Popular Protest Flashcards
1
Q
What is characteristic of M. Bonne’s approach?
A
Demonstration of interconnections between space and faction in Bruges during the 14th century.
2
Q
M. Bonne: What did urban space permit?
A
Urban space was regarded as the forum for competition. This would be demonstrated by assuming control of public spaces - such as town halls, belfries, market squares, parish churches etc.
3
Q
What happened to Bruges and Ghent in the thirteenth century?
A
Spatial configuration dramatically changed by canal systems - to connect to international trade.
4
Q
What contrasts exist between Venice and Genoa?
A
Bonne contests that Venice was ‘open’, with a forum to perform rites of Republican unity. Contrastingly, Genoa was ‘closed’ and compartmentalised. This dismisses the potential to see economic rationale linked to urban development.
5
Q
What happened in 1302 in Flemish cities?
A
Democratic Revolution against French overlordship - institutes guilds in major governing structures.
6
Q
What is the underlying issue with the notion of a democratic revolution?
A
Bonne suggests a teleological narrative of decline has emerged to justify the emergence of the conditions for revolution (i.e. a tired patriciate). Bonne contests the patrician regime was to the contrary, extremely vigorous, and such an assumption undermines the nuance of the revolutionary movement.
7
Q
What was considered a cornerstone of commune spatial expression?
A
Communal spatial expression came through the process of droit d’abatis - the destruction of the house of an ‘evildoer’
8
Q
What does Begriffsgeschichte historian Oexle want to see in the history of communes?
A
The structure of medieval society within the confines of communal order provided the seedbed for rebelliousness.
9
Q
What inspired social and political unrest in Flemish cities?
A
Waves of discontent in Northern France, responsive to rallying taxation under Philip IV.
10
Q
What does O. Oexle suggest are demonstrations of the lack of revolutionary developments as the Pirennian tradition would have it?
A
Moerlemaaie (Bruges) and Cockerulle (Ypres) suggests that social demands were expressed through a cyclical motion of rebellion and reaction, not through Pirennian revolution.
11
Q
What did religious solidarities among artisans result in?
A
Processions of holy relics - such as the procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges, 1302. Central to guild based government.
12
Q
What was rare in Ghent and Bruges?
A
Public demonstrations of a purely secular nature.
13
Q
What did the possession of Flanders by the Valois dukes of Burgundy, 1384, result in?
A
Internecine conflict between the Duke and the people.
14
Q
What was a safety valve against outright war in Flanders?
A
Diplomatic negotiation - the dukes actually institutionalised the “Four Members”, with a strong tradition of bargaining. Evidence of the methods used to placate the people of Bruges.
15
Q
Name an act which showed the Valois monopoly on the exercise of power?
A
Mass-executions, on loose charges of sexual misdemeanor.
16
Q
What tensions existed throughout the fifteenth century, vis-a-vis the Flanders?
A
The Dukes of Burgundy focused on the centralisation of power in Burgundy. This was heavily resisted, and resulted in revolts such as 1436-8; which directly threatened Charles’ life.
17
Q
Why was the rule of the French king clearly one which inspired dissent from the people of the Low Countries?
A
The King of France dispensed significant powers to ruling dukes - who had the capacity to demolish rebellious towns.
18
Q
Why else did the dukes decide to threaten Bruges and Liège as much as they did?
A
Destruction or alteration of the urban patrimony. In the instance of Bruges and Liege, such proved to be impactful on public image and prestige.
19
Q
What were fundamental turning points in Florentine domination over its hinterland?
A
By 1401-2;
- Shifting differential in taxation between contado and urban centre
- Increasing domination of contado
- Rising levels of migration to the centre
20
Q
How have historians tended to treat revolts in central and Northern Italy?
A
Generally reject the significance of such uprisings - seeing most as minor until the “Ave Maria” revolts of the 1730s.
21
Q
What has Philip Jones stated about armed risings in central and northern Italy?
A
“Peasant hatred, and even armed risings were mostly short and bloodless.”
22
Q
What sort of sources do historians rely on?
A
Chronicles, diaries, ricordanze, criminal records.
23
Q
Which families had observable factional tension in Florence?
A
The Panciatichi and the Cancellieri. The issue with this is that this is often projected as a solely elite conflict - peasantry is not considered.
24
Q
Why should we caution applying too much emphasis on solely the elites?
A
Official narratives do not reconcile with criminal records and government decrees in Alpi Florentine.
25
What does Samuel Cohn Jnr. reveal, contra to the muted peasant line, about the revolts in Florence?
Significant tension existed around the imposition of the estimo, which raised the rate of rebelliousness fivefold.
26
Who is an eminent source on the political narrative of Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries?
Gino Capponi, a 19th century historian.
27
What did Gino Capponi argue about Giangaleazzo's conquests of 1402?
*"The contado was fatigued by taxes and in the Mugello the peasants gave a hand to those in the Alps, where the Ubaldini, even though exhuasted, were able to take the mountain crest together with others fed up with the Republic"*
28
what account from the 1420s reflects the emergence of an official silence on civil unrest?
The accounts of Leonardo Bruni
29
What issues exist with the Panciatchi Chronicle?
Panciatchi Chronicles emphasises the failings in Milan and mutes the troubles in Florence - essentially partisan in nature.
30
What do criminal records contribute toward our understanding of the Alpi Florentine rebels?
1. Much longer and wider than suggested officially
2. Rejects the minimal function of the peasantry in the uprisings
3. Contrastingly, the peasantry made up the rank-and-file of the movement, and were even involved in planning.
31
What damaged the process of source analysis in the Florentine archives?
Florentine archives impacted in 1966 by flooding, however 1298-1305 records remained intact – the Podestà, the Capitano del Popolo, and the vicariate courts, remained unaffected.
32
What does Cohn's analysis suggest about the rebels?
* Not exclusively a youth movement, but included heads of households
* Not driven by the extremely poor
33
What does Cohn remark about the early 1370s?
Remarkable absence of strife, especially given ongoing war, pestilence and famine. Even during the Ciompi revolt, the contado remained relatively quiet.
34
What were more traditional sources of revolution? (In Arezzo)
Traditional feudal families, including:
* Tarlati
* Battifolle
* Ubertini
35
What other, grassroots, signs of discontent can be seen in Arezzo?
1387: Five normal men attacked and occupied a Florentine castle
1390: 13 men attempted to "subvert and change the present liberty of the people and Guelf state of Florence” by retaking their castrum of Cacciano
36
What stimulated the resumption of fresh violence and insurrection in 1397, Florence?
Resumption of Milanese and Sienese incursions into the Florentine countryside. Farm violence was present, as in much of the periphery.
37
Where did the most explicit case of resentment emerge towards Florentine authority?
Most explicit case of resentment came from the Contado, in its expression of discontent with the Estimo.
38
What did Cohn conclude from his investigation into the Florentine criminal records?
Increased taxation from 1395 had a direct corrolation with the rejection of the Estimo and tax collection.
39
What had the Neckar Anabaptists seemingly set out to do in 1528, Esslingen?
Set up the Kingdom of God by force of arms
40
How many ecclesiastical centres were there in Münster?
Thirty. The clergy carried out trade and handicraft, but were exempt from taxation.
41
What had happened in Holland?
As the cloth industry collapsed in Flanders, Holland leaped ahead - most important centre of industry was Leyden. **Holland now contained the greatest concentration of insecure and harrassed workers.** Was probably worse than centuries ago - now, there was a stronger system of capitalism whereby aristans worked in their own homes. This made the usual mechanisms of guilds ineffective.
42
What did John Merfold proclaim in a public alehouse?
Should the people rise up again, *'they wolde leve no gentilman alyve* but such as thym list to have'
43
What did Hare argue was the motive for rebellion?
“*Economic distress might, for some rebels, have been as powerful a motive as political dissatisfaction*".
**Mollat and Wolff** support by highlighting that prosperity followed by recession in the 15th century was important for instigating strife.
44
What caused the later recession?
Deflation, caused by the bullion famine in Europe, as a result of the drain of gold and silver to the Near East, alongside the closure of some mints and mines in Europe. English mint output reached its nadir in 1448 and remained generally low until the 1460s, and the Calais mint, whose silver groats and halfpennies circulated in England, ceased minting in 1440.
45
What did the rebels in Eastbourne declare?
the rebels aimed "*to destroy the ancient customs of fairs and markets in Robertsbridge.*"
At Eastbourne the men declared their unwillingness to pay more than 2d. an acre for land.
46
What demographic causes of malcontent were there in the fifteenth century?
Population fall in the 1430s due to pestilence/ other disease
1439-40 esp. vulnerable as suffered from successive years of bad harvests
47
What happened as a result of the decline of population?
Population declined faster than food production, resulting in overproduction and price collapse. Cloth exports, for example, had reached a peak in the early I440s, having doubled in volume in just 30 years; then they quickly lost all their gains
48
What does M. Mate aruge about the English reasons for rebellion?
Political corruption and misgovernment – linked to death of Duke of Suffolk, loss of Normandy. The rebels, in their written public manifestos, stressed administrative abuses and proposed political solutions-the removal of evil counsellors and the return of York from Ireland
Traditional Quote: *“the causes of the rebellion, unlike the Peasants' Revolt of I381, were more political than economic.”*
49
What is a challenge in the analysis of the English rebels?
Cannot tell whether the primary ambition was to redistribute wealth or to increase personal wealth.
50
What did the Sussex Rebels demand from the government?
* Land @ 2d. acre max.
* Removal of judicial corruption
* Tax Reduction
* Security from French raiders
51
Bruges/ Dumolyn: What were the social and political struggles in Bruges?
Conflict between centralising dukes and autonomous Flemish cities - which reflected a discursive struggle for representation in political events.
52
Bruges/ Dumolyn: What was the 'Great Tradition' of revolts in the Low Countries?
Refuting against their overlord, who was trying to centralize justice and administration while also taxing the towns heavily in order to wage his political and military campaigns
53
Bruges/ Dumolyn: How did the great and little traditions interplay?
Combination, esp. with Burgundians; as the urban patriciate began to realign to the Duke's will. Biggest shows of disobedience - Bruges revolt (36-8) and the Ghent revolt (1449-53).
54
What caused recession in the Flemish industry?
English protectionist ordinances in 1429 - leading to price rises in Flemish industry.
55
What else harmed the Flemish economy?
Piracy increasing presented a threat to international commerce, particularly with the war between Denmark and Hanseatic towns.
56
Rotz/Hanseatic towns: What happened after the mid-fourteenth century to the old merchant families, and what tensions did this cause?
Mid 14th century - traditional leadership of merchants diversify into annuities and properties, resulting in dislocation with 'pure' merchant classes - tensions and vertical strife ensued.
57
What happened in Flanders, 1306?
Devaluation of the currency of about 39%. The result was automatic. Prices shot up, and creditors demanded payment at the higher rate.
58
What did Froissart suggest about the rebellion in England, 1381?
"*Owing to the great ease and abundance of good in which the lower class was living, the rebellion broke out*."
This is in the mindset that the richest peasants make for good officers in the revolution.
59
What has to be said about the nature of famine in the coming of rebellions?
* Major famine in 1315-17. Countries of the Atlantic seaboard saw several harvests destroyed, leading to mass-starvation; particularly in Flanders.
60
What grievances did the people of Catalonia have with their lords?
* The function of "passing over" a peasant bride as a symbol of lordship. Regarded as not only evil but degreading, symbolic of subjugation.
61
What ill did William of Padua target?
**Purveyance** - the process of confiscating goods at a fixed, non-negotiable price. Monarchical prerogative, used increasingly in c.14.
62
What case does Cohn put forward with regards Münster?
Revolutionary millenarianism took place against a background of disaster:
* Following the plagues which preluded the First Crusade and Second Crusade
* The greatest wave of millenarian excitement was precipitated by the most universal natural disaster of the Middle Ages - the Black Death.
63
What did Jan Matthys do, on the pretence of Anabaptism?
Jan Matthys – regime of terror – book burnings, expulsion, murder in the name of establishing a communal state.
64
What could be said of the peasants' revolts in Catalonia, 16th century?
Result of economic crisis, alongside the shockwave of wars.
65
What are the varying responses to the Jacquerie?
* Jean de Venette - conflict of peasantry and nobility.
* Samuel K. Cohn - reaction to short and long term stimuli, going back as far as 1315.
66
What did Pierenne show about the revolts in Bruges and Ypres?
Pirenne suggests wealthier peasantry were the key mobilisers of discontent in the situation of Ypres and Bruges.
67
Who makes the case for Malthusian constraints being the dominant causal factor of conflict?
* M.M. Postan
* Emmanuel Le Roy Laudrie
68
What do Marxists think about the matter?
Guy Bois - internal contradictions in feudalism precipitated conflict.
69
Who makes the case for psychological driving forces behind revolution?
Strayer pushes forward the case for psychological motivation, opposed to economic and political.
70
What is the Fourquin definition of a revolt?
A reflexive reaction to an intolerable status quo.
71
What does Forquin argue about the rioters of the Middle Ages?
The men were certainly insurgents, but not revolutionaries.
72
What is Strayer's perspective on the rebellions of the time?
“Uprisings were warnings to the state that it must do its job better; they were not attempts to create a completely new society.”
73
Evidence of the little motivation required to service the escalation of rebellions
Viterbo, 1367 - conflict between retinue of the Cardinal of Carcassonne and the citizenry - resulting in widespread conflict. (caused over the member of the retinue cleaning their dog in a public fountain - a woman who complained was killed).
74
Why did the Piacenza revolt in 1250?
Revolt over price of food. Simultaneously, the Florentines rose up against the incompetence of magnates.
75
Why did mobs form in Bruges, 1280?
1280 - demands for reform of the office of the alderman.
76
Why was there a revolt in Calais, 1298?
Rejection of oligarchic control of industries.
77
Why did some middling rebels desire upheaval?
Social mobility. There was good reason for social groups to wish to elevate themselves: in many cities, such as Ghent and Siena, official membership of the patriciate was accompanied by special legal privileges.
78
What often maintained social structures?
Influence of overlords:
* Coppersmiths of Diant attempted to create self-governing corporation - were compelled to relent through the efforts of the Bishop of Liege.
* Strong methods of repression - 1290 - Bruges rioting was put down by execution.
79
Black Death fatalities (Ziegler)
Variable, 30-60%.
80
What English rebellion is closely tied to the Black Death?
Wat Tyler's rebellion of 1381 - or the Peasant's Rebellion.
***Did not want to overthrow the king. Wanted reform.***
* Pursuit of greater liberty and social reform - such as ending serfdom.
81
**Ciompi Revolt**
What was the Ciompi revolt?
* Popolo minuto vs ars maggori between 1378 and 1382.
* Rejection of patrician oligarchy and heavy taxes.
82
**Ciompi Revolt**
Who are the key stakeholders in the revolt?
* **Salvestro de Medici** - rep. middle + upper classes
* **The Eight Saints** - working class
83
**Ciompi Revolt**
What happened between the years 1339 and 1349?
* 1339-1349 - numerous bankruptcies. Economic decline.
* Economic grievances had drawn artisans and wage-labourers into Florentine politics from mid-14c
84
**Ciompi Revolt**
How did Florence finance the conflict with Pisa and the Ubaldini?
* Rallying taxation. Resulted in migration of highlanders, which worsened labour shortage, following Black Death.
* Differences in wealth between the popolo minuto and the patriciates.
85
**Ciompi Revolt**
How did the Ciompi revolt contribute to the rise of the Medici?
* Attempted alleviation of the artisans post-conflict.
* Fear of Ciompi in the patriciate - paranoia of further rebellion.
* Movement toward centralisation - culminating in rise of Medici.
86
**Peasant's Revolt**
What triggered the Peasant's Revolt of 1381?
* High taxation
* Instability of London leadership
* Upheaval of social structures
87
**Peasant's Revolt**
How was it that the economy disintegrated as a result of the Black Death?
* Shortage of labour permitted wage rises. In turn, the profits of landowners were eroded. The trading, commercial and financial networks in the towns disintegrated.
88
**Peasant's Revolt**
How did economic opportunity expand for the English peasantry?
* Greater economic opportunities
* Engagement in skilled professions
* Movement into richer households
89
**Peasant's Revolt**
Dyer: By how much had purchasing power increased in 40 years, 1340-1380?
* 40%
90
**Peasant's Revolt**
How did the establishment respond to the wealth of the peasantry?
* 1363 Sumpturary Laws
* Proved unenforcable.
91
**Peasant's Revolt**
What sort of economic pressure was the campaign in France applying on the state?
* Garrisons during 1370s in France cost £36,000 p.a. to maintain.
92
**Peasant's Revolt**
Describe the introduction of the poll tax
Poll Tax 1: 4p per adult, to distribute cost of war widely and thinly.
Poll Tax 2 (1379): sliding-scale against 7 classes - upper paying more in absolute terms. Widely evaded
Poll Tax 3: 12p, no exemptions.
93
**Peasant's Revolt**
In 1380, how much was needed in tax?
£160,000
This was to be secured by a 3rd poll tax at 12 pence for over 15, without marriage concessions.
94
**Sicilian Vespers**
What were the Sicilian Vespers?
The name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter, 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks, three thousand French men and women were slain by the rebels, and the government of King Charles lost control of the island. It was the beginning of the War of the Sicilian Vespers.
95
**Sicilian Vespers**
Why did unrest simmer under Charles of Anjou?
Unrest simmered in Sicily because of its very subordinate role in Charles's empire — its nobles had no share in the government of their own island and were not compensated by lucrative posts abroad, as were Charles's French, Provençal and Neapolitan subjects; also Charles spent the heavy taxes he imposed on wars outside Sicily, making Sicily somewhat of a donor economy to Charles' nascent empire. As **Steven Runciman** put it, *"[The Sicilians] saw themselves now being ruled to enable an alien tyrant make conquests from which they would have no benefit"*
96
**Sicilian Vespers**
What happened immediately after the events at the start of Vespers in Palermo?
After leaders were elected in Palermo, messengers spread word across the island for the rebels to strike before the French had time to organise resistance. In a fortnight the rebels gained control over most of the island, and within six weeks it was all under rebel control, except for Messina which was well fortified, and whose leading family, the Riso, remained faithful to Charles. But on 28 April it too broke into open revolt and, most significantly, the islanders' first act was to set fire to Charles's fleet in the harbor.
97
**Hussites**
Who were the Hussites?
The Hussites were a Christian movement in the Kingdom of Bohemia following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415), who became the best-known representative of the Bohemian Reformation and one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech national awareness.
98
**Hussites**
What did the Hussites do?
After the Council of Constance lured Jan Hus in with a letter of indemnity, then tried him for heresy and put him to death at the stake on 6 July 1415, the Hussites fought the Hussite Wars (1420–1434) for their religious and political cause.
99
**Hussites**
What did Hus believe?
De Ecclesia, written in 1413 and have been most frequently quoted and admired or criticized, and yet their first ten chapters are but an epitome of Wycliffe's work of the same title, and the following chapters are but an abstract of another of Wycliffe's works (De potentate papae) on the power of the Pope. Wycliffe had written his book to oppose the common position that the Church consisted only of the clergy, and Hus now found himself making the same point.
100
**Hussites**
What was Hus's legacy?
Jan Hus was a key contributor to Protestantism, whose teachings had a strong influence on the states of Europe and on Martin Luther. The Hussite Wars resulted in the Basel Compacts which allowed for a reformed church in the Kingdom of Bohemia—almost a century before such developments would take place in the Lutheran Reformation. The Unitas Fratrum (or Moravian Church) considers itself a spiritual heir to many of Hus' followers. Hus' extensive writings earn him a prominent place in Czech literary history.
101
**Hussites**
What were the immediate responses to Hus's condemnation in 1415?
When news of his death at the Council of Constance in 1415 arrived, disturbances broke out, directed primarily against the clergy and especially against the monks. Even the Archbishop narrowly escaped from the effects of this popular anger. The treatment of Hus was felt to be a disgrace inflicted upon the whole country and his death was seen as a criminal act. King Wenceslaus, prompted by his grudge against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the course of events in Constance. His wife openly favoured the friends of Hus. Avowed Hussites stood at the head of the government.
102
**Hussites**
What are the Four Articles of Prague?
The programme of the more conservative Hussites (the moderate party) is contained in the Four Articles of Prague, which were written by Jakoubek ze Stříbra and agreed upon in July 1420, promulgated in the Latin, Czech, and German languages. The full text is about two pages long, but they are often summarized as:
* Freedom to preach the word of God
* Celebration of the communion under both kinds (bread and wine to priests and laity alike)
* Poverty of the clergy and expropriation of church property;
* Punishment for mortal sins i.e. the punishment of notorious sinners, among whom prostitutes are singled out for special attention
103
What was Jack Cade's rebellion?
* Revolt, 1450
* Anti-Henry VI
* Local grievances - corruption & abuse of powers.
* National grievances - war expenditure & the loss of Normandy
104
What were the Catalonia revolts of the 15th century known as?
Rebellion of the Remences or War of the Remences was a popular revolt in late medieval Europe against seignorial pressures that began in Catalonia in 1462 and ended a decade later without definitive result.
105
**Hilton & Ashton - The English Uprising of 1381**
* Traditional view (rejected) - dissolution of the traditional feudal order + advance of money economy)
* Destruction of manorial records was widespread during this period
* Unusual to see violence actually against lords - exception being the death of John Lakenheath in Bury St. Edmunds. Most were 'insulted' - such as the lady of Great Bromley
* Social status of rebels not easily defined.
* From records, can see land ownership (5-32) alongside sheep ownership - upto 80. Generally speaking, **wide spectrum of rural society, with a slight bias to the well off.** This could reflect the nature of government record keeping, which tend to give the names of leaders over rank and file. Does not contradict notion of peasant rebellion.
* Following black death, rising prosperity - increased ownership of flocks observable
106
Evidence showing high property rates and high disposable income
Thomas Spryngefeld of Fristling - bought a 8 1/2 holding for £20 in 1379. In the same location, a tenant paid £12 for 20 acres in 1378, and after the revolt, land changed hands at 13s 4d per acre.
107
How did serf migration patterns change during this period?
Increased markedly post-1349 - fines incurred for departure were now servicable
108
Show evidence of serfs asserting their freedom
John Clench and John Soule - Suffolk men - claimed freedom in 1360. In response, their lord - the bishop of Norwich, demanded 3s 4d for 'an unjust claim and rebellion' - also put into the stocks. Another tenant attempted to defend - was deprived of his lands until submitting to lord's grace + paying a fine.
109
Show that the economic condition of the peasants leading the revolt in England were increasing before 138§
**John Philip of Brandon** (Suffolk) - accumulated 5 separate holdings in 1370s, became bailiff from warrener
John Fillfol, John Geffrey and James Atte Ford - acquired land in 1380.
110
What was a preceding revolt to 1381?
The Great Rumours of 1377 - uprisings attempting to secure liberties granted by a revered ruler - Richard. Motivated by millenarian and egalitarian thought of John Ball - contributing to an ideology of the medieval peasant movement.
Attempted to use ancient rights to resist feudal lordship - reliant on revered texts such as the Doomsday book.
111
Raymond Cazelles - The Jacquerie
What happened in the Jacquerie?
28 May, 1358
In Saint-Leu d'Esserent - Nobles killed or expelled - immediate uprisings in neighbouring manors and villages - castles attacked.
Failed to enter Compiègne and Senlis.
Leader emerged - Guillaume Cale - attacked Marché de Meaux - defeated.
2 weeks long, brutally suppressed.
112
Raymond Cazelles - The Jacquerie
What about the economic status of participants?
* Cannot be explained by economics - serfdom had disappeared all but Brie, Valois and Champagne
* Looking at *letters of remission*, can see occupational standing - shoemakers, coopers, masons, poultry sellers, butchers, cartwrights
* Could not have been cultivators - would not have risked damaging crop in May - would wait till end of summer/ autumn.
113
Raymond Cazelles - The Jacquerie
What does Cazelles argue caused the Jacquerie?
* 3 political purposes, 2 mental attitudes:
* Regent - Charles - hoped to strike a major blow against bourgeois Parisians by preventing supplies reaching them via the river - block the Oise. Charles could also control stone - vital commodity - in Saint Leu
* Etienne Marcel and the burgesses associated with him - destruction of castles was to undermine strength of nobility
* King of Navarre - Territorial and monarchical ambitions - though did not contribute to rise of Jacques - indeed, set trap for Cade. Charles used the prestige for his own purposes.
Mentalities
* Anti-noble feelings from the military pushbacks in the 100 years war - Poitiers was a major blow - captured in *Complainte de la Bataille de Poitiers* from contemporary Francois de Montebelluna. Arguably dwindled in attempt at monarchical reformation in 1357, but remained underlying.
* Nobility feared the enoblement of merchants and the entry of law doctors into their ranks - existential crisis.
*
114
Typical explanatory frameworks for European revolt as a general trend
* Samuel Cohn Jr - revolts in context to local developments
* Mollatt and Wolff = backdrop of the black death/ demographic crises'
* Hilton = Crisis of feudalism
* Victor Rutenberg - Proletarian struggle
115
Cohn's Findings About Italian Experience of Revolt
1. Urban protests of the late Trecento did not spread to the countryside or provoke independent uprisings
2. Little peasant participation in the urban insurrections of the second half of the fourteenth century, contrary to England and France.
3. Florentine riots were urban, not rural (save the food riot of 1368)
116
Ciompi - context
* 1343-1385 - 43 counts of riots and insurrection in criminal records of the capitano, podesta and Esecutore - probably mobilising 1000s at a time
* Critically, not about grain or food supply - bar one
* Should prices have been a determinant factor, 1375 would have been a critical year - not 1378. Contra **Professor Brucker** - prices actually fell in immediate years preceding the revolt.
* 81% of Ciompi revolters - disenfranchised wool workers
117
What did the popolo minuto do?
Following the ousting of the old oligarchy, the popolo minuto introduced a Balìa of 32 - effectively ran the government of the commune until the insurrection of Otto di S. Maria Novella.
Also, on 25 and 29 July, Ciompi nominated own judges and officials in court.
118
What have alternate historians argued about the nature of the Ciompi government?
Gene Brucker, Mollat, Wolff and de Roover
Intensely conservative - creation of three revolutionary guilds was a throwback to the restoration of the guild-world of Dino Compagni
Contradicting this, Samuel Cohn Jr
Balia introduced decisions which ran counter to the ancient prerogatives of the wool merchants and merchant banking class.
* Forced loans cut from 15% to 5%
* Gold and silver prices stabilised at 3.5 lire per florin
* Wool workers imposed production quotas to reduce unemployment and underemployment
* Abolition of forestiere meant wool merchants could no longer arbitrarily affect the personal and economic behaviour of their workers.
119
What happened to the Balìa of 32?
* Overthrown in 6 weeks by more radical wing of popolo minuto, wanted to push movement further. Failure following resulted in a coalition between government and minor guildsmen.
120
What led to the downfall of the Ciompi?
A utopian image of power, vainglory and even cash impelled some of the desperate populi minuti to ally or conspire with the patriciate.
'Long live the twenty-four guilds and death to the traitors who make us starve'
121
Where in Italy had the distinct lack of social upheaval led to a change in social structures?
Siena - The government of the Nine, an oligarchy composed largely of merchants and bankers, which rueld Siena without serious threat to its hegemony for nearly seven decades (1287-1355), transformed fundamentally old medieval judicial and political institutions. It whittled down the authority and police power of the Podesta and the Capitano and created three new judicial and executive bodies.
122
What was the revolt of Moerlemaaie?
1280 - discontented citizens stage coup against incumbent city government - due to fiscal mismanagement + general dishonesty. Introduction of new charter followed - which attempted to levy a fine on the populace. Led to cycle of violence, reimposition of order, and punishment by the count, continued for 10 years.
123
Who turned around the historiography of the 1381 peasants rebellion?
Hilton, who rejected the common thesis of the 1960s-70s, which saw the Peasant's rebellion as akin to the Jacquerie. Hilton instead proposed that it was very carefully orchestrated, and savvy - targetted affair for political gain, rather than completely chaotic.
