SHF 2-212 syncIt was a truly extraordinary thing, yet one with such a shaky foundation, that incited this scourge in
England, and in order to provide an example for all manner of people, I will speak of it according to what happened as I was informed of it then. It is customary in
England, as it is in many countries, that the noblemen have great privileges over the common people and keep them in servitude; that is to say that by law and custom they must plough the land of the noblemen, harvest the grain and carry it back to the manor barn, to thresh and winnow it. They are also bound to cut the hay and chop wood and bring it back to the manor, and all such tasks as these. These men must provide all such services for the lords, and the burden is heavier for the people in
England than elsewhere. The noblemen and high-ranking churchmen must be served by them, in particular in the counties of
Kent,
Essex,
Sussex, and
Bedfordshire where there are more of them than in the rest of
England. These wretched folk in all of the regions I have mentioned began to rebel, for they said that they were too severely exploited and that at the beginning of the world there were no serfs, and none could be such, unless he committed treason against his lord, just as Lucifer did against God; but such was not their rank, for they were neither angels nor spirits, but men formed in the same image as their lords - who kept them as beasts.
This they could no longer endure and wanted to be treated equally, and if they were to plough or do any form of labour for their lords, they wanted payment for it. On previous occasions they had been persuaded to such thoughts by a mad priest from the county of
Kent called
John Ball, and for his mad words he had been thrown into the
Archbishop of Canterbury's prison a good many times; for on Sundays after mass, when the people were leaving the church, this
John Ball had been in the habit of going to the lectern and preaching there, causing the people to gather around him, and saying to them,
"Good people, things in
England cannot work, nor will they until wealth is shared equally; until there are neither peasants nor noblemen and we are all united. Why are these men, whom we call lords, masters over us? What have they done to deserve this? Why do they keep us in servitude? Do we not all come from one father and one mother, Adam and Eve? How can they claim or prove that they are any more lords than we are, except by forcing us to earn and toil for what they spend? They dress in velvet, silks and satins lined with miniver and grey fur, while we wear poor cloth. They have wine, spices and good bread while we have rye, bran and straw and drink water.
pb 70 v