24 THE GREEN RISING 



he appeared before them and asked: "What will 

 ye?" With one voice they answered: "Freedom of 

 person and lands." 



The King gave his promises, which in effect would 

 have abolished serfdom, substituted a fixed annual 

 rental instead of services and indefinite obligations 

 for the use of land. Relying on the promises of 

 their King, the peasant forces disbanded and many 

 of them returned to their homes, happy and satisfied 

 with their prospects for freedom of action. How- 

 ever, a small disorderly element remained in Lon- 

 don and continued to break into houses and to kill 

 innocent people. Wat Tyler was killed while inter- 

 viewing the King at Smithfield, where he had gone 

 to submit new demands, and his lawless followers 

 were dispersed by the King's soldiers. 



While the young King had made solemn promises 

 in response to the peasant demands, he was not able 

 to fulfill them. The landed gentry would not agree 

 to dispossess themselves of their proprietorships. 

 The King's counsellors pointed out that the consent 

 of Parliament was required to fulfill such a far- 

 reaching request as had been made by the peasants. 

 The landlords reminded the King that the villeins 

 were their own private property and they would 

 resent their confiscation to a bitter end. 



Historians differ as to the actual results of the 

 great revolt. Hasbach says: "So far as any answer 

 can be given to the question whether the Peasants' 

 Revolt did effect the personal emancipation of the 



