Village Revolts

This is a study of some of the hundreds of "village revolts" which occurred between the accession of Henry VIII and the meeting of the Short Parliament in 1640. Expressions of social protest by village and manorial communities centred around resistance to the extinction of common rights, alterations in land use and the degradation of peasant status. They were more localized in extent and more limited in their aims than the regional rebellions of the period, but they were also more widespread and persistent. Basing his work on research in the records of the Court of Star Chamber and other equity courts, the author reconstructs case studies of the various kinds of dispute: anti-enclosure riots, tenurials and rent protests, game poaching. The work offers insights into the impact of demographic expansion, technological innovation and the claims to absolute rights over agrarian society of those owning private property. It also covers early developments in the law of public order.