PEASANT REVOLTS 105 



in its different forms, was doomed in England. In 

 Wat Tyler — stabbed in an hour of truce, by a treacher- 

 ous sycophant — was found a leader who, by his cour- 

 age, power, and ability, was able to rouse the people, 

 so prepared, to the only form of resistance then open 

 to them. 



In the annals of the English peasantry Wat Tyler's 

 rebellion demands a foremost place and an extended 

 notice, for the reason that it was the first occasion in 

 English history in which the idea of freedom — of per- 

 sonal liberty — was openly received and formulated into 

 a distinct demand. Throughout the villages the eager 

 listening peasantry were told that the time for action 

 had come, that John Ball "hathe rungen youre belle," 

 that by nature all men were born equal ; that the 

 distinction of bondage and freedom was an invention 

 of their oppressors, and contrary to the views of the 

 Creator ; that God now offered them the means of 

 gaining their liberty, and that if they continued slaves 

 the blame must rest with themselves. 



In order to understand the character of the out- 

 break it is necessary to refer to the condition, at the 

 time, of the cultivating classes who formed the great 

 bulk of the nation. The subject, however, as has 

 been stated, is extremely complicated. Customs 

 varied on different manors. Men under the same 

 name lived in various parts of the country under 

 different conditions, but all of them were under the 

 most oppressive serfage. Speaking generally, there 

 was a number of feudal lords and lordly prelates 

 who held the land as tenants-in-chief of the king. 

 To hold the great mass of the people in servile 

 bonds was in their eyes a divine right. All legisla- 

 tion — they being the legislators — was based on this 



