Freedom's Roar: An English Medieval TL

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all, I am here with a new TL. Before this point I have done only 2 Roman TLs. I thought I'd change that. There are many potential divergencies I could have picked, but I decided to go with this one. This TL will be about the Peasant Revolt of 1381, when the people of England decided that enough was enough. It failed after a month in OTL, but what if things went differently? Anyways, I stop this preface and get on with the actual TL.

How Much Can a Man Take?

1381

The people were angry, furious even. They had put themselves to service for the Lords of England. Working back breaking labour for barely any money. Before, they had no choice but to accept what they had.

But then came the Black Death...

It had been horrific for the people of Europe, millions dead in just a few years. Those that were found to be diseased left to die, now being unsaveable. A third of Europe had been claimed by death's cold grip as a result of the Black Death.

But for those who managed to survive, it was a blessing in disguise. The people were once nothing but disposable tools for the nobility to use until broken. But after the Black Death, the peasantries lives were now suddenly valued, due to the shortage of workers.

But this freedom scared the nobility. The thought of the peasantry having any power over them was a sickening thought. So they had made every effort to force the peasantry "back into their place".

This angered the peasantry, they hated how they were being denied the rights they felt owed. But they kept it locked up, they feeling of resentment towards the nobility that had repressed them began to fester.

In January 1381, a soldier by the name of Roger Moors had returned home from France. He had been a veteran in the war against France. It was over his decade and a half of service in the lands of France to serve the crown of England that be had become disillusioned with that very crown. He questioned why they were even fighting anymore. England had been trying for almost half a century, with no end yet in sight. He questioned to himself "Hasn't England suffered enough?"

He felt as though his country was driving itself into the ground over a flimsy excuse, in a vain attempt at power that never belonged to them. By the end of this service, he has almost come to sympathise with his French opponents. After all, if it were him, he would have done the same. He would have picked up any weapon he could find and defend his home, defend it until the last drop of blood had left his body. If England was in danger, he would still happily fight in defense of the country. But as it was, he hated having to participate in a war he saw no reason to fight for.

He stroked his beard, scruffy and aged from the years of conflict. At the start of his service, he was a youthful, wide-eyed and idealistic man in the prime of his life. Now he was pushing fourty, age and slowed of the years of neverending conflict, and much wider for it.

He was seen as another pawn in the game of political intrigue, sent back home to England for the time, being to injured to fight effectively anymore in their minds. Left to live the rest of his life in obscurity. Little did they know, the ageing warrior had fight left in him, ready to show it when the right moment came.

That time came on the 30th May 1381, the day that bitterness and resentment that had been bottled up for decades finally burst. It had started with the Poll Tax, by then very unpopular with the people. It had tipped the people, but they were still waiting on the excuse they needed to move against the nobility. But it was that day that finally burst the lid. A local tax collector in Essex had become overzealous in his work, punishing those unable to pay.

This was one slight too many for the peasantry. The peasants began to resist. The spark had been lighted of the Peasant Revolt of 1381/82, an event that would led to irrevokable change in England. One that would set the stage for a new world order in the centuries to follow.

A/N: And that is all for now, i hoped you have enjoyed the start to this new series. I don't have a schedule to when these Chapters will come out. It'll be mostly when I feel like it, such as when I'm burnt out on writing my other TLs. Thank you all for reading, any feedback is much appreciated. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all! I'm back with another Chapter. The Peasant Revolt has begun, but how will things turn out for those revolting against the nobility. How will things turn out this time? We're about to find out...

New Beginnings

The people had been pushed too hard by the nobility, and they refused to sit by quietly and let it happen. They began to rampage through the country as several towns broke into revolt one after the other. It wasn't long before the small riots turned into the full scale revolt that would come to be known as the Peasant Revolt.

In the midst of this three men would be elected to serve as leaders of the rebelling peasants. The first was Wat Tyler, who served as the overall leader of the revolt, working on the political aspects of the revolt. The next was John Ball, a preacher who had been excommunicated and imprisioned by the start of the Peasant Revolt. He served as the religious mouthpiece for the revolt. The final of the three major leaders was Roger Moors, the former soldier sent back home from the hundred years war. He controlled the military matters of the revolt.

With leadership established, on the 13th June, the rebelling peasantry under Wat Tyler entered London, intent on getting the reforms they came for. They slaughtered Flemish merchants, before razing the palace of the unpopular John of Gaunt, King Richard II's uncle and the Duke of Lancaster.

The nobility of London were taken completely by surprise at this, as they had not thought that things would go so back so quickly. The day after the peasants stormed London, Richard II had to meet the rebels at Mile End, just outside of London. There, he would promise to meet the demands set by the peasants and the leaders; cheap land, abolition of serfdom and forced labour, increased minimum wage and free trade.

Most of the rebels seemed to believe in what Richard was saying, however there were those who had their suspicions, Roger Moors being one of them. Roger Moors knew that this was likely a ruse, one to buy time to gather up troops in order to suppress the revolt. He began to make plans to up the training of the "soldiers" in the rebellion from basic training to more in-depth training, knowing it would be needed for in case the king did gather up his forces.

The next day, the 15th June, Wat Tyler and Roger Moors along with a group of the peasantry to serve as back up, as a precaution inside the building as well as the thousands that would be outside. Wat Tyler was very joking, being overly familiar with Richard by refering to his as "brother" and promising friendship. Roger, on the other hand, was deathly serious. He simply stood there, glaring daggers at the king's men.

It didn't take long before tensions started to mount between the two sides. William Walworth, the Mayor of London moved forward to arrest him as the two sides were ready to break out into fighting. Wat Tyler and William Walworth bickered, before Walworth moved to attack Wat Tyler. But before he could even remove his dagger from its sheath, he found Roger Moors' blade pressed against his neck. Whilst not as light on his feet as he used to be, his arms and hands had only gotten quicker with age and experience.

William Walworth demanded an explanation, asking Moors if his life meant that value to him. To which Moors simply responded:

"Why would I value my life if I don't fear my death?"

As a soldier he was always ready to lay down his life for the cause. Now was no different.

There was a moment of pause, before Walworth moved to attack Moors, sparking a full on brawl, many form both sides rushed to join in on the fighting. During this chaos, Walworth attempted to attack Wat Tyler again, but found his attack literally cut off by Moors who had severed his hand clean off, forcing Walworth to retreat. Richard II was able to eventually calm proceedings down, appealing to them as their sovereign. The king then tried to persuade them to follow him to Clerkenwell Fields, but Moors countered this, stating that, while the offer was "kind", they would be heading elsewhere.

The peasants set up at Dorchester, near to London, so that they could keep and eye on proceedings where ever nessesary. Here, Moors would begin the training of the peasantrys army, dubbed The Liberty Army by the peasants. This would set up the rest of 1381 and the start of 1382, as the rebels looked to stabilise themselves against the nobility. Thing were heating up over supremacy of England's future, one that would be controlled either by the peasantry or the nobility.

A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you all enjoyed. This has been really fun to do so far, I've enjoyed diverging from Rome, and I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story alongside me writing it. Thank you all for reading this TL, the feedback is much appreciated. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all! I am back with another chapter! Things have begun to heat up in England as the two sides begin to form their armies. The fate of England is beginning to shape up, who will come out on top? Only one way to find out!

Fates Collide

From the base in Dorchester, Moors began to train the Liberty Army from merely a group of organised peasants into a true fighting forces, personally selecting 5,000 of the men to serve as the core of the army. All the men got some basic training, but it was this core group that showed the most potential or most effort, recieving the most advanced training and discipline as a result.

The town of Dorchester allowed them to stay near London, keeping London from getting too far out of their grasp whilst keeping out of the direct line of fire. From their base they would launch a propagandra campaign, with word of mouth spreading through the country. John Ball used his status as a former priest to spread the message through religion, whilst Wat Tyler used his charisma in many speeches around south-central England.

More and more people began to be drawn towards the cause, themselves wanting rights, feeling that they were owed being treated like people. By November the number of people actively supporting the uprising had grown to roughly 80,000, and continuing to grow.

Richard and his Ministers knew that the problem was growing more and more uncontrollable as support began to grow. They had hoped to relieve the tension from the situation, instead, the situation had only grown more heated as the nobility and peasantry butted heads over control of England's destiny.

Richard knew he had to end this uprising quickly if he was to regain full control of England. If this continued, then it would be hard to ever fully suppress the rebels. Luckily for Richard, he had now managed to gather up his royal militia to deal with the revolt.

Moors recieved news of this building militia, knowing he would have to respond quickly. Alongside his main force of infantry and cavalry swordsmen, he also began to train a group of ranged fighters, mainly archers. Though he wasn't as capable with a bow and arrow as he was with a sword, he was still capable of showing them how to use it effectively, especially since many already had experience in archery. He was also able to call on some friends more experienced with archery to train the forces. Though the main force was made up of archers, there was another group that filled in; gunmen.

Guns were a relatively new thing to Europe, being first used in Europe less than two decades ago. The gun was still a new tool in European warfare, fairly untested in battles, however Moors saw their potential. If properly harnessed, he knew they could become a force in warfare. Though at the point of time they were inferior to bows in many respects, they had one important advantage. The ammo and gunpowder was far smaller than the arrows used by bows, so more could be stocked up to use on enemies, good for defending a well fortified position. Something that would come in handy for what was to come.

It was for this reason that Moors invested into trying to improve the guns that they had access to. Though most of the rebels were peasantry and townsfolk, some of the rebels were actually of the lower nobility, as well as clergymen. Because of this, the rebellion had gathered up some wealth. Moors got to work on trying to improve the guns that had been gathered up over the course of the revolt. He hired people to try and improve the weaponry. What would eventually result was dubbed "The Iron Match", this would serve as the prototype to what would be known as The Matchlock. And it was soon to be put to use.

On the 25th November 1381, Moors had to travel to Oxford with Tyler for a speech. This was seen as the time to attack for the Royalists. The Royal Militia under Walworth was sent to capture the rebels home base of Dorchester, having settled down rioting in London for the time being. However, the rebels had made sure to protect Dorchester, whilst 3,000 of the army accompanied Tyler and Moors (mainly the cavalry and archers), 5,000 remained at Dorchester.

When he recieved news of the attack, Moors took most of the remaining army, leaving Tyler a couple dozen to protect him. As the Royal Army was closer, they arrived at Dorchester before Moors. There, On the 26th November, the Royal Army would do battle with the Liberty Army at the Revolt only true battle: The Battle of Dorchester. 5,000 Liberty soldiers faced 7,000 Royal soldiers. The Liberty Army was able to secure a hill to do battle on, blocking the Royals form getting to the city. They were outnumbered and less experienced, however the hill gave them the advantage of fighting downhill. Commanding them was a general by the name of Thomas Bockwell, the right hand man of Roger Moors, with one of his generals being Roger Moors' eldest son, James Moors.

The battle began with the Armies meeting near the top of the hill. The Liberty army was made up of infantry swordsmen in the centre, with the (mainly) gunmen taking the wings. In front of the gunmen were small fortifications, serving as a deterent to attcking the side. This all came with the purpose of funneling the Royal army into the centre, to slowly wear the Royals down, and lessen the numbers advantage.

During the battle James Moors would lead a group of 50 gunmen to intercept a small group of the Royal Army that was sent to cut off the rebels supply line. They were able to ambush and shoot down most of the small party, with the rest fleeing under the onslaught of bullets.

At another point, the Royal Army tried a feigned retreat. The army was almost compelled into chasing after the supposedly fleeing enemies, but they were commanded to hold their positions by Bockwell. Months of constant discipline paid off, as the Army held their positions on the hill. At risk of looking like failures it they continued and further, Walworth broke the feigned retreat, turning back and continuing the battle.

After 9 hours of relentless fighting, Roger Moors finally arrived, charging his cavalry into the back of the Royal line catching the Royal off guard. The Liberty Army now encircled the Royal army, with Moors positioning his side similar to Bockwell, swordsmen in the centre, archers at the wings. The Royal army was now trapped on the hill, having to fight downwards and upwards. The centre of the Royal militia were cut down, whilst the left and right were shot down. The Royal army broke, using a couple of gaps in the line to flee through, many shot down of the way. Walworth managed to be one of the few that escaped, though was shot twice in the shoulder and once in the leg.

The battle was a decisive victory for the Liberty Army and the Rebels. Of the 7,000 in the Royal army 4,500 died and 1,500 were captured. The Liberty army only sustained 200 losses that day. It was a crushing defeat for the nobility, and a symbol that the Peasant Revolt wasn't a fleeting moment, it was here to stay. The home base was now secure for the time being.

The battle, while definitely having several short term effect, such as galvanising the people, it's biggest effects would come in the long term. The Peasant Revolt and the Battle of Dorchester in particular would come to be regarded as the first domino in a series of events that would shape not only England, but all of Europe in terms of both Warfare and Politics. It was the match that would light the spark that would culminate centuries later.

A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed! As you can see, here is where things start to really change from OTL. The rebelling forces have won a crucial victory over the nobility. What will happen next? Only time will tell. Thank you all for reading, the feedback is always appreciated. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all, I'm back with another Chapter! The Liberty army has triumphed over The Royal Militia. The peasants have gained superiority in the battle for England's destiny. Now, we shall find up how they follow up.

Forcing the Hand

1382

The Battle of Dorchester has been a key moment in the revolt. John Ball used this victory as proof of the revolt being ordained by God to liberate the people and the kings against the vile nobility. The movement comtinued to gain momentum as time went on. By 1382 the number of active participants spiking to 120,000 by February, with a reported 1 million in open support.

Richard II and his advisors were in a tough spot, they needed to keep the support of the nobles, lest he be overthrown, but not accepting the peasants demands would entail chaos, with deposition also a possibility. He needed to try and find a compromise that would keep both sides happy. The main army was still busy in France, and having to nring back the army to deal with the revolt would be rather embarrassing, not to mention that it would have taken time to get them back.

On the 6th February, the Revolters launched their second takeover of London. They had never fully left, making sure their influence remained. However, they had remained outside of London for the past few months, letting events play out for themselves.

Now however, the revolting peasants decided to launch another direct takeover of London. They stormed London, retaking control of important buildings like the Tower of London. They demanded that Richard, with all of his ministers, came out into the streets of London to listen to their demands.

The 15 year old boy eventually agreed, holding his arms in the air to show that he wasn't a threat. The two sides would then negotiate on the laws in the open, in front of a crowd of peasants, which had gathered to watch the event.

In what has become known as Magna Carta Rustici (Peasants Great Charter), the Peasants laid out their demands. They wanted; Abolition of Serfdom, abolition of the Poll Tax, Increased pay for all peasants, minimum wage, inforcement of the law for paying less than minimum, abolishment of maximum wages.

The two sides argued back and forth over several days, gathering thousands of onlookers in the process. Richard and the nobles wanted to stop this, but Roger Moors and John Ball were able to counter the nobles, demanding everyone be allowed to see and know. Eventually, the two sides came to a compromise. Serfdom was abolised, as was the poll tax. A minimum wage was established, but it was lower than what the leaders had wished for. Punishments were establish, however most of these were minor. Maximum Wages weren't abolished entirely, but were changed to be based on how much of a product was produced, the more produced, the higher the maximum wage was placed. The peasantry was fine with this arrangement, although added in that the minimum wage was also included in this, to make sure that the nobility could take advantage of this too heavily. This would mark the first moment in the slow transition of England from a feudal society, to a capitalist one.

The nobility and peasantry agreed to this, although reluctant to do so. Neither had gotten exactly what they had wanted, but it was good enough for the time being. Celebrations were had throughout England as peasants finally had at least some rights, some freedom. The Revolt had come to an end, for the most part, those that participated in the revolt remained in London for several months to make sure there was no trickery involved (at the request of Roger Moors). The active fighting was over. However that didn't mean that tensions were gone. The balance between Nobility and Peasantry was very fine, and the wrong move could see the two sides launch back into fighting once again.

Richard knew this, the Peasant Revolt had humbled the young king, showing him that his crown wasn't infallible; power could be snatched from him by both Nobility and Peasantry. He knew he would always have to walk the fine line between both sides.

The success of the Revolt would also have knock-on effects throughout Europe. Seeing the success of the revolt in England, many groups tried their hand at the same thing. Most of these didn't prove to be as effective as the English one, and were put down easily. One that did achieve some success was in France. The French saw the King's weakness as to why they were being invaded by England, as it was the succession crisis that led to the war to begin with.

Deciding to have their own revolt on the king, led by a man by the name of Bernard Monte, they rampaged through the countryside. This put King Charles VI of France between English Soldiers taking and Peasant Revolutionaries calling for his abdication. This allowed England further advantage in the war, although this was undermined somewhat, as the revolutionaries fought against the English with what ever chance they could get.

The English Peasant Revolt had lit a fire under Europe, paving the way for change in the system, change that would culminate over centuries.

A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed. Now we are starting to see not only how this alternate Revolt has affected England, but also Europe as a whole. Not much to begin with, but it is the first piece. How will things advance from here? We shall see in time...
Thank you all for reading this TL so far, the feedback is aways appreciated. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all, I am back with another Chapter! The Revolt of England has been successful! Now, other Revolts have started cropping up around Europe, especially Western Europe. In particular, France has experienced a peasant Revolt. How will things pan out for England and France? Only one way to find out...

Escalation

The English Peasant Revolt had been a great success, helping to drive progress in the treatment of the average citizen. But this had not been confined to England for long. Groups throughout Europe had begun to rapidly spring up following the success of the English Revolt. Peasant Groups began to make waves in Europe, as they looked for more right. The majority were ended soon after they began.

However, there were those that had much larger impacts on Europe. In particular, France had seen a massive uprising, now dubbed as the Haralle. Led by Bernard Monte, they rampaged through the countryside, gathering followers. It was not long before they had gathering a support base that rivalled that of England, gaining 80,000 by July.

This group had a mission; to depose the king and replace him with a new, more effective king, one that could deal with the English and help the peasantry. To do this, the Haralle intended on doing as the English rebels had done. Like how the English marched on London, they were going to do the same to Paris.

All this chaos in France was only a good thing for England, making it easier for the English invasion. Because of this, many of the English Nobles ironically encouraged this Revolt, offering supplies to the Haralle to keep them going. The Haralle outright rejected these offers, not wanting to associate with the enemy. The Haralle also made sure to attack any English force they saw.

This however, resulted in the War being extended, something that Roger Moors highly disagreed with. He believed that the soldiers should decide whether the war continues. He tried to campaign for representation for the soldiers, but his pleas fell on deaf ears by both the king and the peasantry. It was because of this that Moors decided to step down from his position as the Supreme Commander of the Liberty army, retiring from public life until 1385.

In his stead, Moor's former right hand man Thomas Bockwell would step up as Supreme commander, with James Moors would step up as the second-in-command. This would quickly result in a debate between the two when Richard II asked them to support the English soldiers in France. Thomas Bockwell wished the reject the request, knowing that would be what Roger Moors would have wanted. James Moors, on the other hand, wanted to support the English troops to help in the war effort. Perhaps they could even negotiate with the Haralle, after all, if they would listen to any englishmen, it would be a fellow peasant group.

The peasant group, now dubbed The Coalition of Peasants (The CP), would initially reject the call to action, as Bockwell was in charge. However, this ideological difference would split the CP, giving rise to counter-revolutionaries such as the bitter Walworth, wishing to restore the old system, and crush the notion of the peasantry holding power over the state.

A/N: And that is all for now! This will be the last Chapter I release this year, the next chapter will probably be released in the first few months of the next year. I have to give a special thanks to @Alexander the Average for the info he provided. It has been helpful for this chapter, the feedback is always appreciated. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all, I am back with another Chapter! This is the first Chapter of 2021, so I hope it'll be a good one for all of you. Hope you enjoy.

Divisions in the Army

1383

In March of 1383, Thomas Bockwell expanded of the size of the Liberty army, reaching 7,000 strong by the end (the official army, not including those untrained or semi-trained). This came after reports of Scottish Raids by one of the radical groups that had cropped up in the wake of the English peasant revolt, referred to as "The Spearheads" by the English after their pointy helmets, as well as their status as one of the largest and earliest of these groups.

Bockwell knew he would have to expand the army size to deal with both external threats (The Spearheads) as well as internal threats (The Nobles). He knew that if the nobles saw any oppertunity to restore their status, they would take it. He would not let that happen.

Thomas Bockwell, much like Roger Moors, was a veteren of the Caroline War, as it was known at this time. He had fought for over a decade in the war, gaining many battle scars. He was a stoic, intimidating man, brawny and ragged as a result of his time charging through the bloodsoaked battlefields.

However, he was not the only one in command of the Liberty army. Acting as his second-in-command was the now 22 year old son of Roger Moors, James Moors. James Moors was very different from his father and Bockwell. He was young, handsome and charismatic, though not majorly literate, he still had some knowledge and experience when it came to reading and writing, as his family did have some minor wealth, not on the level of true nobles, but enough to give James some of that training. He had the brashness and inexperience of youth, but with it came ambition and liveliness, something both Roger Moors and Thomas Bockwell lacked.

The combination of Bockwells experience and level-headedness and Moors' youth and drive made a formidable combination. However, it also caused divisions to form within the group, especially the army. The views of the two would split the Liberty Army, between those wanting neutrality in the war (Bockwell) and those wishing to help the English cause (J.Moors).

One disagreement, known as The Bash Council would really spark the division, as these ideological disagreements boiled to the surface. On the 10th July, the two sides would split, with Bockwell travelling to Osenay, near Dorchester, and Moors travelling to Waltham. This would be the first part of a split in the ideologies of the peasantry, one that would expand over time. Those that travelled with Bockwell became known as the Osenayans, whilst those with J.Moors known as the Walthamians.

This was not good for the rest of the CP, as the Liberty Army was a vital part in establishing control of England, without them the CP was vulnerable to counter attack from the nobles. Wat Tyler wrote to both sides to negotiate a meeting to settle the differences between the two.

As this was going on, William Walworth, still bitter at his defeat at the hands of the Liberty Army, began to gather soldiers. He now had the perfect oppertunity to divide and conquer the Liberty Army. After all this time, the chance was finally there to take back control from the defiant peasants. All he needed was to take it.

A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed. It has been fun to write this TL so far, I look forward to writting more. Thank you all for reading, the feedback is much appreciated. See you next Chapter!