Wat Tyler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wat Tyler
Tyler's death (left to right: Sir William Walworth, Mayor of London (wielding sword); Wat Tyler; King Richard II; and Sir John Cavendish, esquire to the king (bearing decorated sword)
Born	c.1320/4 January 1341 Kent or Essex, England
Died	15 June 1381 London, England
Nationality	English
Known for	Peasants' Revolt

Engraving by Anker Smith

Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. While the brief rebellion enjoyed early success, Tyler was killed by officers loyal to King Richard II during negotiations at Smithfield, London.

Early life

Little is known of Wat Tyler's early life. Historical sources give differing accounts of his birth. One claims that he was born on 4 January 1341, while another source claims he was born around 1320. Most historians agree that he was born around 1341. He was fascinated by John Ball, his group having broken the radical priest out of jail. He was probably born in Kent or Essex. “Wat” may have been his given name (derived from the Old English name Watt), or a diminutive form of the name Walter; his original surname was unknown. It is thought that the name "Tyler" came from his occupation as a roof tiler, but this is not confirmed. Prior to the Peasants' Revolt, it is probable that he lived in Kent or Essex; he has variously been represented as coming from Dartford and Maidstone in Kent, from Deptford, which was in Kent at the time, and from Colchester in Essex.

Peasants' Revolt

The Peasants' Revolt began in May 1381, triggered by a recently imposed poll tax of 4 pence from every adult, whether peasant or wealthy. The revolt was not only about money, as the peasants also sought increased liberty and other social reforms. They demanded that each labourer be allowed to work for the employer of his choice and sought an end to serfdom and other rigid social demarcation. There were uprisings across England, with much of the unrest focused on Essex and Kent. The uprising was opposed by a significant part of English society in those regions, including nobility and wealthy religious establishments. Many peasants and labourers were inspired by the teachings of John Ball, a radical priest who preached that all humans should be treated equally, as descendants of Adam and Eve, and who asked: "When Adam delved and Eve span/Who was then the gentleman?"

How Tyler became involved with the revolt is unknown, although a much later 16th-century source indicates that a man of a similar name, John Tyler, was its initiator. This account suggests that a poll-tax collector had indecently assaulted John Tyler's daughter. It is suggested the poll tax collector "pulled up his daughter's clothes to see if she arrived at the age of puberty". In revenge he killed the miscreant and triggered the insurgency. According to article "Boys of English History" from The Boy's Own Paper (1879), Tyler "slew the wretch with his hammer," presumably a tool used in his trade, after the tax collector "vilely insulted the maiden." Regardless of the basis of that story, by June 1381, when groups of rebels from across the country began a coordinated assault on London, Wat Tyler had emerged as a leader of the Kentish forces.

On 13 June, the rebels reached the capital and crossed London Bridge. Once in the city, they attacked civil targets, destroying legal records, opening prisons, sacking homes, and killing individuals they thought were associated with the royal government. In response, the king, Richard II (then 14 years old), met with the rebels on 14 June 1381 and agreed to make many concessions and to give full pardons to all those involved in the rebellion. While some of the rebels were satisfied by the king's promises and dispersed, Tyler and his followers were not.

Death

The death of Wat Tyler, illustrated in the Chronicles of Jean Froissart

On 15 June 1381, Tyler and his Kentish forces met King Richard at Smithfield, outside London. There, Tyler spoke personally with the king and put forward his demands. At first, the meeting seems to have gone well, with Tyler treating the king in a friendly, if overly familiar, manner, and Richard agreeing the rebels "should have all that he could fairly grant".

However, tensions quickly rose. According to a contemporary chronicler, Tyler acted contemptuously, calling for a flagon of water to rinse his mouth "because of the great heat that he was in" and when he received the water "he rinsed his mouth in a very rude and disgusting fashion before the King's face". Sir John Newton (a servant of the king) insulted Tyler by calling him "the greatest thief and robber in all Kent". Tyler attacked Newton, but was restrained and arrested by the Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth. Tyler then attempted to stab the mayor, who was saved by his armour. Tyler was severely wounded by the king's servants but managed to ride thirty yards before he fell from his horse.

In the disorder that followed, he was taken to a hospital for the poor, but was tracked down by the mayor, brought back to Smithfield and publicly decapitated. In the wake of their leader's death, Tyler's followers were driven from London and the movement was shattered. Subsequently, Richard II revoked all the concessions he had made to the rebels and many were hunted down and executed. That effectively ended the revolt.

Tributes

A section of the A249 road passing through Maidstone is named "Wat Tyler Way" in his honour.

"Tyler's Causeway" running from Newgatestreet Village towards the A1000 in Hertfordshire named for the route taken by some of his followers fleeing the capital following his death.

A road on the western edge of Blackheath is called Wat Tyler Road

Wat Tyler Country Park in Essex is named after him.

Swindon Borough Council's Offices are in Wat Tyler House.

A memorial commemorating Wat Tyler and the Great Rising of 1381 was unveiled on 15 July 2015 in Smithfield, London.

See also

In Spanish: Wat Tyler para niños

• John Ball and Jack Straw, co-leaders of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt
• Jack Cade, leader of the 1450 Kentish Revolt
• Michael An Gof, leader of the Cornish rebellion of 1497
• Robert Kett, leader of Kett's Rebellion in 1549 in Norfolk
• Bartholomew Steer, leader of the 1596 Oxfordshire Rebellion
• King Richard II of England