William Grindecobbe Explained

William Grindecobbe or Grindcobbe^[1] was one of the peasant leaders during the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381. A Townsman of St Albans,^[2] he was a substantial property owner there and has been described as a 'hero' of the revolt.^[3]

Life

His name implies that he was a miller of grain.^[4] He was one of a number of millers who took part in the revolt, and has been described as having been eloquent^[5] and literate.^[6] It has also been suggested that he was an excommunicate priest,^[7] possibly an alumnus of St Albans Abbey.^[8] It thus possible that he was motivated at least in part to rebel as a result of the pressures of papal taxation.^[9]

Along with Wat Tyler and John Wrawe, he was one of the key leaders of the peasants during the revolt of 1381,^[10] leading the townspeople of St Albans on 15 June.^[11]

He was executed in 1381 along with John Wrawe and John Ball. His trial and execution was overseen by Henry le Despenser.

Role in Peasants' Revolt

During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, he became well known for his actions against the high lord Thomas de la Mare, Abbot of St. Albans. He led a deputation to King Richard II, whom the rebels met at Mile End^[12] which 'extorted' a letter from the King to the Abbot forcing the latter to give up the royal charters he held to the rebels. They ultimately destroyed the charters and a portion of the abbey itself.^[7]

He was executed along with other leaders of the Revolt, and although his trial was deemed to have been fair, it has also been described as being in the nature of a 'show trial.'^[13] It has been suggested that he made a speech from the scaffold implicating John Wycliffe in the rebellion.^[14]

Sources

Most of the details about his life have been derived from the writings of Thomas Walsingham, who was a monk resident in an abbey,^[15] and may well have witnessed Grindecobbe's execution.^[16]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Grindcobbe. The Foragers. 17 March 2017.
2. Book: At the Dawn of Modernity: Biology, Culture, and Material Life in Europe After the Year 1000. registration. 19 February 2001. University of California Press. 978-0-520-22058-4. 377–. David Levine.
3. Book: Popular Protest in Late Medieval English Towns. Cambridge University Press. 2013. 978-1-107-02780-0. 324–. Samuel K. Cohn, Jr. Douglas Aiton.
4. Book: Patterson. Lee. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: A Casebook. 2007. OUP. 9780195175738. 16. 17 March 2017.
5. Book: Literary Practice and Social Change in Britain, 1380-1530. University of California Press. 1990. 978-0-520-06486-7. 128–. Lee Patterson.
6. Book: Gerald Harriss. G. L. Harriss. Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461. 9 November 2006. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-921119-7. 231–.
7. Book: Richard II. 22 August 2013. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-62208-1. 83–. Anthony Steel.
8. Book: Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Later Middle Ages. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. 2008. 978-1-84383-386-4. 156–. Janet E. Burton. Karen Stöber.
9. Book: Richard II. 22 August 2013. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-62208-1. 64. Anthony Steel.
10. Book: Barker. Juliet. England, Arise: The People, the King and the Great Revolt of 1381. 2014. Hachette. 9780748127887. 17 March 2017.
11. Web site: Wright. Peter. A Dream of John Ball: Historical Introduction. William Morris Archive. 17 March 2017.
12. Book: A History Of The English People, 1307-1461. 2 July 2004. The Minerva Group, Inc.. 978-1-4147-0257-5. 144–. John Richard Green.
13. Book: The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. 2004. 978-0-7524-2965-6. 175. Alastair Dunn.
14. Book: Richard II. 22 August 2013. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-62208-1. 89. Anthony Steel.
15. Book: Barker. Juliet. 1381: The Year of the Peasants' Revolt. 2014. Harvard UP. 9780674744509. 17 March 2017.
16. Book: The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. 2004. 978-0-7524-2965-6. 173. Alastair Dunn.