Liddy, Christian D., 'Urban Conflict in Late Fourteenth-Century England: The Case of York in 1380-1', The English Historical Review 118 (2003), 1-32

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Quick Summary

The outbreak of violence between two rival political factions in York reflects broader political problems at a national level caused by the Hundred Years War

  • The crown’s financial demands arising from the Hundred Years War was a background factor
  • These demands provoked concern about civic government and the misappropriation of funds
  • Citizens of York were aware of the interdependence of local and national politics
Key Conclusion

Liddy explores the outbreak of violence between two rival factions in the city of York on 26 November 1380. According to contemporary reports, ‘various malefactors’ chased the mayor from the city, broke into the Guildhall, and compelled a man named Simon Quixley to be their mayor. In fact, Quixley was the leader of a populist faction in the city, and the violence probably occurred with his authorization. Liddy concludes by relating the conflict to the broader political context: ‘The crown’s financial demands on the city of York arising from the Hundred Years War raised important questions about the nature of civic government and the conduct of the civic elite in the period after 1369.’ (p. 28).

Content Overview

The financial burden of the Hundred Years War placed ‘serious pressure’ on the relationship between the commons (ordinary citizens) and the probi homines (civic elite) of York. This, in turn, provoked ‘concern about the misappropriation of civic funds by civic officials, their suitability for office and the expense of civic government generally’, as well as prompting demands for ‘greater accountability’ (p. 28). The article finds evidence that the uprising of November 1380 ‘made York’s civic elite more sensitive to pressure from below’. For example, when the notorious third poll tax was collected in York in the spring of 1381, the tax collectors made a ‘sustained effort to ensure that the tax burden was distributed equitably’ (p. 30).

Further Findings

Historians have tended to characterize the relationship between the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and the disturbances that erupted in towns as ‘slight and opportunist’ – chaos at a national level was exploited only to advance local ambitions (p. 31). However, Liddy argues that national politics could be influenced by debate at a local level. Citizens of York played a role on parliamentary committees, while in 1381 the city began to record parliamentary statutes in its main civic register, indicating ‘self-awareness’ by the city’s rulers of the ‘interdependence’ of local and national politics (p. 32).

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