Post by whitewolfstark on Mar 28, 2016 18:46:51 GMT
I always loved the riot in Season 2 & in the book. It reminded me of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 when it got into the city (not so much the lead up to the Peasants' Revolt outside of London, but the actions of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 inside of London? Hell yeah.)
The rebels began to cross from Southwark onto London Bridge on the afternoon of 13 June.[105] 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.[106][nb 8] At the same time, the rebel force from Essex made its way towards Aldgate on the north side of the city.[108] The rebels swept west through the centre of the city, and Aldgate was opened to let the rest of the rebels in.[109]
The Kentish rebels had assembled a wide-ranging list of people whom they wanted the King to hand over for execution.[104] 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 the wider royal circle.[104] When they reached the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark, they tore it apart.[110] By now the Kent and Essex rebels had been joined by many rebellious Londoners.[111] The Fleet and Newgate Prisons were attacked by the crowds, and the rebels also targeted houses belonging to Flemish immigrants.[112]
On the north side of London, the rebels approached Smithfield and Clerkenwell Priory, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller which was headed by Hales.[113] The priory was destroyed, along with the nearby manor.[113] Heading west along Fleet Street, the rebels attacked the Temple, a complex of legal buildings and offices owned by the Hospitallers.[114] The contents, books and paperwork were brought out and burned in the street, and the buildings systematically demolished.[114] Meanwhile, John Fordham, 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.[114]
Next to be attacked along Fleet Street was the Savoy Palace, a huge, luxurious building belonging to John of Gaunt.[115] According to the chronicler Henry Knighton it contained "such quantities of vessels and silver plate, without counting 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.[115] 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.[115] Almost nothing was stolen by the rebels, who declared themselves to be "zealots for truth and justice, not thieves and robbers".[116] The remains of the building were then set alight.[117] 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 the Westminster gaol.[119] They then moved back into central London, setting fire to more buildings and storming Newgate Prison.[119] The hunt for Flemings continued, and those with Flemish-sounding accents were killed, including the royal adviser, Richard Lyons.[120][nb 9] 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 the community were killed.[122] 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.[123]
Isolated inside the Tower, the royal government was in a state of shock at the turn of events.[124] The King left the castle that morning and made his way to negotiate with the rebels at Mile End in east London, taking only a very small bodyguard with him.[125] 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.[126] Along the way, several Londoners accosted the King to complain about alleged injustices.[127]
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 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.[128] 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.[129][nb 10] Richard issued charters announcing the abolition of serfdom, which immediately began to be disseminated around the country.[131] He declined to hand over any of his officials, apparently instead promising that he would personally implement any justice that was required.[132]
While Richard was at Mile End, the Tower was taken by the rebels.[133] A force of rebels, separate from those operating under Tyler at Mile End, approached the castle, possibly in the late morning.[133][nb 11] 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.[134]
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.[135] Along with William Appleton, John of Gaunt's physician, and John Legge, a royal sergeant, they were taken out to Tower Hill and beheaded.[135] Their heads were paraded around the city, before being affixed to London Bridge.[136] 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.[137] The rebels also discovered Lady Joan and Joan Holland, Richard's sister, in the castle but let them go unharmed after making fun of them.[138] The castle was thoroughly looted of armour and royal paraphernalia.
The Peasants stormed the Tower of London, they killed all the Flemish merchants they found in the City of London, they poke, prodded and looted the Tower of London, they "kissed" the Queen mother of the 13 year old boy-king, Richard II, Queen Joan of Kent--declared the most beautiful woman in England--they killed the Lord Chancellor, they burned tax records, and they killed the Archbishop.
The rebels began to cross from Southwark onto London Bridge on the afternoon of 13 June.[105] 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.[106][nb 8] At the same time, the rebel force from Essex made its way towards Aldgate on the north side of the city.[108] The rebels swept west through the centre of the city, and Aldgate was opened to let the rest of the rebels in.[109]
The Kentish rebels had assembled a wide-ranging list of people whom they wanted the King to hand over for execution.[104] 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 the wider royal circle.[104] When they reached the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark, they tore it apart.[110] By now the Kent and Essex rebels had been joined by many rebellious Londoners.[111] The Fleet and Newgate Prisons were attacked by the crowds, and the rebels also targeted houses belonging to Flemish immigrants.[112]
On the north side of London, the rebels approached Smithfield and Clerkenwell Priory, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller which was headed by Hales.[113] The priory was destroyed, along with the nearby manor.[113] Heading west along Fleet Street, the rebels attacked the Temple, a complex of legal buildings and offices owned by the Hospitallers.[114] The contents, books and paperwork were brought out and burned in the street, and the buildings systematically demolished.[114] Meanwhile, John Fordham, 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.[114]
Next to be attacked along Fleet Street was the Savoy Palace, a huge, luxurious building belonging to John of Gaunt.[115] According to the chronicler Henry Knighton it contained "such quantities of vessels and silver plate, without counting 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.[115] 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.[115] Almost nothing was stolen by the rebels, who declared themselves to be "zealots for truth and justice, not thieves and robbers".[116] The remains of the building were then set alight.[117] 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 the Westminster gaol.[119] They then moved back into central London, setting fire to more buildings and storming Newgate Prison.[119] The hunt for Flemings continued, and those with Flemish-sounding accents were killed, including the royal adviser, Richard Lyons.[120][nb 9] 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 the community were killed.[122] 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.[123]
Isolated inside the Tower, the royal government was in a state of shock at the turn of events.[124] The King left the castle that morning and made his way to negotiate with the rebels at Mile End in east London, taking only a very small bodyguard with him.[125] 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.[126] Along the way, several Londoners accosted the King to complain about alleged injustices.[127]
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 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.[128] 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.[129][nb 10] Richard issued charters announcing the abolition of serfdom, which immediately began to be disseminated around the country.[131] He declined to hand over any of his officials, apparently instead promising that he would personally implement any justice that was required.[132]
While Richard was at Mile End, the Tower was taken by the rebels.[133] A force of rebels, separate from those operating under Tyler at Mile End, approached the castle, possibly in the late morning.[133][nb 11] 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.[134]
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.[135] Along with William Appleton, John of Gaunt's physician, and John Legge, a royal sergeant, they were taken out to Tower Hill and beheaded.[135] Their heads were paraded around the city, before being affixed to London Bridge.[136] 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.[137] The rebels also discovered Lady Joan and Joan Holland, Richard's sister, in the castle but let them go unharmed after making fun of them.[138] The castle was thoroughly looted of armour and royal paraphernalia.
The Peasants stormed the Tower of London, they killed all the Flemish merchants they found in the City of London, they poke, prodded and looted the Tower of London, they "kissed" the Queen mother of the 13 year old boy-king, Richard II, Queen Joan of Kent--declared the most beautiful woman in England--they killed the Lord Chancellor, they burned tax records, and they killed the Archbishop.
