Wat Tyler Leads the Peasants' Revolt
A poll tax to fund a war in France ignites the largest popular uprising in medieval English history
Quick facts
- Rebels reach Blackheath
- 11 June 1381
- Smithfield confrontation
- 15 June 1381
- Leader
- Wat Tyler
- Trigger
- Poll tax to fund war with France
What happened
In 1377 the crown introduced a poll tax to fund the ongoing war in France, and repeated versions of the tax through 1380 fed growing anger among the peasantry, compounded by the economic disruption the Black Death had left behind a generation earlier. The National Archives notes the revolt was triggered by the high level of taxation needed to fund the war. Rebels under Wat Tyler reached Blackheath, south of London, on 11 June 1381, and went on to storm the Tower of London and execute royal officials they blamed for the tax. The London Museum records that a day later, on 15 June, the 14-year-old King Richard II met Tyler at Smithfield, where Tyler was stabbed during the confrontation and died shortly afterward at nearby St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Why it matters
The revolt failed to overturn the poll tax by force, and its leaders were hunted down and executed in the following months, but it demonstrated that the peasantry could organize on a national scale and march on the capital itself, a shock that discouraged later medieval monarchs from repeating the same kind of flat, universal tax. It stands as the largest and best-documented popular uprising of medieval England.
How we know
The revolt is documented in multiple contemporary chronicle accounts, including those of Jean Froissart and the Anonimalle Chronicle, along with surviving royal and legal records of the subsequent trials and executions of rebel leaders.
Sources
- The National Archives (UK). Richard II · Reputable sourcenationalarchives.gov.uk · The domain "nationalarchives.gov.uk" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- London Museum. How the Peasants' Revolt rocked medieval London · General sourcelondonmuseum.org.uk · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Related timelines
- The Middle Ages → · Popular uprisings tied to Black Death aftershocks occurred across medieval Europe in the same decades; see the Middle Ages timeline.