William Grindecobbe

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William Grindecobbe or Grindcobbe [1] was one of the peasant leaders during the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381. A Townsman of St Albans, [2] he was a substantial property owner there and has been described as a 'hero' of the revolt. [3]

Contents

Life

His name implies that he was a miller of grain. [4] He was one of a number of millers who took part in the revolt, and has been described as having been eloquent [5] and literate. [6] It has also been suggested that he was an excommunicate priest, [7] possibly an alumnus of St Albans Abbey. [8] It thus possible that he was motivated at least in part to rebel as a result of the pressures of papal taxation. [9]

Along with Wat Tyler and John Wrawe, he was one of the key leaders of the peasants during the revolt of 1381, [10] leading the townspeople of St Albans on 15 June. [11]

He was executed in 1381 along with John Wrawe and John Ball. His trial and execution was overseen by Henry le Despenser. [12]

Role in Peasants' Revolt

During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, he became well known for his actions against the high lord Thomas de la Mare, Abbot of St. Albans. [12] He led a deputation to King Richard II, whom the rebels met at Mile End [13] which 'extorted' a letter from the King to the Abbot forcing the latter to give up the royal charters he held to the rebels. They ultimately destroyed the charters and a portion of the abbey itself. [7]

He was executed along with other leaders of the Revolt, and although his trial was deemed to have been fair, [12] it has also been described as being in the nature of a 'show trial.' [14] It has been suggested that he made a speech from the scaffold implicating John Wycliffe in the rebellion. [15]

Sources

Most of the details about his life have been derived from the writings of Thomas Walsingham, who was a monk resident in an abbey, [16] and may well have witnessed Grindecobbe's execution. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ "Grindcobbe". The Foragers. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  2. ↑ David Levine (19 February 2001). At the Dawn of Modernity: Biology, Culture, and Material Life in Europe After the Year 1000 . University of California Press. pp.  377–. ISBN   978-0-520-22058-4.
  3. ↑ Samuel K. Cohn, Jr; Douglas Aiton (2013). Popular Protest in Late Medieval English Towns. Cambridge University Press. pp. 324–. ISBN   978-1-107-02780-0.
  4. ↑ Patterson, Lee (2007). Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: A Casebook. OUP. p. 16. ISBN   9780195175738 . Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Lee Patterson (1990). Literary Practice and Social Change in Britain, 1380-1530. University of California Press. pp. 128–. ISBN   978-0-520-06486-7.
  6. ↑ Gerald Harriss; G. L. Harriss (9 November 2006). Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461. OUP Oxford. pp. 231–. ISBN   978-0-19-921119-7.
  7. 1 2 Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. pp. 83–. ISBN   978-1-107-62208-1.
  8. ↑ Janet E. Burton; Karen Stöber (2008). Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Later Middle Ages. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. pp. 156–. ISBN   978-1-84383-386-4.
  9. ↑ Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN   978-1-107-62208-1.
  10. ↑ Barker, Juliet (2014). England, Arise: The People, the King and the Great Revolt of 1381. Hachette. ISBN   9780748127887 . Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  11. ↑ Wright, Peter. "A Dream of John Ball: Historical Introduction". William Morris Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 Cooney, Sarah J., ""Social Upheaval and Social Change in England, 1381-1750 (M.A. Thesis)", Dissertations and Theses, Portland State University, retrieved 17 March 2017
  13. ↑ John Richard Green (2 July 2004). A History Of The English People, 1307-1461. The Minerva Group, Inc. pp. 144–. ISBN   978-1-4147-0257-5.
  14. ↑ Alastair Dunn (2004). The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. p. 175. ISBN   978-0-7524-2965-6.
  15. ↑ Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-107-62208-1.
  16. ↑ Barker, Juliet (2014). 1381: The Year of the Peasants' Revolt. Harvard UP. ISBN   9780674744509 . Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  17. ↑ Alastair Dunn (2004). The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. p. 173. ISBN   978-0-7524-2965-6.
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