In 1381, thousands of ordinary people rose up against the Crown, marched on London, and came close to bringing England’s political establishment to its knees... In this episode, Anthony and Maddy are joined by our very own Matt Lewis to discuss the Peasants’ Revolt: why it happened, who led it, and what this extraordinary uprising tells us about life in medieval England. UK listeners: voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa 0:00 Introduction 1:37 Medieval pop culture and movies 3:01 Life in 14th century England 4:16 The impact of the black death 8:03 The feudal system and post-plague wages 11:16 Tax raises and the poll tax 21:33 The spark of the rebellion in Essex 25:12 Why the rebels burned legal records 28:26 Who was Wat Tyler 33:18 The march to London 37:46 Richard II and the rebels' demands 43:52 The burning of the Savoy Palace 48:00 Meeting the king at Mile End 50:22 Storming the Tower of London 53:20 The death of Wat Tyler 55:51 Reversal of the writs and after-effects This episode was edited by Anna Brant. Produced by Tomos Delargy and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer was Freddy Chick. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™ #HistoryHitPodcast #AfterDark