Revolts and uprisings were an important feature of political and social life during the Hundred Years War. In England, France and the Low Countries, resistance could arise from taxation, political grievances, disputes over royal authority, local interests and conflicts over traditional rights and privileges.
Many of these revolts were not caused directly by the war. They reflected wider disputes about taxation, representation, government and political authority. Warfare could nevertheless intensify these tensions by increasing the financial demands placed upon governments and their subjects.
Revolts and Uprisings
England
English rebellions during the Hundred Years War reflected disputes over taxation, political authority, government and traditional rights, with the pressures of warfare sometimes intensifying existing tensions.
- The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, including its causes, chronology and relationship to taxation and government.
- The Epiphany Rising of 1400, an attempt to overthrow Henry IV and restore Richard II.
- The Percy Rebellion, 1402–1408, which ended with the defeat of the rebels at Bramham Moor.
- Jack Cade’s Rebellion of 1450, reflecting wider complaints about government, taxation and the consequences of military failure in France.
France
France experienced several major popular and urban uprisings during the Hundred Years War. These often reflected taxation, economic pressures, local interests and dissatisfaction with royal or local government.
- The Jacquerie of 1358, a major rural revolt in northern France during a period of military and political crisis.
- The Harelle of 1382, an uprising in Rouen and other Norman towns against taxation and government policy.
- The Maillotins revolt of 1382 in Paris.
- The Cabochienne Revolt of 1413, associated with the political faction surrounding John the Fearless and the Burgundians.
Flanders and the Low Countries
Urban politics and the interests of powerful trading towns produced repeated conflicts in Flanders. The political rights and privileges of towns, taxation and disputes with territorial rulers were important factors in these struggles.
- The Ghent revolt and Jacob van Artevelde, including the political and economic tensions that brought Ghent into conflict with the Count of Flanders.
- The Flemish revolt and the Battle of Roosebeke, 1382.
Taxation, Representation and Revolt
Taxation was one of the most important causes of revolt during the Hundred Years War. Governments needed greater revenues to meet the costs of administration and warfare, but demands for taxation could provoke resistance when people believed that taxes were excessive, unfair or imposed without adequate representation.
War therefore often intensified existing political and social tensions rather than causing revolt by itself. Different communities in England, France and Flanders resisted taxation, government policies and challenges to their traditional rights and privileges, even though the immediate causes of each revolt were different.
Revolt and the Hundred Years War
Revolt could affect the conduct of the Hundred Years War by diverting military resources, weakening royal authority and increasing the financial pressures on governments. At the same time, many uprisings had local, political or social causes that cannot simply be explained as opposition to the war.
The history of revolt therefore provides an important perspective on the wider period, linking the Hundred Years War with questions of taxation, representation, government, political authority and social tensions.
Further Reading
- Justine Firnhaber-Baker, The Jacquerie of 1358: A French Peasants’ Revolt (Oxford University Press, 2021).
- Steven Justice, Writing and Rebellion: England in 1381 (University of California Press, 1994).
- W. M. Ormrod, “The Peasants’ Revolt and the Government of England”, Journal of British Studies.
- David Green, The Hundred Years War: A People’s History (Yale University Press, 2014).
- Anne Curry, France in the Later Middle Ages 1200–1500 (Oxford University Press, 2003).