William Grindecobbe

William Grindecobbe or William 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.[12]

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.[12] He led a deputation to King Richard II, whom the rebels met at Mile End[13] 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,[12] it has also been described as being in the nature of a 'show trial.'[14] It has been suggested that he made a speech from the scaffold implicating John Wycliffe in the rebellion.[15]

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,[16] and may well have witnessed Grindecobbe's execution.[17]

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References
  1. "Grindcobbe". The Foragers. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  2. David Levine (19 February 2001). At the Dawn of Modernity: Biology, Culture, and Material Life in Europe After the Year 1000. University of California Press. pp. 377–. ISBN 978-0-520-22058-4.
  3. Samuel K. Cohn, Jr; Douglas Aiton (2013). Popular Protest in Late Medieval English Towns. Cambridge University Press. pp. 324–. ISBN 978-1-107-02780-0.
  4. Patterson, Lee (2007). Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: A Casebook. OUP. p. 16. ISBN 9780195175738. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  5. Lee Patterson (1990). Literary Practice and Social Change in Britain, 1380-1530. University of California Press. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-0-520-06486-7.
  6. Gerald Harriss; G. L. Harriss (9 November 2006). Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461. OUP Oxford. pp. 231–. ISBN 978-0-19-921119-7.
  7. Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-1-107-62208-1.
  8. Janet E. Burton; Karen Stöber (2008). Monasteries and Society in the British Isles in the Later Middle Ages. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. pp. 156–. ISBN 978-1-84383-386-4.
  9. Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-107-62208-1.
  10. Barker, Juliet (2014). England, Arise: The People, the King and the Great Revolt of 1381. Hachette. ISBN 9780748127887. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  11. Wright, Peter. "A Dream of John Ball: Historical Introduction". William Morris Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  12. Cooney, Sarah J., ""Social Upheaval and Social Change in England, 1381-1750 (M.A. Thesis)", Dissertations and Theses, Portland State University, retrieved 17 March 2017
  13. John Richard Green (2 July 2004). A History Of The English People, 1307-1461. The Minerva Group, Inc. pp. 144–. ISBN 978-1-4147-0257-5.
  14. Alastair Dunn (2004). The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-7524-2965-6.
  15. Anthony Steel (22 August 2013). Richard II. Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-107-62208-1.
  16. Barker, Juliet (2014). 1381: The Year of the Peasants' Revolt. Harvard UP. ISBN 9780674744509. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  17. Alastair Dunn (2004). The Peasant's Revolt: England's Failed Revolution of 1381. Tempus. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-7524-2965-6.
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