Black
Black Death
Death and
and the
the
Peasants
Peasants’
’ Revolt
Revolt of 1381
of 1381
Lecture 10
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
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
