Part one explores the beginnings and reasons behind the rise of the rebels, why did these so-called peasants revolt? And what is a medieval peasant? We investigate the explosive days leading up to the violent attack on London on the 13th June 1381. Matt meets top medieval historians, such as his co-host of “Gone Medieval”, Eleanor Janega, and Richard II biographer, Helen Castor. Along with members of the 1381 Project team, Adrian Bell and Helen Lacey, and medieval weapons expert Lee Warden.
In this episode Matt meets back up with Medieval Historian Dr Helen Castor to discover more about how Richard felt during this turbulent time as well as digging even deeper into the documents uncovered by the People of 1381 Project team with Dr Helen Lacey.
Most stories about the Peasant’s Revolt end with the violent death of Wat Tyler, but there is so much more to this story than the attack on London. In our final episode Matt travels to East Anglia to explore newly uncovered sources that can tell us so much more about the vicious events that happened in the summer of 1381.