28 THE GREEN RISING 



rarily beneficial; others were detrimental; and still 

 others were practically devoid of results. 



The peasants, as usual, were the most seriously 

 affected by enclosures. They did not all react in 

 the same way as a result of the effects of enclosures 

 on their situation. "In some cases/' says Fordham, 

 "the peasants succumbed to the arbitrary encroach- 

 ments on their rights, and wandered off to other 

 manors; in other cases, they bargained for terms 

 and got some compensation when appropriations 

 took place; but many independent men who were 

 not inclined to give way decided not to trouble law 

 courts or government, but to fight the question out 

 in their own way. Some assembled in bands, armed 

 themselves and drove off the enclosures, whilst 

 others took part in the local risings that occurred 

 from time to tune between 1530 and 1560." n 



One of the most remarkable of these agrarian ris- 

 ings was that led by Robert Ket and his brother, 

 William. They gathered 16,000 men together and 

 marched into the city of Norwich, which they domi- 

 nated for a while. His followers hanged a number 

 of landlords whom they deemed guilty of unjust 

 enclosures. Ket was dominated by a desire to se- 

 cure fixed rents and a small fine only on transfer of 

 land. His object was to give definite tenure to 

 peasant families, which was the aspiration of the 

 farm tenants of England through several genera- 

 tions. 



11 A Short History of English Rural Life, Chap. VI, p. 84. 



