Literary Mention
An anonymous play was published in London in 1593 entitled "The Life and Death of Jack Straw," in which Straw, Wat Tyler, John Ball, and others appear as characters.
Geoffrey Chaucer mentions Jack Straw, one of the leaders of the revolt, in his satiric The Nun's Priest's Tale in The Canterbury Tales.
John Gower, a friend of Chaucer, saw the peasants as unjustified in their cause. In his Vox Clamantis, he sees the peasant action as the work of the Anti-Christ and a sign of evil prevailing over virtue, writing, "...according to their foolish ideas there would be no lords, but only kings and peasants."
Froissart's Chronicles devotes 20 pages to the revolt.
William Morris described the revolt in his novel A Dream of John Ball (1888).
Mark Twain mentions Wat Tyler and the revolt in his novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889).
The revolt is featured prominently in the climax of Anya Seton's historical novel, Katherine (1954). The main character, Katherine Swynford, survives the destruction of Savoy Palace.
"Wat Tyler," a song written by Ralph McTell and Simon Nicol and performed by Fairport Convention, is about the revolt.
Read more about this topic: Peasants' Revolt
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