the popular and populist risings that emerged in the second half of the fourteenth century were certainly early indicators of some of the ways that the catastrophes of that time had shaken medieval society. Hierarchies were challenged vigorously. The ravages of war—either civil or foreign—were not simply accepted as a part of the drudgery of human existence, and when people felt they were being subjected to more misery than they could accept, they rose up and tried to make their voices heard, or else used the chaotic conditions of war as a springboard to launch their campaigns for better
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