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171-596: The Peasants' Revolt , also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising , was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black Death in the 1340s, the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War , and instability within the local leadership of London. Interpretations of

342-545: A "pestilential fever" ( febris pestilentialis ) in his work On the Signs and Symptoms of Diseases ( De signis et symptomatibus aegritudium ). The phrase mors nigra , 'black death', was used in 1350 by Simon de Covino (or Couvin), a Belgian astronomer, in his poem "On the Judgement of the Sun at a Feast of Saturn" ( De judicio Solis in convivio Saturni ), which attributes

513-644: A Christian between the eyes and on the cheeks in Parthian Edessa at the time of the Roman Emperor Trajan on a judge's order for refusal to sacrifice. In the 16th century, German Anabaptists were branded with a cross on their foreheads for refusing to recant their faith and join the Roman Catholic church. In the North American colonial settlements of the 17th and early 18th centuries, branding

684-467: A conjunction of planets had caused "a great pestilence in the air" ( miasma theory ). Muslim religious scholars taught that the pandemic was a "martyrdom and mercy" from God, assuring the believer's place in paradise. For non-believers, it was a punishment. Some Muslim doctors cautioned against trying to prevent or treat a disease sent by God. Others adopted preventive measures and treatments for plague used by Europeans. These Muslim doctors also depended on

855-541: A crime to refuse work or to break an existing contract, imposing fines on those who transgressed. The system was initially enforced through special Justices of Labourers and then, from the 1360s onwards, through the normal Justices of the Peace , typically members of the local gentry. Although in theory these laws applied to both labourers seeking higher wages and to employers tempted to outbid their competitors for workers, they were in practice applied only to labourers, and then in

1026-728: A description of the disease modelled on Thucydides 's account of the 5th century BCE Plague of Athens , noting the spread of the Black Death by ship between maritime cities. Nicephorus Gregoras , while writing to Demetrios Kydones , described the rising death toll, the futility of medicine, and the panic of the citizens. The first outbreak in Constantinople lasted a year, but the disease recurred ten times before 1400. Carried by twelve Genoese galleys, plague arrived by ship in Sicily in October 1347;

1197-572: A distinct form of the disease, pneumonic plague , that infected the lungs and led to respiratory problems. Symptoms include fever, cough and blood-tinged sputum . As the disease progresses, sputum becomes free-flowing and bright red. Pneumonic plague has a mortality rate of 90–95%. Human branding The English verb "to burn", attested since the 12th century, is a combination of Old Norse brenna "to burn, light", and two originally distinct Old English verbs: bærnan "to kindle" (transitive) and beornan "to be on fire" (intransitive), both from

1368-425: A famous sermon to the assembled Kentishmen. Ball was a well-known priest and radical preacher from Kent, who was by now closely associated with Tyler. Chroniclers' accounts vary as to how he came to be involved in the revolt; he may have been released from Maidstone prison by the crowds, or might have been already at liberty when the revolt broke out. Ball rhetorically asked the crowds "When Adam delved and Eve span, who

1539-421: A few thousand strong, advanced towards London, some probably travelling directly and others via Kent. One group, under the leadership of John Wrawe , a former chaplain , marched north towards the neighbouring county of Suffolk, with the intention of raising a revolt there. Revolt also flared in neighbouring Kent . Sir Simon de Burley , a close associate of both Edward III and the young Richard, had claimed that

1710-403: A hot iron", itself from Greek καυτηριάζειν, kauteriazein , from καυτήρ kauter "burning or branding iron", from καίειν kaiein "to burn". However cauterization is now generally understood to mean a medical process – specifically to stop bleeding. The origin may be the ancient treatment of a slave (often without legal rights) as livestock . In criminal law , branding with a hot iron

1881-532: A man in Kent, called Robert Belling, was an escaped serf from one of his estates. Burley sent two sergeants to Gravesend , where Belling was living, to reclaim him. Gravesend's local bailiffs and Belling tried to negotiate a solution under which Burley would accept a sum of money in return for dropping his case, but this failed and Belling was taken away to be imprisoned at Rochester Castle . A furious group of local people gathered at Dartford , possibly on 5 June, to discuss

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2052-407: A mark of their owners. Women and girls being forced into prostitution would have their boss's name or gang symbol inked or branded with hot iron on their skin. In some organizations involved with the trafficking of women and girls like the mafias nearly all prostitutes are marked. Some pimps and organisations use their name or well-known symbol, others are using secret signs. The branding

2223-665: A passage from the Bible, could not use it more than once. It was abolished for such in 1822. In 1655, James Nayler , a Quaker , was accused of claiming to be the Messiah , and was convicted of blasphemy in a highly publicized trial before the Second Protectorate Parliament. He had his tongue bored through and his forehead branded B for "blasphemer". In 1698 it was enacted that those convicted of petty theft or larceny , who were entitled to benefit of clergy, should be "burnt in

2394-634: A rather arbitrary fashion. The legislation was strengthened in 1361, with the penalties increased to include branding and imprisonment. The royal government had not intervened in this way before, nor allied itself with the local landowners in quite such an obvious or unpopular way. Over the next few decades, economic opportunities increased for the English peasantry. Some labourers took up specialist jobs that would have previously been barred to them, and others moved from employer to employer, or became servants in richer households. These changes were keenly felt across

2565-411: A royal sergeant, they were taken out to Tower Hill and beheaded. Their heads were paraded around the city, before being affixed to London Bridge . The rebels found John of Gaunt's son, the future Henry IV , and were about to execute him as well, when John Ferrour, one of the royal guards, successfully interceded on his behalf. The rebels also discovered Lady Joan and Joan Holland , Richard's sister, in

2736-524: A rue du Pipi. Pigs, cattle, chickens, geese, goats and horses roamed the streets of medieval London and Paris. Medieval homeowners were supposed to police their housefronts, including removing animal dung, but most urbanites were careless. William E. Cosner, a resident of the London suburb of Farringdon Without, received a complaint alleging that "men could not pass [by his house] for the stink [of] . . . horse dung and horse piss." One irate Londoner complained that

2907-483: A slave owner in Kentucky around 1848 was looking for his runaway slave. He described her having "a brand mark on the breast something like L blotched". In South Carolina, there were many laws which permitted the punishments slaves would receive. When a slave ran away, if it was the first offense, the slave would receive no more than forty lashes. Then the second offense would be branding. The slave would have been marked with

3078-619: A small sporadic outbreak characteristic of transmission from rodents to humans with no wide-scale impact. According to Achtman, the dating of the plague suggests that it was not carried along the Silk Road , and its widespread appearance in that region probably postdates the European outbreak. Additionally, the Silk Road had already been heavily disrupted before the spread of the Black Death; Western and Middle Eastern traders found it difficult to trade on

3249-529: A team led by Galina Eroshenko placed its origins more specifically in the Tian Shan mountains on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China. However more recent research notes that the previous sampling contained East Asian bias and that sampling since then has discovered strains of Y. pestis in the Caucasus region previously thought to be restricted to China. There is also no physical or specific textual evidence of

3420-571: A very small bodyguard with him. The King left Sudbury and Hales behind in the Tower, either for their own safety or because Richard had decided it would be safer to distance himself from his unpopular ministers. Along the way, several Londoners accosted the King to complain about alleged injustices. It is uncertain who spoke for the rebels at Mile End, and Wat Tyler may not have been present on this occasion, but they appear to have put forward their various demands to

3591-407: A violent confrontation, which rapidly spread across the southeast of the country. A wide spectrum of rural society, including many local artisans and village officials, rose up in protest, burning court records and opening the local prisons. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to serfdom , and the removal of King Richard II 's senior officials and law courts. Inspired by the sermons of

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3762-632: Is both painful and humiliating for the victim, especially when done with a branding iron , and may be also a form of punishment and of psychological submission for the prostitutes. Some years ago the brands were usually small, only recognized by other pimps, sometimes hidden between the inner vaginal lips , though other instances show that pimps have no issue with larger, more noticeable brands. In symbolic solidarity with Calf 269 , protesters in Israel subjected themselves to branding on World Farm Animals Day ( Gandhi 's birthday): October 2, 2012. This act

3933-481: Is needed to the range of (especially non- commensal ) animals that might be involved in the transmission of plague. Archaeologist Barney Sloane has argued that there is insufficient evidence of the extinction of numerous rats in the archaeological record of the medieval waterfront in London, and that the disease spread too quickly to support the thesis that Y. pestis was spread from fleas on rats; he argues that transmission must have been person to person. This theory

4104-557: Is not without controversy; a Hindu temple in Sugarland, Texas was sued by the father of an eleven-year-old boy who was branded during a religious ceremony there. The punishment was adopted by the Anglo-Saxons , and the ancient law of England authorized the penalty. By the Statute of Vagabonds (1547) under King Edward VI , vagabonds and Roma were ordered to be branded with a large V on

4275-557: Is still contested. It is speculated that rats aboard Zheng He 's ships in the 15th century may have carried the plague to Southeast Asia , India , and Africa. Research on the Delhi Sultanate and the Yuan dynasty shows no evidence of any serious epidemic in fourteenth-century India and no specific evidence of plague in 14th-century China, suggesting that the Black Death may not have reached these regions. Ole Benedictow argues that since

4446-528: Is supported by research in 2018 which suggested transmission was more likely by body lice and fleas during the second plague pandemic . Academic debate continues, but no single alternative explanation for the plague's spread has achieved widespread acceptance. Many scholars arguing for Y. pestis as the major agent of the pandemic suggest that its extent and symptoms can be explained by a combination of bubonic plague with other diseases, including typhus , smallpox , and respiratory infections . In addition to

4617-617: Is very old. Homer used it in the Odyssey to describe the monstrous Scylla , with her mouths "full of black Death" ( Ancient Greek : πλεῖοι μέλανος Θανάτοιο , romanized :  pleîoi mélanos Thanátoio ). Seneca the Younger may have been the first to describe an epidemic as 'black death', ( Latin : mors atra ) but only in reference to the acute lethality and dark prognosis of disease. The 12th–13th century French physician Gilles de Corbeil had already used atra mors to refer to

4788-563: The Domesday Book , they were exempted from such requests. The workers made unsuccessful appeals to the law courts and the King. There were also widespread urban tensions, particularly in London, where John of Gaunt narrowly escaped being lynched. The troubles increased again in 1380, with protests and disturbances across northern England and in the western towns of Shrewsbury and Bridgwater . An uprising occurred in York, during which John de Gisborne,

4959-639: The Golden Horde army of Jani Beg in 1347. From Crimea, it was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that travelled on Genoese ships, spreading through the Mediterranean Basin and reaching North Africa , West Asia , and the rest of Europe via Constantinople , Sicily , and the Italian Peninsula . There is evidence that once it came ashore, the Black Death mainly spread from person-to-person as pneumonic plague , thus explaining

5130-588: The Keeper of the Privy Seal and one of the men on the rebels' execution list, narrowly escaped when the crowds ransacked his accommodation but failed to notice he was still in the building. Next to be attacked along Fleet Street was the Savoy Palace , a huge, luxurious building belonging to John of Gaunt. According to the chronicler Henry Knighton it contained "such quantities of vessels and silver plate, without counting

5301-665: The Lord's Day were branded upon their forehead. During the early stages of the American Revolution , some Loyalists were branded on the face with the letters G.R (for George Rex , i.e. King George ) by Patriots as punishment for perceived servility to the Crown. In late 18th century England the letter used would indicate the type of crime committed, eg SS (Sower of Sedition), M (Malefactor), B (Blasphemer), F (Fraymaker) and R (Rogue), for example. The mark in later times

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5472-774: The Mamluk Sultanate , cultural center of the Islamic world , and the largest city in the Mediterranean Basin ; the Bahriyya child sultan an-Nasir Hasan fled and more than a third of the 600,000 residents died. The Nile was choked with corpses despite Cairo having a medieval hospital, the late 13th-century bimaristan of the Qalawun complex . The historian al-Maqrizi described the abundant work for grave-diggers and practitioners of funeral rites ; plague recurred in Cairo more than fifty times over

5643-589: The Proto-Germanic root bren(wanan) , perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root bhre-n-u , from base root bhereu- "to boil forth, well up". In Dutch , (ver)branden mean "to burn", brandmerk a branded mark; similarly, in German , Brandzeichen means "a brand" and brandmarken , "to brand". Sometimes, the word cauterize is used. This is known in English since 1541, and is derived via Medieval French cauteriser from Late Latin cauterizare "to burn or brand with

5814-604: The Roman Empire before the reign of Trajan , six centuries before arriving at Pelusium in the reign of Justinian I . In 2013, researchers confirmed earlier speculation that the cause of the Plague of Justinian (541–549 CE, with recurrences until 750) was Y . pestis . This is known as the first plague pandemic . In 610, the Chinese physician Chao Yuanfang described a "malignant bubo" "coming in abruptly with high fever together with

5985-748: The University of Cambridge was attacked and many royal officials were killed. Unrest continued until the intervention of Henry Despenser , who defeated a rebel army at the Battle of North Walsham on 25 or 26 June. Troubles extended north to York , Beverley , and Scarborough , and as far west as Bridgwater in Somerset . Richard mobilised 4,000 soldiers to restore order. Most of the rebel leaders were tracked down and executed; by November, at least 1,500 rebels had been killed. The revolt of 1381 broke out in Essex , following

6156-471: The University of Cambridge . Cavendish was caught in Lakenheath and killed. John Battisford and Thomas Sampson independently led a revolt near Ipswich on 14 June. They took the town without opposition and looted the properties of the archdeacon and local tax officials. The violence spread out further, with attacks on many properties and the burning of the local court records. One official, Edmund Lakenheath,

6327-477: The University's church , and attempted to execute the university bedel , who escaped. The university's library and archives were burnt in the centre of the town, with one Margery Starre leading the mob in a dance to the rallying cry "Away with the learning of clerks, away with it!" while the documents burned. The next day, the university was forced to negotiate a new charter, giving up its royal privileges. Unrest then spread north from Cambridge toward Ely , where

6498-476: The Y. pestis strain responsible for the Black Death as both the ancestor of later plague epidemics—including the third plague pandemic —and the descendant of the strain responsible for the Plague of Justinian . In addition, plague genomes from prehistory have been recovered. DNA taken from 25 skeletons from 14th-century London showed that plague is a strain of Y. pestis almost identical to that which hit Madagascar in 2013 . Further DNA evidence also proves

6669-520: The court-martial might, in addition to any other penalty, order deserters to be marked on the left side, 2 inches (5.1 cm) below the armpit, with the letter D , such letter to be not less than an inch long. In 1879 this was abolished. Offenders in Australia were subject to branding in accordance with British law. In 1826, in Hobart, Joseph Clarke was charged with manslaughter and 'sentenced to be burnt in

6840-417: The galleys for life. Branding tended to be abolished like other judicial mutilations (with notable exceptions, such as amputation under sharia law), sooner and more widely than flogging , caning , and similar corporal punishments, which normally aim 'only' at pain and at worst cause stripe scars, although the most severe lashings (not uncommon in penal colonies) in terms of dosage and instrument (such as

7011-493: The gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they showed themselves. This was followed by acute fever and vomiting of blood . Most people died two to seven days after initial infection. Freckle-like spots and rashes, which may have been caused by flea-bites , were identified as another potential sign of plague. Lodewijk Heyligen , whose master Cardinal Giovanni Colonna died of plague in 1348, noted

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7182-549: The germ theory of disease . Until then streets were usually unhygienic, with live animals and human parasites facilitating the spread of transmissible disease . By the early 14th century, so much filth had collected inside urban Europe that French and Italian cities were naming streets after human waste. In medieval Paris, several street names were inspired by merde, the French word for "shit". There were rue Merdeux, rue Merdelet, rue Merdusson, rue des Merdons and rue Merdiere—as well as

7353-404: The poll tax of the year 1377. Estimates of plague victims are usually extrapolated from figures for the clergy. Mathematical modelling is used to match the spreading patterns and the means of transmission . In 2018 researchers suggested an alternative model in which "the disease was spread from human fleas and body lice to other people". The second model claims to better fit the trends of

7524-443: The " Neolithic decline " around 3000 BCE, in which European populations fell significantly. This Y. pestis may have been different from more modern types, with bubonic plague transmissible by fleas first known from Bronze Age remains near Samara . The symptoms of bubonic plague are first attested in a fragment of Rufus of Ephesus preserved by Oribasius ; these ancient medical authorities suggest bubonic plague had appeared in

7695-737: The 14th century, as previously speculated. The Black Death was the second great natural disaster to strike Europe during the Late Middle Ages (the first one being the Great Famine of 1315–1317 ) and is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of the European population, as well as approximately 33% of the population of the Middle East. There were further outbreaks throughout the Late Middle Ages and, also due to other contributing factors (the Crisis of

7866-481: The 15th and early 16th centuries, and in the 16th and 17th centuries was transferred to other languages as a calque : Icelandic : svarti dauði , German : der schwarze Tod , and French : la mort noire . Previously, most European languages had named the pandemic a variant or calque of the Latin : magna mortalitas , lit.   'Great Death'. The phrase 'black death' – describing Death as black –

8037-678: The 15th century. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was generally known as "the Insurrection of Wat Tyler". Though he commented that "which eighteenth- or nineteenth-century historian first used the doubly discredited phrase 'Peasants' Revolt' I have been unable to determine", Paul Strohm's first identified usage of the term was in John Richard Green 's Short History of the English People in 1874. The name has been critiqued by modern historians such as Strohm and Miri Rubin , both on

8208-457: The 1640s. Nestorian gravesites dating from 1338 to 1339 near Issyk-Kul have inscriptions referring to plague, which has led some historians and epidemiologists to think they mark the outbreak of the epidemic ; this is supported by recent direct findings of Y. pestis DNA in teeth samples from graves in the area with inscriptions referring to "pestilence" as the cause of death. Epidemics killed an estimated 25 million across Asia during

8379-452: The 18th century, cold branding, or branding with cold irons became the mode of nominally inflicting the punishment on prisoners of higher rank. "When Charles Moritz, a young German, visited England in 1782 he was much surprised at this custom, and in his diary mentioned the case of a clergyman who had fought a duel and killed his man in Hyde Park . Found guilty of manslaughter he was burnt in

8550-452: The 18th century, the event was called the "pestilence" or "great pestilence", "the plague" or the "great death". Subsequent to the pandemic "the furste moreyn " (first murrain ) or "first pestilence" was applied, to distinguish the mid-14th century phenomenon from other infectious diseases and epidemics of plague. The 1347 pandemic plague was not referred to specifically as "black" in the time of occurrence in any European language, though

8721-500: The Bishop of Rochester that they should return home, and instead prepared to march on. Discussions took place in the Tower of London about how to deal with the revolt. The King had only a few troops at hand, in the form of the castle's garrison, his immediate bodyguard and, at most, several hundred soldiers. Many of the more experienced military commanders were in France, Ireland and Germany, and

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8892-418: The Black Death in 14th century China. As a result, China's place in the sequence of the plague's spread is still debated to this day. According to Charles Creighton, records of epidemics in 14th-century China suggest nothing more than typhus and major Chinese outbreaks of epidemic disease post-date the European epidemic by several years. The earliest Chinese descriptions of the bubonic plague do not appear until

9063-506: The Black Death, because there were actually four strains of Yersinia pestis that became predominant in different parts of the world. Mongol records of illness such as food poisoning may have been referring to the Black Death. Another theory is that the plague originated near Europe and cycled through the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Russia before making its way to China. Other historians, such as John Norris and Ole Benedictaw, believe

9234-581: The Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , who was probably already holding court in the area, was empowered to arrest and deal with the perpetrators. By the next day, the revolt was rapidly growing. The villagers spread the news across the region, and John Geoffrey, a local bailiff, rode between Brentwood and Chelmsford , rallying support. On 4 June, the rebels gathered at Bocking , where their future plans seem to have been discussed. The Essex rebels, possibly

9405-437: The French throne , beginning a long-running conflict that became known as the Hundred Years' War . Edward had initial successes, but his campaigns were not decisive. Charles V of France became more active in the conflict after 1369, taking advantage of his country's greater economic strength to commence cross-Channel raids on England. By the 1370s, England's armies on the continent were under huge military and financial pressure;

9576-652: The Islamic city of Almería in al-Andalus . Mecca became infected in 1348 by pilgrims performing the Hajj . In 1351 or 1352, the Rasulid sultan of the Yemen , al-Mujahid Ali, was released from Mamluk captivity in Egypt and carried plague with him on his return home. During 1349, records show the city of Mosul suffered a massive epidemic, and the city of Baghdad experienced a second round of

9747-457: The Islamic world in 1347–52. However, there is a conspicuous lack of evidence for pandemic disease on the scale of the Black Death in China at this time. War and famine – and the diseases that typically accompanied them – probably were the main causes of mortality in the final decades of Mongol rule. Monica Green suggests that other parts of Eurasia outside the west do not contain the same evidence of

9918-455: The King's mother, who was travelling back to the capital to avoid being caught up in the revolt; she was mocked but otherwise left unharmed. The Kentish rebels reached Blackheath , just south-east of the capital, on 12 June. Word of the revolt reached the King at Windsor Castle on the night of 10 June. He travelled by boat down the River Thames to London the next day, taking up residence in

10089-429: The King, including the surrender of the hated officials on their lists for execution; the abolition of serfdom and unfree tenure; "that there should be no law within the realm save the law of Winchester", and a general amnesty for the rebels. It is unclear precisely what was meant by the law of Winchester , but it probably referred to the rebel ideal of self-regulating village communities. Richard issued charters announcing

10260-470: The Late Middle Ages ), the European population did not regain its 14th century level until the 16th century. Outbreaks of the plague recurred around the world until the early 19th century. European writers contemporary with the plague described the disease in Latin as pestis or pestilentia , 'pestilence'; epidemia , 'epidemic'; mortalitas , 'mortality'. In English prior to

10431-414: The London public regarded as a heretic. John of Gaunt was also engaged in a feud with the London elite and was rumoured to be planning to replace the elected mayor with a captain, appointed by the Crown. The London elite were themselves fighting out a vicious, internal battle for political power. As a result, in 1381 the ruling classes in London were unstable and divided. Rural communities, particularly in

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10602-517: The Prior of the wealthy Bury St Edmunds Abbey , was disliked in the town, and Wrawe allied himself with the townspeople and stormed the abbey. The Prior escaped, but was found two days later and beheaded. A small band of rebels marched north to Thetford to extort protection money from the town, and another group tracked down Sir John Cavendish , the Chief Justice of the King's Bench and Chancellor of

10773-585: The Silk Road by 1325 and impossible by 1340, making its role in the spread of plague less likely. There are no records of the symptoms of the Black Death from Mongol sources or writings from travelers east of the Black Sea prior to the Crimean outbreak in 1346. Others still favor an origin in China. The theory of Chinese origin implicates the Silk Road, the disease possibly spreading alongside Mongol armies and traders, or possibly arriving via ship—however, this theory

10944-616: The Westminster prison. They then moved back into central London, setting fire to more buildings and storming Newgate Prison. The hunt for Flemings continued, and those with Flemish-sounding accents were killed, including the royal adviser, Richard Lyons . In one city ward , the bodies of 40 executed Flemings were piled up in the street, and at the Church of St Martin Vintry , popular with the Flemish, 35 of

11115-570: The abbey prison, destroyed the fences marking out the abbey lands and burnt the abbey records in the town square. They then forced Thomas de la Mare to surrender the abbey's rights in a charter on 16 June. The revolt against the abbey spread out over the next few days, with abbey property and financial records being destroyed across the county. On 15 June, a revolt broke out in Cambridgeshire , led by elements of Wrawe's Suffolk rebellion and some local men, such as John Greyston, who had been involved in

11286-417: The abbey. A group of townsmen under the leadership of William Grindecobbe travelled to London, where they appealed to the King for the rights of the abbey to be abolished. Wat Tyler, then still in control of the city, granted them authority in the meantime to take direct action against the abbey. Grindecobbe and the rebels returned to St Albans, where they found the Prior had already fled. The rebels broke open

11457-400: The abolition of serfdom, which immediately began to be disseminated around the country. He declined to hand over any of his officials, apparently instead promising that he would personally implement any justice that was required. While Richard was at Mile End, the Tower was taken by the rebels. This force, separate from those operating under Tyler at Mile End, approached the castle, possibly in

11628-457: The air. One of the most significant events in European history, the Black Death had far-reaching population, economic, and cultural impacts. It was the beginning of the second plague pandemic . The plague created religious, social and economic upheavals, with profound effects on the course of European history. The origin of the Black Death is disputed. Genetic analysis suggests Yersinia pestis bacteria evolved approximately 7,000 years ago, at

11799-519: The appearance of a bundle of nodes beneath the tissue." The Chinese physician Sun Simo who died in 652 also mentioned a "malignant bubo" and plague that was common in Lingnan ( Guangzhou ). Ole Jørgen Benedictow believes that this indicates it was an offshoot of the first plague pandemic which made its way eastward to Chinese territory by around 600. A report by the Medical Faculty of Paris stated that

11970-490: The arrival of John Bampton to investigate non-payment of the poll tax on 30 May. Bampton was a Member of Parliament, a Justice of the Peace and well-connected with royal circles. He based himself in Brentwood and summoned representatives from the neighbouring villages of Corringham , Fobbing and Stanford-le-Hope to explain and make good the shortfalls on 1 June. The villagers appear to have arrived well-organised, and armed with old bows and sticks. Bampton first interrogated

12141-401: The author William Morris , and remains a potent symbol for the political left , informing the arguments surrounding the introduction of the Community Charge in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. The term "Peasants' Revolt" does not occur in medieval sources: contemporary chronicles did not give the events a specific title, and the term "peasant" did not appear in the English language until

12312-400: The balance of free and unfree varied across England, and in the south-east serfdom was relatively rare. Some serfs were born unfree and could not leave their manors to work elsewhere without the consent of the local lord; others accepted limitations on their freedom as part of the tenure agreement for their farmland. Population growth led to pressure on the available agricultural land, increasing

12483-630: The beginning of the Neolithic , with flea-mediated strains emerging around 3,800 years ago during the late Bronze Age . The immediate territorial origins of the Black Death and its outbreak remain unclear, with some evidence pointing towards Central Asia , China, the Middle East , and Europe. The pandemic was reportedly first introduced to Europe during the siege of the Genoese trading port of Kaffa in Crimea by

12654-402: The bites of fleas whose midguts had become obstructed by replicating Y. pestis several days after feeding on an infected host. This blockage starves the fleas, drives them to aggressive feeding behaviour, and causes them to try to clear the blockage via regurgitation , resulting in thousands of plague bacteria flushing into the feeding site and infecting the host. The bubonic plague mechanism

12825-523: The breast, and "brawlers" with F for "fraymaker". Slaves who ran away were branded with S on the cheek or forehead. This law was repealed in England in 1550. From the time of Henry VII , branding was inflicted for all offences which received benefit of clergy . Branding of the thumbs was used around 1600 at the Old Bailey , to ensure that the accused who had successfully used benefit of clergy, by reading

12996-471: The bubonic infection, others point to additional septicemic and pneumonic forms of plague, which lengthen the duration of outbreaks throughout the seasons and help account for its high mortality rate and additional recorded symptoms. In 2014, Public Health England announced the results of an examination of 25 bodies exhumed in the Clerkenwell area of London, as well as of wills registered in London during

13167-654: The castle but let them go unharmed after making fun of them. The castle was thoroughly looted of armour and royal paraphernalia. In the aftermath of the attack, Richard did not return to the Tower but instead travelled from Mile End to the Great Wardrobe, one of his royal houses in Blackfriars , part of south-west London. There he appointed the military commander Richard FitzAlan , the Earl of Arundel , to replace Sudbury as Chancellor, and began to make plans to regain an advantage over

13338-416: The centre of the city, and Aldgate was opened to let the rest of the rebels in. The Kentish rebels had assembled a wide-ranging list of people whom they wanted the King to hand over for execution. It included national figures, such as John of Gaunt, Archbishop Sudbury and Hales; other key members of the royal council; officials, such as Belknap and Bampton who had intervened in Kent; and other hated members of

13509-540: The challenge of financially sustaining the war in France. Taxes in the 14th century were raised on an ad hoc basis through Parliament, then comprising the Lords , the titled aristocracy and clergy; and the Commons , the representatives of the knights, merchants and senior gentry from across England. These taxes were typically imposed on a household's movable possessions, such as their goods or stock. The raising of these taxes affected

13680-532: The charters granted the previous day, agreed to meet at Smithfield, just outside the city walls. London remained in confusion, with various bands of rebels roaming the city independently. Richard prayed at Westminster Abbey, before setting out for the meeting in the late afternoon. The chroniclers' accounts of the encounter all vary on matters of detail, but agree on the broad sequence of events. The King and his party, at least 200 strong and including men-at-arms , positioned themselves outside St Bartholomew's Priory to

13851-421: The city to meet Tyler and the rebels at Smithfield . Violence broke out, and Richard's party killed Tyler. Richard defused the tense situation long enough for London's mayor, William Walworth , to gather a militia from the city and disperse the rebel forces. Richard immediately began to re-establish order in London and rescinded his previous grants to the rebels. The revolt had also spread into East Anglia , where

14022-469: The city's mayor, was removed from office, and fresh tax riots followed in early 1381. There was a great storm in England during May 1381, which many felt to prophesy future change and upheaval, adding further to the disturbed mood. The final trigger for the revolt was the intervention of a royal official, John Bampton, in Essex on 30 May 1381. His attempts to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood ended in

14193-417: The community were killed. Historian Rodney Hilton argues that these attacks may have been coordinated by the weavers' guilds of London, who were commercial competitors of the Flemish weavers. Isolated inside the Tower, the royal government was in a state of shock at the turn of events. The King left the castle that morning and made his way to negotiate with the rebels at Mile End in east London, taking only

14364-510: The consequent competition for labour, wages were driven sharply upwards. In turn, the profits of landowners were eroded. The trading, commercial and financial networks in the towns disintegrated. The authorities responded to the chaos by passing emergency legislation, the Ordinance of Labourers in 1349, and the Statute of Labourers in 1351. These attempted to fix wages at pre-plague levels, making it

14535-418: The continent. According to some epidemiologists, periods of unfavorable weather decimated plague-infected rodent populations, forcing their fleas onto alternative hosts, inducing plague outbreaks which often peaked in the hot summers of the Mediterranean and during the cool autumn months of the southern Baltic region . Among many other culprits of plague contagiousness, pre-existing malnutrition weakened

14706-472: The countryside economy that fed the country's towns and cities and supported an extensive international trade. Across much of England, production was organised around manors , controlled by local lords – including the gentry and the Church  – and governed through a system of manorial courts . Some of the population were unfree serfs , who had to work on their lords' lands for a period each year, although

14877-473: The courts began to be retaken by their owners, and legal officials were assaulted. Some started to advocate the creation of independent village communities, respecting traditional laws but separate from the hated legal system centred in London. As the historian Miri Rubin describes, for many, "the problem was not the country's laws, but those charged with applying and safeguarding them". Concerns were raised about these changes in society. William Langland wrote

15048-478: The crowd and persuaded them to follow him away from Smithfield, to Clerkenwell Fields , defusing the situation. Walworth meanwhile began to regain control of the situation, backed by reinforcements from the city. Tyler's head was cut off and displayed on a pole and, with their leader dead and the royal government now backed by the London militia, the rebel movement began to collapse. Richard promptly knighted Walworth and his leading supporters for their services. While

15219-530: The debate about the cause of the Black Death, and unambiguously demonstrates that Y. pestis was the causative agent of the epidemic plague that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages". In 2011 these results were further confirmed with genetic evidence derived from Black Death victims in the East Smithfield burial site in England. Schuenemann et al. concluded in 2011 "that the Black Death in medieval Europe

15390-462: The decision was taken that the King himself should meet the rebels, at Greenwich , on the south side of the Thames. Guarded by four barges of soldiers, Richard sailed from the Tower on the morning of 13 June, where he was met on the other side by the rebel crowds. The negotiations failed, as Richard was unwilling to come ashore and the rebels refused to enter discussions until he did. Richard returned across

15561-669: The disease spread rapidly all over the island. Galleys from Kaffa reached Genoa and Venice in January 1348, but it was the outbreak in Pisa a few weeks later that was the entry point into northern Italy. Towards the end of January, one of the galleys expelled from Italy arrived in Marseilles . From Italy , the disease spread northwest across Europe, striking France , Spain , Portugal, and England by June 1348, then spreading east and north through Germany , Scotland and Scandinavia from 1348 to 1350. It

15732-544: The disease. Symptoms of the plague include fever of 38–41 °C (100–106 °F), headaches, painful aching joints , nausea and vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise . Left untreated, 80% of victims die within eight days. Contemporary accounts of the pandemic are varied and often imprecise. The most commonly noted symptom was the appearance of buboes (or gavocciolos ) in the groin, neck and armpits, which oozed pus and bled when opened. Boccaccio 's description: In men and women alike it first betrayed itself by

15903-404: The east of Smithfield, and the thousands of rebels massed along the western end. Richard probably called Tyler forwards from the crowd to meet him, and Tyler greeted the King with what the royal party considered excessive familiarity, terming Richard his "brother" and promising him his friendship. Richard queried why Tyler and the rebels had not yet left London following the signing of the charters

16074-466: The emergence of certain tumours in the groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg ... From the two said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, now minute and numerous. As

16245-518: The events in London and had returned to his home county to spread the revolt, and Geoffrey Cobbe and John Hanchach, members of the local gentry. The University of Cambridge, staffed by priests and enjoying special royal privileges, was widely hated by the other inhabitants of the town. A revolt backed by the Mayor of Cambridge broke out with the university as its main target. The rebels ransacked Corpus Christi College , which had connections to John of Gaunt, and

16416-414: The expression "black death" had occasionally been applied to fatal disease beforehand. "Black death" was not used to describe the plague pandemic in English until the 1750s; the term is first attested in 1755, where it translated Danish : den sorte død , lit.   'the black death'. This expression as a proper name for the pandemic had been popularized by Swedish and Danish chroniclers in

16587-533: The fifteen years before the Black Death reached Constantinople in 1347. The evidence does not suggest, at least at present, that these mortality crises were caused by plague. Although some scholars, including McNeill and Cao, see the 1333 outbreak as a prelude to the outbreaks in Europe from the late 1340s to the early 1350s, scholars of the Yuan and Ming periods remain skeptical about such an interpretation. Nonetheless,

16758-456: The first clear reports of the Black Death come from Kaffa , the Black Death most likely originated in the nearby plague focus on the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea . Demographic historians estimate that China's population fell by at least 15 per cent, and perhaps as much as a third, between 1340 and 1370. This population loss coincided with the Black Death that ravaged Europe and much of

16929-487: The following one and a half centuries. During 1347, the disease travelled eastward to Gaza by April; by July it had reached Damascus , and in October plague had broken out in Aleppo . That year, in the territory of modern Lebanon , Syria , Israel , and Palestine , the cities of Ascalon , Acre , Jerusalem , Sidon , and Homs were all infected. In 1348–1349, the disease reached Antioch . The city's residents fled to

17100-618: The galleys were replaced by the bagnes on land, TF ( travaux forcés , 'forced' labor, i.e. hard labour ) or TFP ( travaux forcés à perpetuité , hard labour for life). In most of the German-speaking states, however, branding people was unlawful. Following the Conspiracy of the Slaves of 1749 in Malta , some slaves were branded with the letter R (for ribelli ) on their forehead and condemned to

17271-486: The garrisons in Calais and Brest alone, for example, were costing £36,000 a year to maintain, while military expeditions could consume £50,000 in only six months. Edward died in 1377, leaving the throne to his grandson, Richard II , then only ten years old. Richard's government was formed around his uncles, most prominently the rich and powerful John of Gaunt , and many of his grandfather's former senior officials. They faced

17442-457: The grounds that many in the movements were not peasants, and that the events more closely resemble a prolonged protest or rising rather than a revolt or rebellion. Alternative terms include "the 1381 Rising" and "the English Rising of 1381". The Peasants' Revolt was fed by the economic and social upheaval of the 14th century. At the start of the century, the majority of English people worked in

17613-590: The hand'. In 1850, in New South Wales, deserter Daniel O'Neil was tattooed with the letter 'D'. Branding in Russia was used quite extensively in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Over time, red hot iron brands were gradually replaced by tattoo boards; criminals were first branded on the forehead and cheeks, later on the back and arms. Branding was totally abolished in 1863. Forced and enslaved prostitutes have often been tattooed or branded with

17784-470: The hand, if that could be called burning which was done with a cold iron". From Markham's Ancient Punishments of Northants , 1886. Such cases led to branding becoming obsolete. It was abolished in 1829, except in the case of deserters from the army, who were marked with the letter D , not with hot irons but by tattooing with ink or gunpowder. Notoriously bad soldiers were also branded with BC (bad character). The British Mutiny Act 1858 provided that

17955-618: The hated royal council, and searched the city for suspected enemies, dragging the suspects out of their houses and executing them. The city prison was opened and the prisoners freed. Tyler then persuaded a few thousand of the rebels to leave Canterbury and advance with him on London the next morning. The Kentish advance on London appears to have been coordinated with the movement of the rebels in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk . Their forces were armed with weapons including sticks, battle axes, old swords and bows. Along their way, they encountered Lady Joan ,

18126-578: The headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller which was headed by Hales. The priory was destroyed, along with the nearby manor. Heading west along Fleet Street , the rebels attacked the Temple , a complex of legal buildings and offices owned by the Hospitallers. The contents, books and paperwork were brought out and burned in the street, and the buildings systematically demolished. Meanwhile, John Fordham ,

18297-469: The immune response, contributing to an immense decline in European population. The disease struck various regions in the Middle East and North Africa during the pandemic , leading to serious depopulation and permanent change in both economic and social structures. By autumn 1347, plague had reached Alexandria in Egypt, transmitted by sea from Constantinople via a single merchant ship carrying slaves. By late summer 1348, it reached Cairo , capital of

18468-505: The imposition of an indelible criminal record . Robbers, like runaway slaves, were marked by the Romans with the letter F ( fur ); and the toilers in the mines, and convicts condemned to figure in gladiatorial shows, were branded on the forehead for identification. Under Constantine I the face was not permitted to be so disfigured, the branding being on the hand, arm or calf. The Acts of Sharbel record it applied, amongst other tortures, to

18639-451: The inhabitants, though it is also likely that infected rats travelled across the siege lines to spread the epidemic to the inhabitants. As the disease took hold, Genoese traders fled across the Black Sea to Constantinople , where the disease first arrived in Europe in summer 1347. The epidemic there killed the 13-year-old son of the Byzantine emperor , John VI Kantakouzenos , who wrote

18810-476: The late morning. The gates were open to receive Richard on his return and a crowd of around 400 rebels entered the fortress, encountering no resistance, possibly because the guards were terrified by them. Once inside, the rebels began to hunt down their key targets, and found Archbishop Sudbury and Robert Hales in the chapel of the White Tower. Along with William Appleton, John of Gaunt's physician, and John Legge,

18981-517: The letter R on their forehead signifying that they were a criminal, and a runaway. Ceremonial branding is an integral part of religious initiation in most Vaishnava sects. References to this practice can be traced in texts such as Narad Panchratra, Vaikhnasagama, Skanda Purana , etc. This practice remains prevalent among Madhava sect Brahmins of Karnataka in India , who brand small marks on both shoulders (for men) or forearms (for women). This practice

19152-523: The letters H T and lower and almost between the eyes the letter F and these markings were splayed and garish as if the iron had been left too long. When he turned to look at the kid, the kid could see that he had no ears." In Louisiana, there was a "black code", or Code Noir , which allowed the cropping of ears, shoulder branding, and hamstringing , the cutting of tendons near the knee, as punishments for recaptured slaves. Slave owners used extreme punishments to stop flight, or escape. They would often brand

19323-534: The matter. From there the rebels travelled to Maidstone , where they stormed the prison, and then on to Rochester on 6 June. Faced by the angry crowds, the constable in charge of Rochester Castle surrendered it without a fight and Belling was freed. Some of the Kentish crowds now dispersed, but others continued. From this point, they appear to have been led by Wat Tyler , whom the Anonimalle Chronicle suggests

19494-502: The members of the Commons much more than the Lords. To complicate matters, the official statistics used to administer the taxes pre-dated the Black Death and, since the size and wealth of local communities had changed greatly since the plague, effective collection had become increasingly difficult. Just before Edward's death, Parliament introduced a new form of taxation called the poll tax , which

19665-630: The most visible part of the left cheek, nearest the nose". This special ordinance was repealed in 1707. In the Lancaster Criminal Court, a branding iron is preserved in the dock. It is a long bolt with a wooden handle at one end and an M for malefactor at the other. Close by are two iron loops for firmly securing the hands during the operation. The brander would, after examination, turn to the judge exclaiming "A fair mark, my lord." Criminals were ordered to hold up their hands before their sentence, to show if they had been previously convicted. In

19836-550: The name atra mors for the 14th-century epidemic first appeared in a 1631 book on Danish history by J. I. Pontanus : "Commonly and from its effects, they called it the black death" ( Vulgo & ab effectu atram mortem vocitabant ). Research from 2017 suggests plague first infected humans in Europe and Asia in the Late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age . Research in 2018 found evidence of Yersinia pestis in an ancient Swedish tomb, which may have been associated with

20007-473: The nearest major military force was in the north of England, guarding against a potential Scottish invasion. Resistance in the provinces was also complicated by English law, which stated that only the King could summon local militias or lawfully execute rebels and criminals, leaving many local lords unwilling to attempt to suppress the uprisings on their own authority. Since the Blackheath negotiations had failed,

20178-576: The north, but most of them ended up dying during the journey. Within two years, the plague had spread throughout the Islamic world, from Arabia across North Africa. The pandemic spread westwards from Alexandria along the African coast, while in April 1348 Tunis was infected by ship from Sicily. Tunis was then under attack by an army from Morocco; this army dispersed in 1348 and brought the contagion with them to Morocco, whose epidemic may also have been seeded from

20349-447: The parcel-gilt and solid gold, that five carts would hardly suffice to carry them"; official estimates placed the value of the contents at around £10,000. The interior was systematically destroyed by the rebels, who burnt the soft furnishings, smashed the precious metal work, crushed the gems, set fire to the Duke's records and threw the remains into the Thames and the city drains. Almost nothing

20520-459: The people of Fobbing, whose representative, Thomas Baker , declared that his village had already paid their taxes, and that no more money would be forthcoming. When Bampton and two sergeants attempted to arrest Baker, violence broke out. Bampton escaped and retreated to London, but three of his clerks and several of the Brentwood townsfolk who had agreed to act as jurors were killed. Robert Bealknap ,

20691-487: The people that scarce the tenth person of any sort was left alive. Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via Genoese traders from their port city of Kaffa in the Crimea in 1347. During a protracted siege of the city in 1345–1346, the Mongol Golden Horde army of Jani Beg —whose mainly Tatar troops were suffering from the disease— catapulted infected corpses over the city walls of Kaffa to infect

20862-408: The period, which supported the pneumonic hypothesis. Currently, while osteoarcheologists have conclusively verified the presence of Y. pestis bacteria in burial sites across northern Europe through examination of bones and dental pulp , no other epidemic pathogen has been discovered to bolster the alternative explanations. The importance of hygiene was not recognized until the 19th century and

21033-657: The plague likely originated in Europe or the Middle East, and never reached China. Norris specifically argues for an origin in Kurdistan rather than Central Asia. The seventh year after it began, it came to England and first began in the towns and ports joining on the seacoasts, in Dorsetshire , where, as in other counties, it made the country quite void of inhabitants so that there were almost none left alive. ... But at length it came to Gloucester , yea even to Oxford and to London, and finally it spread over all England and so wasted

21204-475: The plague to an astrological conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. His use of the phrase is not connected unambiguously with the plague pandemic of 1347 and appears to refer to the fatal outcome of disease. The historian Cardinal Francis Aidan Gasquet wrote about the Great Pestilence in 1893 and suggested that it had been "some form of the ordinary Eastern or bubonic plague". In 1908, Gasquet said use of

21375-526: The plague's death toll, as the rat-flea-human hypothesis would have produced a delayed but very high spike in deaths, contradicting historical death data. Lars Walløe argued that these authors "take it for granted that Simond's infection model, black rat → rat flea → human, which was developed to explain the spread of plague in India, is the only way an epidemic of Yersinia pestis infection could spread". Similarly, Monica Green has argued that greater attention

21546-477: The poem Piers Plowman in the years before 1380, praising peasants who respected the law and worked hard for their lords, but complaining about greedy, travelling labourers demanding higher wages. The poet John Gower warned against a future revolt in both Mirour de l'Omme and Vox Clamantis . There was a moral panic about the threat posed by newly arrived workers in the towns and the possibility that servants might turn against their masters. New legislation

21717-453: The power of local landowners. In 1348 a plague known as the Black Death crossed from mainland Europe into England, rapidly killing an estimated 50 percent of the population. After an initial period of economic shock, England began to adapt to the changed economic situation. The death rate among the peasantry meant that suddenly land was relatively plentiful and labourers in much shorter supply. Labourers could charge more for their work and, in

21888-654: The powerful fortress of the Tower of London for safety, where he was joined by his mother, Archbishop Sudbury, the Lord High Treasurer Sir Robert Hales , the Earls of Arundel , Salisbury and Warwick and several other senior nobles. A delegation, headed by Thomas Brinton , the Bishop of Rochester , was sent out from London to negotiate with the rebels and persuade them to return home. At Blackheath, John Ball gave

22059-401: The presence of DNA / RNA with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques for Y. pestis from the tooth sockets in human skeletons from mass graves in northern, central and southern Europe that were associated archaeologically with the Black Death and subsequent resurgences. The authors concluded that this new research, together with prior analyses from the south of France and Germany, "ends

22230-407: The previous day, but this brought an angry rebuke from Tyler, who requested that a further charter be drawn up. The rebel leader rudely demanded refreshment and, once this had been provided, attempted to leave. An argument then broke out between Tyler and some of the royal servants. The Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth , stepped forward to intervene, Tyler made some motion towards the King, and

22401-482: The prison was opened and the local Justice of the Peace executed. Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as 50 million people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and spread by fleas and through

22572-465: The prisons, destroyed the Savoy Palace , set fire to law books and buildings in the Temple , and killed anyone associated with the royal government. The following day, Richard met the rebels at Mile End and agreed to most of their demands, including the abolition of serfdom. Meanwhile, rebels entered the Tower of London, killing Simon Sudbury , Lord Chancellor , and Robert Hales , Lord High Treasurer , whom they found inside. On 15 June, Richard left

22743-514: The proverbial knout ) can even turn out to cause death. In Pennsylvania, the horse theft law "An Act to Increase the Punishments of Horse Stealing" was passed in 1780 and repealed in 1860, which stated people guilty of such a crime should be branded. The law ran as follows; "the first offense [the convicted] shall stand in the pillory for one hour, and shall be publicly whipped on his, or her [bare] backs with thirty-nine lashes, well laid on, and at

22914-403: The quick inland spread of the epidemic, which was faster than would be expected if the primary vector was rat fleas causing bubonic plague. In 2022, it was discovered that there was a sudden surge of deaths in what is today Kyrgyzstan from the Black Death in the late 1330s; when combined with genetic evidence, this implies that the initial spread may not have been due to Mongol conquests in

23085-470: The radical cleric John Ball and led by Wat Tyler , a contingent of Kentish rebels advanced on London. They were met at Blackheath by representatives of the royal government, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade them to return home. King Richard, then aged 14, retreated to the safety of the Tower of London , but most of the royal forces were abroad or in northern England. On 13 June, the rebels entered London and, joined by many local townsfolk, attacked

23256-429: The rebels the following day. Many of the Essex rebels now began to disperse, content with the King's promises, leaving Tyler and the Kentish forces the most significant faction in London. Tyler's men moved around the city that evening, seeking out and killing John of Gaunt's employees, foreigners and anyone associated with the legal system. On 15 June the royal government and the remaining rebels, who were unsatisfied with

23427-605: The remarkably high mortality rates during the Datong mortality should discourage us from rejecting the possibility of localized/regional outbreaks of plague in different parts of China, albeit differing in scale from, and unrelated to, the pandemic mortality of the Black Death. What we lack is any indication of a plague pandemic that engulfed vast territories of the Yuan Empire and later moved into western Eurasia through Central Asia. According to John Norris, evidence from Issyk-Kul indicates

23598-610: The revolt by academics have shifted over the years. It was once seen as a defining moment in English history, in particular causing a promise by King Richard II to abolish serfdom, and a suspicion of Lollardy , but modern academics are less certain of its impact on subsequent social and economic history. The revolt heavily influenced the course of the Hundred Years' War, by deterring later Parliaments from raising additional taxes to pay for military campaigns in France. The revolt has been widely used in socialist literature, including by

23769-451: The revolt was unfolding in London, John Wrawe led his force into Suffolk. Wrawe had considerable influence over the development of the revolt across eastern England, where there may have been almost as many rebels as in the London revolt. The authorities put up very little resistance to the revolt: the major nobles failed to organise defences, key fortifications fell easily to the rebels and the local militias were not mobilised. As in London and

23940-402: The revolt, but it is uncertain if this was a real person, or a pseudonym for Wat Tyler or John Wrawe. Tyler and the Kentish men advanced to Canterbury , entering the walled city and castle without resistance on 10 June. The rebels deposed the absent Archbishop of Canterbury, Sudbury, and made the cathedral monks swear loyalty to their cause. They attacked properties in the city with links to

24111-408: The river to the Tower. The rebels began to cross from Southwark onto London Bridge on the afternoon of 13 June. The defences on London Bridge were opened from the inside, either in sympathy for the rebel cause or out of fear, and the rebels advanced into the city. At the same time, the rebel force from Essex made its way towards Aldgate on the north side of the city. The rebels swept west through

24282-477: The role of Y. pestis and traces the source to the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan . Researchers are hampered by a lack of reliable statistics from this period. Most work has been done on the spread of the disease in England, where estimates of overall population at the start of the plague vary by over 100%, as no census was undertaken in England between the time of publication of the Domesday Book of 1086 and

24453-670: The royal council and Parliament about what to do next. Parliament passed a third poll tax (this time on a flat-rate basis of 12 pence on each person over 15, with no allowance made for married couples) which they estimated would raise £66,666. The third poll tax was highly unpopular and many in the south-east evaded it by refusing to register. The royal council appointed new commissioners in March 1381 to interrogate local village and town officials in an attempt to find those who were refusing to comply. The extraordinary powers and interference of these teams of investigators in local communities, primarily in

24624-509: The royal legal system in the capital, in particular the increased role of the Marshalsea Court in Southwark, which had begun to compete with the city authorities for judicial power in London. The city's population also resented the presence of foreigners, Flemish weavers in particular. Londoners detested John of Gaunt because he was a supporter of the religious reformer John Wycliffe , whom

24795-414: The royal soldiers leapt in. Either Walworth or Richard ordered Tyler to be arrested, Tyler attempted to attack the Mayor, and Walworth responded by stabbing Tyler. Ralph Standish, a royal squire , then repeatedly stabbed Tyler with his sword, mortally injuring him. The situation was now precarious and violence appeared likely as the rebels prepared to unleash a volley of arrows. Richard rode forward towards

24966-420: The runoff from the local slaughterhouse had made his garden "stinking and putrid", while another charged that the blood from slain animals flooded nearby streets and lanes, "making a foul corruption and abominable sight to all dwelling near." In much of medieval Europe, sanitation legislation consisted of an ordinance requiring homeowners to shout, "Look out below!" three times before dumping a full chamber pot into

25137-525: The same time shall have his or her ears cut off and nailed to the pillory, and for the second offense shall be whipped and pilloried in like manner and be branded on the forehead in a plain and visible manner with the letters H. T." This punishment was referenced in Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian as the character Toadvine is branded with the letters H. T. on his forehead. H stands for Horse, T for Thief and F for Felon; "On his forehead were burned

25308-585: The slaves' palms, shoulders, buttocks, or cheeks with a branding iron. Branding was sometimes used to mark recaptured runaway slaves to help the locals easily identify the runaway. Micajah Ricks, a slave owner in Raleigh, North Carolina , was looking for his slave and described, "I burnt her with a hot iron, on the left side of her face, I tried to make the letter M." Most slave owners would use whipping as their main method, but at other times they would use branding to punish their slaves. Another testimony explains how

25479-413: The south-east and east of England, raised still further the tensions surrounding the taxes. ...from the beginning all men by nature were created alike... The decades running up to 1381 were a rebellious, troubled period. London was a particular focus of unrest, and the activities of the city's politically active guilds and fraternities often alarmed the authorities. Londoners resented the expansion of

25650-440: The south-east of England, where the London market created a wide range of opportunities for farmers and artisans. Local lords had the right to prevent serfs from leaving their manors, but when serfs found themselves blocked in the manorial courts, many simply left to work illegally on manors elsewhere. Wages continued to rise, and between the 1340s and the 1380s the purchasing power of rural labourers increased by around 40 percent. As

25821-411: The south-east, this was in part due to the absence of key military leaders and the nature of English law, but any locally recruited men might also have proved unreliable in the face of a popular uprising. On 12 June, Wrawe attacked Sir Richard Lyons' property at Overhall, advancing on to Cavendish and Bury St Edmunds in west Suffolk the next day, gathering further support as they went. John Cambridge,

25992-424: The south-east, were unhappy with the operation of serfdom and the use of the local manorial courts to exact traditional fines and levies, not least because the same landowners who ran these courts also often acted as enforcers of the unpopular labour laws or as royal judges. Many of the village elites refused to take up positions in local government and began to frustrate the operation of the courts. Animals seized by

26163-435: The street. Early Christians considered bathing a temptation. With this danger in mind, St. Benedict declared, "To those who are well, and especially to the young, bathing shall seldom be permitted." St. Agnes took the injunction to heart and died without ever bathing. According to a team of medical geneticists led by Mark Achtman , Yersinia pestis "evolved in or near China" over 2,600 years ago. Later research by

26334-412: The wealth of the lower classes increased, Parliament brought in fresh laws in 1363 to prevent them from consuming expensive goods formerly only affordable by the elite. These sumptuary laws proved unenforceable, but the wider labour laws continued to be firmly applied. Another factor in the revolt of 1381 was the conduct of the war with France. In 1337 Edward III of England had pressed his claims to

26505-470: The western United States. Y. pestis was discovered by Alexandre Yersin , a pupil of Louis Pasteur , during an epidemic of bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894; Yersin also proved this bacterium was present in rodents and suggested the rat was the main vehicle of transmission. The mechanism by which Y. pestis is usually transmitted was established in 1898 by Paul-Louis Simond and was found to involve

26676-460: The wider royal circle. When they reached the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark, they tore it apart. By now the Kent and Essex rebels had been joined by many rebellious Londoners. The Fleet and Newgate Prisons were attacked by the crowds, and the rebels also targeted houses belonging to Flemish immigrants. On the north side of London, the rebels approached Smithfield and Clerkenwell Priory ,

26847-486: The writings of the ancient Greeks. Due to climate change in Asia , rodents began to flee the dried-out grasslands to more populated areas, spreading the disease. The plague disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis , is enzootic (commonly present) in populations of fleas carried by ground rodents , including marmots , in various areas, including Central Asia , Kurdistan , West Asia , North India , Uganda , and

27018-440: The young King, but had concerns about the amounts of money being sought and the way this was being spent by the King's counsellors, whom they suspected of corruption. A second poll tax was approved, this time with a sliding scale of taxes against seven different classes of English society, with the upper classes paying more in absolute terms. Widespread evasion proved to be a problem, and the tax only raised £18,600 – far short of

27189-486: The £50,000 that had been hoped for. In November 1380, Parliament was called together again in Northampton . Archbishop Simon Sudbury , the new Lord Chancellor , updated the Commons on the worsening situation in France, a collapse in international trade, and the risk of the Crown having to default on its debts. The Commons were told that the colossal sum of £160,000 was now required in new taxes, and arguments ensued between

27360-435: Was a common punishment for those found guilty of crimes. The type of brand differed from crime to crime. Men and women sentenced for adultery were branded with an A letter on their chest, D for drunkenness and B for blasphemy or burglary , T on the hand for thief , SL on the cheek for seditious libel , R on the shoulder for rogue or vagabond , and F on the cheek for forgery . Those convicted of burglary on

27531-419: Was a mode of punishment consisting of marking the subject as if goods or animals, sometimes concurrently with their reduction of status in life. Brand marks have also been used as a punishment for convicted criminals, combining physical punishment , as burns are very painful, with public humiliation (greatest if marked on a normally visible part of the body) which is here the more important intention, and with

27702-487: Was also dependent on two populations of rodents: one resistant to the disease, which act as hosts , keeping the disease endemic , and a second that lacks resistance. When the second population dies, the fleas move on to other hosts, including people, thus creating a human epidemic . Definitive confirmation of the role of Y. pestis arrived in 2010 with a publication in PLOS Pathogens by Haensch et al. They assessed

27873-628: Was also often chosen as a code for the crime (e.g., D for desertion and BC for bad character in Canada. Most branded men were shipped off to a penal colony ). Branding was also used by the Confederate Army during the American Civil War . Until 1832 in France , various offenses carried the additional infamy of being branded with a fleur de lis and galley slaves could be branded GAL or, once

28044-452: Was caused by a variant of Y. pestis that may no longer exist". Later in 2011, Bos et al. reported in Nature the first draft genome of Y. pestis from plague victims from the same East Smithfield cemetery and indicated that the strain that caused the Black Death is ancestral to most modern strains of Y. pestis . Later genomic papers have further confirmed the phylogenetic placement of

28215-432: Was elected their leader at a large gathering at Maidstone on 7 June. Relatively little is known about Tyler's former life; chroniclers suggest that he was from Essex, had served in France as an archer and was a charismatic and capable leader. Several chroniclers believe that he was responsible for shaping the political aims of the revolt. Some also mention a Jack Straw as a leader among the Kentish rebels during this phase in

28386-656: Was forced to flee from the Suffolk coast by boat. Revolt began to stir in St Albans in Hertfordshire late on 13 June, when news broke of the events in London. There had been long-running disagreements in St Albans between the town and the local abbey , which had extensive privileges in the region. On 14 June, protesters met with the Abbot, Thomas de la Mare, and demanded their freedom from

28557-519: Was introduced into Norway in 1349 when a ship landed at Askøy , then spread to Bjørgvin (modern Bergen ). Finally, it spread to northern Russia in 1352 and reached Moscow in 1353. Plague was less common in parts of Europe with less-established trade relations, including the majority of the Basque Country , isolated parts of Belgium and the Netherlands , and isolated Alpine villages throughout

28728-547: Was introduced in 1359 to deal with migrants, existing conspiracy laws were more widely applied and the treason laws were extended to include servants or wives who betrayed their masters and husbands. By the 1370s, there were fears that if the French invaded England, the rural classes might side with the invaders. The discontent began to give way to open protest. In 1377, the " Great Rumour " occurred in south-east and south-west England. Rural workers organised themselves and refused to work for their lords, arguing that, according to

28899-456: Was levied at the rate of four pence on every person over the age of 14, with a deduction for married couples. Designed to spread the cost of the war over a broader economic base than previous tax levies, this round of taxation proved extremely unpopular but raised £22,000. The war continued to go badly and, despite raising some money through forced loans, the Crown returned to Parliament in 1379 to request further funds. The Commons were supportive of

29070-430: Was stolen by the rebels, who declared themselves to be "zealots for truth and justice, not thieves and robbers". The remains of the building were then set alight. In the evening, rebel forces gathered outside the Tower of London, from where the King watched the fires burning across the city. On the morning of 14 June, the crowd continued west along the Thames, burning the houses of officials around Westminster and opening

29241-414: Was then a gentleman?" and promoted the rebel slogan "With King Richard and the true commons of England". The phrases emphasised the rebel opposition to the continuation of serfdom and to the hierarchies of the Church and State that separated the subject from the King, while stressing that they were loyal to the monarchy and, unlike the King's advisers, were "true" to Richard. The rebels rejected proposals from

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