Popular revolts in late medieval Europe

thumb|upright=1.3|right|[[Richard II of England meets the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt]]

Medieval Europe saw uprisings and rebellions by peasants in the countryside, or the burgesses in towns, against nobles, abbots and kings during the upheavals between 1300 and 1500, part of a larger crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Although sometimes known as 'peasant revolts', the phenomenon of popular uprisings was of broad scope and not just restricted to peasants. In Central Europe and the Balkan region, these rebellions expressed, and helped cause, a political and social disunity paving the way for the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

Background

Before the 14th century, popular uprisings (such as uprisings at a manor house against an unpleasant overlord), though not unknown, tended to operate on a local scale. This changed in the 14th and 15th centuries when new downward pressures on the poor resulted in mass movements of popular uprisings across Europe. For example, Germany between 1336 and 1525 witnessed no fewer than sixty instances of militant peasant unrest.

Most of the revolts expressed the desire of those below to share in the wealth, status, and well-being of those more fortunate. In the end, they were almost always defeated by the nobles. A new attitude emerged in Europe, that "peasant" was a pejorative concept, it was something separate, and seen in a negative light, from those who had wealth and status. the origins of this change can be traced to the 12th century and the rise of the concept of nobility. Dress, behaviour, courtesy, speech, diet, education – all became part of the noble class, making them distinct from others. By the 14th century the nobles had indeed become very different in their behaviour, appearance and values from those "beneath".

The nobles however also faced a crisis of declining income. (or Great Rising) was led not by peasants, but by those who would be the most affected by increased taxation: the merchants who were not wealthy, but not poor either. Indeed, these revolts were often accompanied by landless knights, excommunicated clerics and other members of society who might find gain or have reason to rebel. Although these were popular revolts, they were often organized and led by people who would not have considered themselves peasants.

Peasants is typically a term used to denote the rural agrarian poor, while many uprisings involved tradesmen and occurred within towns and cities, thus the term does not fully encompass events as a whole for the period.

For historical writing purposes, many modern historians will use the word peasant with care and respect, choosing other phrases such as "Popular" or "from below" or "grassroots", although in some countries in central and eastern Europe where serfdom continued up to the 19th century in places, the word peasant is still used by some historians as the main description of these events.

Popular revolts in late medieval Europe

Background

See also

References

Further reading