After Richard had broken the revolt in London at Smithfield it was time to tackle the chaos outside London. The Counter Revolution took something between 1,500-7,000 judicial executions, and did nothing to solve the breaches in a divided society. Also this week, a look at the state of the nation of the medieval English church, as we approach the story of John Wyclif and the Lollards.
The Peasants' Revolt - Counter Revolution
By July 1381, the Peasants' Revolt was over. Richard proved not to be a keen captain of the peasants as he'd promised at Smithfield, taking a hard line on the peasants; aspirations:
‘You wretches, detestable on land and sea; you who seek equality with lords are unworthy to live. Give this message to your colleagues: rustics you were, rustics you are still. You will remain in bondage, not as before, but incomparably harsher. For as long as you live we will strive to suppress you, and your misery will be an example in the eyes of prosterity. However, we will spare your lives if you remain faithful and loyal. Choose now which course you want to follow’
Second best university, indeed! As the Master of my college, Lord Alan Bullock, noted as I entered, "why would anyone want to send their son, the Prince of Wales" — who entered the other place at the same time — to "one of those newer universities, one that could be certain of the date in was founded."
Posted by: Stuart Pimm | Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 06:20 PM
Hurrah! Thank you Stuart, how nice to get a reaction to that comment, I did hope! I am deeply impressed that you didn't ask which the leading university might be. Nice to hear that Alan living up to his name...
Posted by: The History of England | Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 06:34 PM