

and form swellings (buboes)



after 3 or 4 days the bacteria enter into the
bloodstream  infection of the spleen and

the lungs



the patient dies after a few days

The

The p

pneumonic

neumonic plague

plague



the bacteria become airborne and enter

directly the patient's lungs



far more virulent - it spreads directly from

person to person

The

The septicaemic

septicaemic plague

plague

the flea bite carries the bacteria directly into

the blood stream - death occurs rapidly

The

The Black

Black Death’s

Death’s origin

origin



The Black Death most likely originated in
Central Asia (the disease endemic in the
rodent population)



The cause of the outbreak unknown -

probably a series of natural disasters

brought humans into contact with the

infected rodents



The epidemic reached Constantinople in the

late spring of 1347



from here it reached Sicily in October that

same year



by early 1348 it had spread all over the

Italian mainland



it spread rapidly through France, and had

reached Paris in June 1348



it arrived in the English province of

Gascony around the same time

The

The plague

plague in

in England

England



The plague probably arrived by ship from

Gascony to Weymouth shortly before 24

June 1348



From Weymouth the disease spread rapidly

across the south-west



Bristol - the first major city to be struck



London reached in the autumn of 1348

The

The plague

plague in

in London

London



Conditions in London ideal for the plague:

◦

streets narrow and flowing with sewage

◦

houses overcrowded and poorly

ventilated



by March 1349 the disease was spreading

across all of southern England

The

The death

death toll

toll



the death toll difficult to establish:



difficulties involve:

◦

uncertainty about the size of the total

population

◦

issues regarding the proportion of the

population that died from the plague



Modern historians give estimates of death

rates ranging from around 25% to over 60%

of the total population

The

The consequences

consequences



a shortage of farm labour



a corresponding rise in wages



with almost half the population dead, the

price of labour nearly doubled



people who worked the land began asking for

more



more and more villeins wanted to be free to

pay money instead of working for their lords



the lords insisted on paying the same wages

and refused to allow villeins to stop

working for them for money



the common people began protesting

against the privileges of the nobles

Legislative

Legislative measures

measures



1349 - King Edward III passed

the

Ordinance of Labourers

(wages fixed at

pre-plague levels)



1351 - the ordinance reinforced by
Parliament's passing of

the Statute of

Labourers



The legislative measures proved largely

inefficient at regulating the market - the

government's repressive measures to
enforce them caused public resentment 

the Peasants' Revolt in 1381



The prices fell down - people sold all they

had facing death



a shortage of labour  working men

demanded higher wages - in the long term

the Black Death contributed to England’s

prosperity!



Those who did survive improved their

social standing

More sophisticated relations between lord

and tenant cash became more widely

offered instead of feudal services

Bastard feudalism

Bastard feudalism

A term applied to the ties between lords and

their followers whose military and

administrative services were retained in

return for fees, rather than land

Religious

Religious consequences

consequences

of

of the

the plague

plague



a shortage of priests in many parts of the

country – in consequence:

◦

wider public participation in religious

affairs

◦

revitalisation of the medieval Church



The omnipresence of death inspired greater

piety in the upper classes - three Cambridge

colleges founded during or shortly after the

Black Death

the increase in public participation

challenged the absolute authority of the

Church hierarchy, and helped pave the way

for the Protestant Reformation

Cultural

Cultural consequences

consequences



The shortage of labour helped advance the

transition from the

decorated

style of

building to the less elaborate

perpendicular

style



The Black Death may have promoted the

use of vernacular English (the number of
teachers proficient in French dwindled) 

the late-fourteenth century flowering of

English literature, (Geoffrey Chaucer and

John Gower)

T

The Great Revolt of the

he Great Revolt of the

Peasants

Peasants -- 1381

1381

Causes

Causes



heavy-handed attempts to enforce the third

poll tax (1377, 1379, 1381)



England ruled by unpopular men:

◦

John of Gaunt (acting regent)

◦

Simon Sudbury (Chancellor and

Archbishop of Canterbury)

◦

Robert Hales (the Lord Treasurer –

responsible for poll tax)

Causes

Causes



enclosures

allowing barons to enclose

arable land for sheep grazing



Statute of Labourers (1351) - unpopular law

binding workers to workplaces, limiting

wandering and paying wages from before

the plague



general poverty of peasantry

The

The uprising

uprising

triggered by incidents in the Essex villages of

Fobbing and Brentwood:

failure in collecting the poll tax from villagers

at Fobbing

Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas

sent to investigate the incident

On 2 June Robert Belknap attacked at

Brentwood

Essex

Essex and Kent

and Kent in

in revolt

revolt



Kentish rebels under the leadership of

Wat

Tyler

joined the rebels from Essex (

Jack

Straw

- probably the same person as John

Rakestraw or Rackstraw)



John Ball

– the Lollard priest.

‘When Adam delved and Eve span, who was

then the gentleman?’



A systematic attack on certain properties



Storming the Tower of London – execution

of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord

Treasurer



John of Gaunt’s Savoy Palace in London

destroyed

PPeasants

easants’ de

’ demands

mands



abolition of villeinage - i.e., end to serfdom



reduction of rent



free access to fairs and markets



general pardon



Smithfield - King Richard II and Wat Tyler

met; the latter was killed and hundreds of

rebels executed



The nobles re-establish their control with

the help of militia of 7000



John Ball and Jack Straw - beheaded

The Revolt did succeed in showing the nobles

that the peasants were dissatisfied

In the longer term, the Revolt helped to form

a radical tradition in British politics

After the revolt, the term poll tax no longer

used, although English governments

continued to collect broadly similar taxes

until the 17th century

images\Video\THE PEASANTS' REVOLT 1381.flv