Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

by Dan Jones

When the men of Essex sent a messenger to the king to inquire politely what had happened to the liberties Richard had promised them at Mile End, the teenager answered him with all the imperious severity of a Mongol khan. “O you wretched men,” he said. “Detestable on land and sea, you who seek equality with lords are not worthy to live. . . . As you have come here in the guise of envoys, you will not die now but may keep your lives. . . . [But] give this message to your colleagues from the king: Rustics you are, and rustics you are still, you will remain in bondage, not as before but incomparably harsher. For as long as we live and, by God’s grace, rule over the realm, we will strive with mind, strength and goods to suppress you so that the rigour of your servitude will be an example to posterity.”