The Great Rumour was a protest movement that emerged in south-east and south-west

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during 1377. During 1377, protests began to break out in south-east and south-west England. Rural workers organised themselves into protest groups and refused to work for their lords, arguing that, according to the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, they were exempt from requests for

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

labour services. This argument depended on the legal concept of '' ancient demesne'', and their belief that the Domesday Book was an accurate reflection of early land tenure agreements. Unsuccessful appeals and petitions were made both to the law courts and to King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. The events of the Great Rumour closely resembled much of the subsequent

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

of 1381.

References

Bibliography

* Protests in England 1377 in England Conflicts in 1377 {{England-hist-stub