Page 23 - All About History - Issue 19-14

Kings & Queens

4 FEUDAL
How not to…
manage your barons REVOLTS
When King John of England suffered a string of defeats overseas he was
forced to demand more money from his barons to fund his army. In 1204 REBELLION OF
John lost his land in Northern France, so in order to recover from this
crushing failure he raised taxes without consulting his barons – common GYÖRGY DÓZSA
practice at the time. However, when John was defeated again at the Battle
of Bouvines many England barons lost their possessions in Normandy. 1514, KINGDOM OF HUNGARY
Thousands of the gentry were
On top of this, John returned and demanded yet more money from taxes.
killed and castles burned when
This blatant disregard for feudal law was the final straw for the barons,
peasants in Hungary led a mass
who led a mass rebellion against the king, managing to capture London.
revolt against their overlords.
By the spring of 1215 John was forced into negotiations with the barons
and the end result of this was the Magna Carta – a document that placed
limitations on the king’s power and protected some of the barons’ rights.

PEASANTS’ REVOLT

1381, ENGLAND
Over a thousand English rebels
rose up to protest taxing and
unpaid labour, destroying many
buildings in London and killing
high-ranking officials.

Send out a call for arms Collect taxes
As a king you’re going to need an ample supply of Conquering is expensive business, so if your barons are
03 soldiers to defend your borders and vanquish your 04unable to provide knights they need to pay you ‘scutage’
enemies. You will have to send out requests to your barons to so you can hire mercenaries instead. You also need to collect the
provide you with knights. Each baron has a different set quota of taxes your barons have amassed from their own tenants, as well IVAYLO REBELLION
knights they must supply you with for up to 40 days at a time; as the baron’s own rent for his land. There is also feudal relief, a
1277-1280, BULGARIA
make sure their equipment is up to scratch and use them wisely. one-off tax the heir of an estate pays when a baron dies. The swine herder Ivaylo led an
uprising against Tsar Constantine I,
who was overthrown, with Ivaylo
put in his place.

FLANDERS PEASANT
REVOLT

1323-1328, FLANDERS
Due to a steep rise in taxes, a
series of scattered rural riots
broke out and slowly escalated
into a five-year rebellion.
Enjoy free lodgings Maintain control
You will need to travel around the country a lot, so it’s The trouble with giving people great expanses of land
05 just as well that your barons have a duty to provide free 06 is that they can become powerful and sometimes
food and lodging. Kings tend to travel with quite the entourage, rebellious, like the French and German barons who began to
so this can be very costly to the barons; William’s household once govern their lands as independent states. The best way to prevent
consumed 6,000 chickens, 1,000 rabbits, 200 geese, 90 boars, 50 this is to provide strict but fair leadership. If that fails, you can
peacocks and hundreds of casks of wine during a Christmas visit. always relieve the troublemakers of their position (or their life).

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