John Ball was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. He eventually became
the priest St James' Church in Colchester. John Ball believed it was
wrong that some people in England were very rich while others were
very poor. Ball's church sermons criticising the feudal system
upset his bishop and in 1366 he was removed from his post as the priest
of St James' Church.
John Ball now became a
travelling priest and gave sermons in local churches. While preaching
in Norfolk the Bishop of Norwich ordered his imprisonment. After he
was released he began touring Essex and Kent. When the Archbishop
of Canterbury heard about this he gave orders that John Ball should
not be allowed to preach in church. John Ball responded by giving
talks on the village green.
The Archbishop of Canterbury
now gave instructions that all people found listening to John Ball's
sermons should be punished. When this failed to work, John Ball was
arrested and sent to Maidstone Prison.
On 7th June, 1381, Ball
was rescued from Maidstone Prison by rebels led by Wat Tyler. After
ransacking the Archbishop of Canterbury's palace, the rebels began
their march on London. When the rebels arrived at Blackheath it was
estimated that there were about 30,000 people in Wat Tyler's army.
Ball was with Tyler when
he carried out negotiations with Richard II at Mile End on 14th June.
The following day Tyler was killed by William Walworth and the rebels,
after being granted charters signed by the king, agree to leave London.
An army, led by Thomas
of Woodstock, John of Gaunt's younger brother, was sent into Essex
to crush the rebels. A battle between the peasants
and the King's army took place near the village of Billericay on 28th
June. The
king's army was experienced and well-armed and the peasants were easily
defeated. It is believed that over 500 peasants were killed during
the battle.
King Richard
with a large army began visiting the villages that had taken part
in the rebellion. At each village, the people were told that no harm
would come to them if they named the people in the village who had
encouraged them to join the rebellion. Those people named as ringleaders
were then executed.
The king's
officials were instructed to look out for John Ball. He was eventually
caught in Coventry. He was found guilty of high treason and was hung,
drawn and quartered on 15th July, 1381.
(A)
John Ball, speech made in 1377.
Why are those whom
we call lords, masters over us? How have they deserved it? By what
right do they keep us enslaved? We are all descended from our first
parents, Adam and Eve; how then can they say that they are better
than us... At the beginning we were all created equal. If God willed
that there should be serfs, he would have said so at the beginning
of the world. We are formed in Christ's likeness, and they treat us
like animals... They are dressed in velvet and furs, while we wear
only cloth. They have wine, and spices and good bread, while we have
rye bread and water. They have fine houses and manors, and we have
to brave the wind and rain as we toil in the fields. It is by the
sweat of our brows that they maintain their high state. We are called
serfs, and we are beaten if we do not perform our task... Let us go
to see King Richard. He is young, and we will show him our miserable
slavery, we will tell him it must be changed, or else we will provide
the remedy ourselves. When the King sees us, either he will listen
to us, or we will help ourselves. When we are ready to march on London
I will send you a secret message. The message is "Now is the
time. Stand together in God's name."
(B)
Anonimalle Chronicle of St Mary's was written by an unnamed
monk in York. Some historians believe the
account was based on an interview with William de Pakington, one of
King Richard's officials.
The common people
had as their leader an evil man named John Ball, who advised them
to get rid of all the lords, archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors...
and their possessions should be divided among the people.
(C)
Thomas Walsingham was a Benedictine
monk at St Albans Abbey. His book. The History of England,
covered the period 1259 to 1422.
John Ball taught
the people that tithes ought not be paid... He also taught the wicked
doctrines of the disloyal John Wycliffe.
(D)
Jean Froissart was born in France in
1337. In 1360 he came to England to work for the wife of King Edward
III. In 1395 he completed his Chronicles which dealt with the
history of Europe between 1326 and 1390. Froissart gave a copy of
his book to King Richard II in 1395.
A crazy priest in
the county of Kent, called John Ball... told the peasants that the
nobility should not have great power over the the common people...
John Ball had several times been confined in the Archbishop of Canterbury's
prison for his absurd speeches... It would have been better had he
locked him up for the rest of his life, or even had him executed...
for as soon as he was released, he went back to his former errors.
(E)
Henry Knighton was the canon of St Mary's
Abbey, Leicester. His book, Chronicle Angliae, was a history
of England between the 10th century and 1395.
John Ball... the
mad priest of Kent... told the people to be like the good husbandman
that tilled the ground... and cut away the weeds... that oppress the
fruit... First the Archbishop and the great men of the kingdom were
to be slain... then lawyers, justices and whosoever they knew to be
hurtful to the common people.
1. What does John
Ball say about (a) the way the noblemen lived; (b) the way the peasants
lived?
2. What does John Ball
suggest the peasants should do to end the feudal system?
3. Copy out the chart below
in your book. Fill in the empty boxes.
| Source |
Author |
What
John Ball said in his sermons |
The
words he uses to express his opinions on John Ball |
| A |
|
|
evil
man |
| B |
|
tithes
ought not to be paid |
|
| C |
|
|
|
| D |
|
|
|
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