Peasants and landlords in later medieval England - E. B. Fryde

Through the use of much unpublished material, this book offers a balanced assessment of the realities of life in rural England during the later Middle Ages, based as much on the perspective of the peasants themselves as that of their landlords. The Great Revolt of 1381 provides a dramatic glimpse of peasant grievances and the obvious peasant discontent which was its cause helps to explain many of the changes forced upon landlords during the ensuing 120 years.;During the period 1380-1450 most English landlords began to lease their properties and lost interest in rigorously controlling their servile peasantry. As a result serfdom gradually disappeared. Peasant migration ceased to be restricted by landlords and there was an unprecedented amount of settlement redistribution as peasants tried to move to more promising areas. Alongside discussions of population movements, including the controversial subjects of village desertion and the spread of enclosure, much evidence is given of peasant poverty and continuous unrest. Combining a wealth of detail with a strongly argued narrative, this volume offers an account of the nature, development and demise of English serfdom.