You’ve just received a request to settle a dispute between some peasants and nobles in England. It seems the peasants want to be paid for their work. The nobles, on the other hand, think things are getting out of control. Your first step is to read some evidence from a guy named Jean Froissart. He’s a Frenchman, but he’s been to England and seen what’s going on first hand. Here is his take on the problem: It is customary in England, as in several other countries, for the nobility to have great privileges over the commonalty, whom they keep in bondage; that is to say, they are bound by law and custom to plough the lands of gentleman, to harvest the grain, to carry it home to the barn, to thrash and winnow it: they are also bound to harvest the hay and carry it home. All these services they are obliged to perform for their lords . . .

The evil-disposed in these districts began to rise, saying, they were too severely oppressed; that at the beginning of the world there were no slaves, and that no one ought to be treated as such, unless he had committed treason against his lord, as Lucifer had done against God: but they had done no such thing, for they were neither angels nor spirits, but men formed after the same likeness with their lords, who treated them as beasts. This they would not longer bear, but had determined to be free, and if they laboured or did any other works for their lords, they would be paid for it.

[Source: Jean Froissart, Chronicles (The Peasant Revolt)]

After reading this evidence, you note that the peasants do a lot of work for the nobles. Still, Froissart calls the peasants “the evil-disposed.” But why does he think they want to do evil? You decide to pay England a visit and ask both sides a few questions. Here is how your conversation goes:

You: Is it really true that you don’t get paid at all right now?

Peasants: Yeah. It’s part of the old system of feudalism. We’re supposed to work for the nobles without pay because that’s the way it’s always been. But times have changed. We’re growing more food because we have better methods of farming. That benefits the nobles as well as us.

You: Yes. I’ve heard about that.

Peasants: And since the plague killed so many people there have been fewer workers. Without us, nothing gets done.

You: I’ve read a lot about that too.

[You turn to the nobles.]

You: What about you? Why are you so dissatisfied? I mean, you don’t have to work from sun up to sun down.

Nobles: Us? Our very lives are in danger! You didn’t read the rest of what Froissart wrote. Robert Salle, a knight, tried to reason with the peasants. Guess what happened to him?

Peasants: Hey, that wasn’t all of us! Just a few bad apples. And Salle wasn’t exactly nonviolent himself.

So you read a little more from Froissart’s account. Apparently some peasants had asked Salle to meet for a peaceful talk, but things didn’t go well:

They [the peasants] at first conversed in a friendly way, saying, "Robert, you are a knight . . . renowned for your valor . . . Do you come with us, as our commander . . ."

The knight, on hearing them thus speak, was exceedingly angry . . ."Begone, wicked scoundrels and false traitors . . . would you have me desert my natural lord for such a company of knaves as you? . . . I would much rather you were all hanged, for that must be your end." On saying this, he attempted to mount his horse; but his foot slipping from the stirrup, his horse took fright. They then shouted out . . . "Put him to death." When he heard this, he let his horse go; and drawing a handsome Bordeaux sword, he began to skirmish, and soon cleared the crowd from about him . . . with each stroke he cut off heads, arms, feet or legs . . . At last, he was overthrown [and] they cut off his legs and arms, and rent his body in piecemeal. Thus ended Sir Robert Salle, which was a great pity; and when the knights and squires in England heard of it, they were much enraged.

[Source: Jean Froissart, Chronicles (Death of Sir Robert Salle)]

You realize that this is some pretty serious stuff. You tell the peasants and the nobles you’d like to do some more research before coming up with a solution.

Read these secondary sources to find out more about the conflict between the peasants and the nobles:

The Peasants' Revolt 1381

The Peasants' Revolt

After doing your research you decide to write a short paragraph that provides a solution to the problem. Your paragraph should answer these questions:

What is the conflict about?
What does each side want?
What do you think each side should do? Why?
Based on your research, do you think the peasants and nobles will take your advice? Why or why not?