What interests me is the similarities to this insurrection which occurred during the reign of Richard II, and the one that Shakespeare so colorfully describes in Henry VI Part II, there are uncanny similarities. Were there more than one peasant insurrections where the insurrectors wanted to "kill all the lawyers," just for starters? I really must cross-check the names of the chief characters in Henry VI with those provided by the narrator in this history, and see how closely they match.
It was always a little astonishing that Wat Tyler rode out to meet the king without a matched entourage of men-at-arms. The lesson of this revolt is the same as any other - the ancien regime must be killed to the last for the rebels to be secure. Their mistake was in packing up and going home, where they were hunted down and killed.
Interesting. Good post.
Meanwhile, over a decade earlier, on the other side of the globe, a wandering panhandler made himself emperor:
His grandfather, who lived to be 99 years old, had served in the Southern Song army and navy, which had fought against the Mongol invasion, and told his grandson tales of it.[29]
Destitute after his family’s death, Zhu accepted a suggestion to take up a pledge made by his brother and became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple,[30] a local Buddhist monastery. However, he was forced to leave the monastery after it ran short of funds.
For the next few years, Zhu led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced the hardships of the common people during the late years of the Yuan dynasty.[31] After about three years, he returned to the monastery and stayed there until he was around 24 years old. He learned to read and write during the time that he spent with the Buddhist monks.[32]]
Yes, there were similarities. In both instances, the main targets were the King‘s advisers, not so much the King himself.
Furthermore, both rebellions sprang forth in Kent, just southeast of London, and in both cases, several royal advisers were slain by the rebels, without recourse to regular justice.
The revolt of 1381 was, iirc, caused by the so called poll tax, which demanded a shilling from every adult male in the country. This was seen as excessive, triggering the uprising headed by Wat Tyler.
The 1450 rising was, presumably, caused by the incompetence of King Henry Vl. and his advisers.
Interestingly, the Lord of Saye and Sele, James Fiennes, whom the rebels beheaded in 1450, has several famous descendants today - the family still being extant - one of whom is actor Ralph Fiennes.