Decline of Feudalism

The Peasants Revolt was a very important event in English history. For the first time peasants had joined together in order to achieve political change. The king and his advisers could no longer afford to ignore their feelings. In 1382 a new tax was voted in by parliament. This time it was decided that only the richer members of society should pay the tax. After the Peasants' Revolt no king ever tried again to impose a poll tax on the people of England.

In the 1380s there was still a shortage of labour in England and wages continued to go up. The king and his parliament passed several laws in an attempt to control wage levels. These attempts were unsuccessful and in 1390 parliament decided to abandon this policy. The people who had been granted charters by the king at Mile End were angry when the lords of the manor continued to insist on labour service and other feudal duties. A large number of serfs ran away in search of the higher wages being paid in towns. The lords of the manor made vigorous attempts to arrest and punish these serfs but the majority managed to avoid capture.

In some villages serfs joined together and refused to do their labour service. In other villages, resentful serfs worked very slowly or did not do the work properly. Some lords of the manor began to realise that labour service was not very efficient. Many of them allowed their serfs to buy their freedom. The amount paid by serfs varied from village to village but the manor court records suggest that the average amount was about 30 shillings per person. Instead of providing labour service, these peasant farmers paid rent for their land. By 1500 there were very few serfs left in England.