The Peasants' Revolt began in May 1381, triggered by a newly imposed poll tax of four pence on every person aged fifteen and above.Wat Tyler
The poll tax of 1381 was the spark of the revolt, but its root lay in tensions between peasants and landowners caused by the economic and demographic consequences of the Black Death and later plague outbreaks.Richard II of England
The rebels demanded that each labourer be allowed to work for the employer of his choice and sought an end to serfdom and rigid social distinctions.Wat Tyler
On 13 June 1381 Tyler and other Kentish rebels crossed London Bridge to enter the city.Wat Tyler
On 13 June the King set out by the Thames, but crowds at Greenwich made it impossible to land, forcing him to return to the Tower.Richard II of England
On 14 June, the 14-year-old King Richard II met the rebels and agreed to many concessions and to give them full pardons.Wat Tyler
On 15 June Tyler and his Kentish forces parleyed with King Richard at Smithfield outside London, where Tyler put forward his demands.Wat Tyler
At Smithfield, after an altercation broke out, William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, pulled Wat Tyler from his horse and killed him.Richard II of England
Ball was hanged, drawn and quartered at St Albans in the presence of King Richard II on 15 July 1381.John Ball (priest)
A memorial commemorating Wat Tyler and the Great Rising of 1381 was unveiled on 15 July 2015 in Smithfield, London.Wat Tyler
Maidstone lies at 51.271666666667, 0.52944444444444.Source
Ball was imprisoned in Maidstone, Kent, at the time of the 1381 Revolt.John Ball (priest)
Shortly after the Revolt began, Kentish rebels released Ball from prison.John Ball (priest)
Ball preached to the rebels at Blackheath, the peasants' rendezvous south of Greenwich, in an open-air sermon.John Ball (priest)
London Bridge lies at 51.508055555556, -0.087777777777778.Source
Tyler's head was placed on a pole and carried through the city, then displayed on London Bridge.Wat Tyler
Smithfield lies at 51.518686111111, -0.10342222222222.Source
Tyler was killed by officers loyal to King Richard II during negotiations at Smithfield, London.Wat Tyler
Walworth killed Tyler in front of his people, but accounts of how he did so are messy and debated.William Walworth
After Tyler's death, Richard II revoked all the concessions he had made, and many rebels were hunted down and executed, effectively ending the revolt.Wat Tyler
Once in London, the rebels destroyed legal records, opened prisons, sacked homes and killed those they thought associated with the royal government.Wat Tyler
The King sheltered in the Tower of London with his councillors and agreed that the Crown lacked the forces to disperse the rebels, so negotiation was the only feasible option.Richard II of England
On Friday 14 June the King rode out and met the rebels at Mile End, and agreed to their demands, but this only emboldened them and they continued looting and killings.Richard II of England
Richard was only fourteen years old during the revolt, and it is unclear how much he was involved in the deliberations.Richard II of England
Tyler was taken to a hospital but was tracked down by Walworth, brought back to Smithfield and publicly beheaded by judgment of the mayor.Wat Tyler
The first book of Vox Clamantis gives an allegorical account of the Peasants' Revolt, ending with an allusion to William Walworth's suppression of the rebels.John Gower
In Vox Clamantis Gower takes the side of the aristocracy.John Gower
After Tyler's death the King said "I am your captain, follow me!" and led the mob away from the scene.Richard II of England
Walworth gathered a force to surround the peasant army, but the King granted clemency and allowed the rebels to disperse and go home.Richard II of England
Richard II knighted Walworth and four colleagues after Wat Tyler's death at Smithfield in June 1381.William Walworth
City of London lies at 51.51555555555556, -0.09305555555555554.Source
Tyler led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the collection of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms.Wat Tyler
The King soon revoked the charters of freedom and pardon he had granted, and went personally into Essex to suppress the rebellion.Richard II of England