1381

1381 was a common year of the Julian calendar. The most notable events occurred in England, where the Peasants' Revolt broke out and became one of the largest popular uprisings of the Middle Ages. The revolt began in the southeast and spread to parts of Essex, Kent, and London, amid widespread grievance over taxation, rural hardship, and the burdens of feudal tenure.

Causes and leadership: A poll tax to fund continued warfare with France and persistent economic hardship helped fuel discontent. John Ball, a radical preacher, and Wat Tyler emerged as leaders of the movement, which drew support from peasants and townsfolk alike. The rebels demanded an end to serfdom in practice, reduced taxes, and reforms to royal administration.

Major events: The rebels stormed and briefly controlled parts of London and the surrounding region, and they entered the Tower of London to seize royal officials. They killed several metropolitan figures, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury, and the Lord High Treasurer, among others. In London, the crowd pressured the young king, Richard II, to concede to their demands. At a meeting at Smithfield, Wat Tyler was killed, and royal authority quickly regained the upper hand. By late June, royal forces had suppressed the rebellion; many ring leaders and participants were executed or punished, and the poll tax was effectively repealed.

Aftermath and significance: The revolt brought a temporary stabilization of royal authority but highlighted deep social tensions and the vulnerabilities of fiscal policy during wartime. It influenced subsequent power dynamics between the English crown and rural and urban communities and occurred within the broader context of the late medieval European world, marked by ongoing conflicts in the Hundred Years' War and the long-term aftermath of earlier plagues.