Irrespective of whether they were rich or poor.

Taken together, the situation was too bad for the peasants. They found a

charismatic leader, a craftsman called Wat Tyler (that’s Tyler as in roof tiles),

who led them across Kent, collecting more supporters on the way, and into

the capital, winding them up to fever pitch with his oratory. Very quickly,

people in London realised that Wat and his friends were serious.

From revolution to confrontation

Wat led a large army of peasants into London. The rebels, armed only with

farming tools like axes and billhooks, overwhelmed the city guards, started

fires in Southwark, killed the archbishop of Canterbury, and started a blaze

In John of Gaunt’s London palace that sent the whole building tumbling to

the ground.

Meanwhile, Richard’s advisers started to panic. They’d never seen a popular

uprising before and were at sea when it came to dealing with it. It was left to

the young king and his mother Joan to cope with the crisis. While his advisers

flapped around, Richard and Joan, together with London’s Lord Mayor,

William Walworth, met the rebels face to face. Many of them respected Joan,

who came from Kent, the home of many of the rioters; the young king seemed

sympathetic, too.

Things were starting to calm down when Tyler rested his hand on the king’s

bridle. Walworth, who didn’t trust the rebels (they’d burned half his city

down, after all), misinterpreted the gesture, thinking Tyler was about to

attack the king. So Walworth drew his sword and instantly ran Tyler through.

Now the peasants’ leader was dead, and the 2,000 other rebels had their

bows and arrows trained on the king. With only Walworth and Joan to defend

him, it seemed that Richard didn’t stand a chance. But thinking quickly, the

young king spoke to the rebels. He offered to take up their cause himself and

assured them, ‘I will be your captain now.’

Picking up the pieces

Richard diffused the wrath of the peasants by promising to pardon them

for the revolt and agreeing to abolish villeinage. But he went back on his

promises, executing some of the more prominent rebels and using violence

to put down rebellions in other parts of the country. The rebels had been

tricked by a plausible teenaged king.

But it wasn’t all bad news for the peasants. In early 1382, Richard married

Anne of Bohemia, a princess from central Europe. Anne, pious and thoughtful,

begged her new husband to pardon the remaining rebels, and Richard agreed.

In addition, many landlords abolished tenancies under the old restrictions of

villeinage and introduced tenancy agreements that were more favourable to

peasant farmers. Less labour was available since the great plague, known as

the Black Death, had swept across the country in 1348. Suddenly, small farmers

were more valuable than before, and landlords had to agree to some of

their demands. So life was better after all for many at the sharp end of the

feudal system.

Protesting Parliaments

Richard had made a seriously good start as a ruler. He had diffused the

Peasants’ Revolt, got rid of the ringleaders, and, thanks to his clement queen,

done something to help the plight of the poor peasants, too. But he also had

more complicated work to do. England was still embroiled in the on-and-off

conflict with France and her ally, Scotland, which had started in Edward III’s

reign and is now called the Hundred Years War.

The dispute over money-raising to pay for the war (and for Richard’s lavish

court) led to a series of interventions by Parliament:

_ In 1386, Richard’s chancellor, Michael de la Pole, made a really heavy

tax demand.

_ Parliament met and sent a deputation to see Richard and demand that

de la Pole be sacked.

_ Richard at first refused, but then relented and removed de la Pole.

_ Parliament appointed a commission of top barons to run the administration

for a year and to sort out any royal abuses of power.

Not surprisingly, Richard didn’t take kindly to having his power snatched

away. He insisted on being advised by his own favourites, not men appointed

by Parliament. Before long, the king was locked in a battle of wills with

Parliament over who had the power to govern. Royalists and barons took up

arms and, in December 1387, fought the battle of Radcot Bridge, where the

king was captured and imprisoned in his own castle, the Tower of London.

Then another Parliament met to discuss once more what to do about royal

power. This meeting was known as the Merciless Parliament, and no wonder:

_ A group of lords accused the royal favourites of treason.

_ Two of the traitors, Robert Tresilian and Nicholas Brembre, were executed.

_ The Commons then accused and executed four other courtiers.

_ Parliament made the king accept another group of advisers, the Lords

Appellant, who were to have the power to control all his actions.

Richard was in an impossible position, but he was fortunate that several of

the advisers made peace with the royalist group and together king and advisers

were able to rule in an uneasy alliance. The king bolstered his position by

currying favour with the gentry and by making peace for a while in France.

A broken-hearted king?