Village Revolts
Social Protest and Popular Disturbances in England, 1509-1640

Manning, Roger B.
Publisher:  Clarendon Press, Oxford
Year Published:  1988
Pages:  354pp   ISBN:  9780198201168
Library of Congress Number:  DA315   Dewey:  942.009734
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX15957

Anti-enclosure riots, tenurial and rent disputes, and game poaching are among the many types of 'village revolts' that occurred between the accession of Henry VIII and the meeting of the Short Parliament. Based on case studies from equity court records, this book offers new insight into the impact of agrarian change, demographic expansion, and technological innovation, adding considerably to our knowledge of developments in the law of public order in 16th- and 17th-century England.

Abstract: 
This is a study of some of the hundreds of "village revolts" which occurred between the accession of Henry VIII and the meeting of the Short Parliament in 1640. Expressions of social protest by village and manorial communities centred around resistance to the extinction of common rights, alterations in land use and the degradation of peasant status. They were more localized in extent and more limited in their aims than the regional rebellions of the period, but they were also more widespread and persistent. Basing his work on research in the records of the Court of Star Chamber and other equity courts, the author reconstructs case studies of the various kinds of dispute: anti-enclosure riots, tenurials and rent protests, game poaching. The work offers insights into the impact of demographic expansion, technological innovation and the claims to absolute rights over agrarian society of those owning private property. It also covers early developments in the law of public order.
Insert T_CxShareButtonsHorizontal.html here