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The Great Rising of 1381: The Peasants' Revolt and England's Failed Revolution
History of the serfs' rebellion against the Poll Tax of Richard II, led by Wat Tyler.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 25, 2023
This is the third book I have read in the last 10 days on the Peasants Revolt/Rising of 1381 and, with apologies to Dan Jones ("Summer of Blood") and Ronald Webber ( "The Peasants Revolt") I found this the best book of the three on the subject. For me, Dunn has produced a well-structured narrative of a well-known historic event in an easy style. Most enjoyable.
December 21, 2019
A GREAT TITLE I GUESS I HAVE TO BUY THIS BOOK. OK.
November 13, 2012
Academic reading that is accessible to anyone with an interest and superficial knowledge of medieval history. Dunn had a map of London and one of the southeast corner of England that I found useful when reading, as well as a timeline of the events at the end.
I did find myself wanting more detail about the narrative of the revolt, as Dunn offers some tantalizing stories but did not expand on them. As well, I am very curious what women's roles were in the revolt: he mentions two women who assisted in capturing fleeing royals and ecclesiastic types, the harassment of Princess Joan, the suffering Flemish prostitutes in Southwark, and the "assault" of a London wife whose husband was the target of an opportunist, but does not really explain what greater role if any, that women had.
Overall, a great way to reach across the centuries and try to know some of the people without voices. Dunn ended on an optimist note that, despite the immediate backlash against their movement, serfdom eventually wore down in the face of the inevitable.
I did find myself wanting more detail about the narrative of the revolt, as Dunn offers some tantalizing stories but did not expand on them. As well, I am very curious what women's roles were in the revolt: he mentions two women who assisted in capturing fleeing royals and ecclesiastic types, the harassment of Princess Joan, the suffering Flemish prostitutes in Southwark, and the "assault" of a London wife whose husband was the target of an opportunist, but does not really explain what greater role if any, that women had.
Overall, a great way to reach across the centuries and try to know some of the people without voices. Dunn ended on an optimist note that, despite the immediate backlash against their movement, serfdom eventually wore down in the face of the inevitable.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews