Peasants' Revolt - Smithfield

Smithfield

At Smithfield on the following day, further negotiations with the king were arranged, but, on this occasion, the meeting did not go according to plan. Wat Tyler rode ahead to talk to the king and his party. Tyler, it is alleged by the king's chroniclers, behaved most belligerently and dismounted his horse and called for a drink most rudely. In the ensuing dispute, Tyler (supposedly) drew his dagger, and William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, drew his sword and attacked Tyler, mortally wounding him in the neck; Sir John Cavendish, one of the King's knights, drew his sword and ran it through Tyler's stomach, killing him almost instantly. Seeing him surrounded by the King's entourage, the rebel army was in uproar, but King Richard, seizing the opportunity, rode forth and shouted, "You shall have no captain but me," a statement left deliberately ambiguous to defuse the situation. He promised the rebels that all was well, that Tyler had been knighted, and that their demands would be met—they were to march to St John's Fields, where Wat Tyler would meet them. This they duly did, but the king broke his promise. The nobles quickly re-established their control with the help of a hastily organised militia of 7000, and most of the other leaders were pursued, captured and executed, including John Ball. Following the collapse of the revolt, the king's concessions were quickly revoked. Those involved hastened to dissociate themselves in the months that followed.

Read more about this topic:  Peasants' Revolt