Aston, Margaret , 'Corpus Christi and Corpus Regni: Heresy and the Peasants’ Revolt', Past & Present 143 (1994), 3-47

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Quick Summary

Rebels taking part in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 ignored the feast of Corpus Christi, but not because of the teachings of John Wycliffe

  • No evidence that rebels didn’t celebrate Corpus Christi Day because of the teachings of John Wycliffe
  • The rebels did show hostility towards the church
  • The Lollards believed that worship of the Eucharistic host amounted to idolatry
Key Conclusion

Aston seeks to the answer the question: ‘What, if any, is the significance of the fact that the rising of 1381 took place over the feast of Corpus Christi?’ The article concludes that although ‘countless individuals’ failed to celebrate Corpus Christi Day in 1381, there is no evidence to suggest that any of them were motivated by the heretical teachings of John Wycliffe. Yet, many contemporary writers saw a direct link between heresy and rebellion, and reasoned that the Peasants’ Revolt was a manifestation of divine displeasure and a prompt from God for the ruling powers to take action against heretical views.

Content Overview

Aston explores the link between heresy and the revolt by making three observations about the background conditions in 1381. The first observation is that the key events of the Peasants’ Revolt coincided with the feast of Corpus Christi – a festival dedicated to the worship of the Eucharist which had been attacked by John Wycliffe. The second observation is that the rebels in 1381 showed a degree of anticlericalism (hostility to the church) which appears to reflect the teachings of John Wycliffe. And the third observation is that in the year preceding the revolt, the controversy surrounding John Wycliffe had become increasingly focused on his teaching that the worship of the Eucharistic host amounted to idolatry.

Further Findings

Although the article suggests that there are no grounds for supposing that Wycliffe and his allies disrupted the Corpus Christi celebrations in 1381, within ten years of Wycliffe’s death the belief that worshiping the Eucharistic host was idolatry was prominent on the Lollards’ agenda. This view was included amongst the Twelve Conclusion of the Lollards that were posted for the attention of parliament in 1395 (a kind of heretical “manifesto”). It was also something that became popular amongst Lollards in the fifteenth century. Yet, Aston finds no direct link between heresy and rebellion in 1381.

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