Peasants? Revolt

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the main causes of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt. It gives a general background of the roles that Christianity and the church play within society. The author explains how religion has the capacity to both incite and quell rebellions. Usually, the distinction between the two rests in the distinction between the teachings of religion and the establishments responsible for relaying those teachings. The paper expands on how the peasants' revolt of 1381 clearly exemplifies this schism and explains this apparent duel-edged power of the Church.

From the Paper:

"By 1381, however, the Catholic Church was facing crises on a number of fronts. "It was the papacy of Urban VI, however, and the anti-French reforms that became associated with it, which was to split the Church for nearly half a century. . . . The great 'schism' meant that two popes now ruled God's kingdom on earth." This divided the organizational structure of the Church and undermined the supposedly divinely appointed position of the pope. Since the obvious bases for the great schism were political in nature, it was easy for everyone in Christendom to recognize the non-spiritual foundations upon which the Church fundamentally rested. Additionally, the opposing religious sides birthed even more fierce divisions along cultural and geographic boundaries. Notably for Britain, the Scots openly supported the French pope while the English supported the Italian pope. This gave the English added cause to attack the Scots; a sequence of events that would have implications for the revolt."

More papers on Peasants? Revolt:

• Analytical Essay # 2920 : "The Peasants and the French Revolution"
• Analytical Essay # 124940 : "The Tomochic Revolt"
• Essay # 23401 : "Martin Luther"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: