Long Reads: Class Struggle in Medieval England w/ Dominic Alexander

<p>For centuries, the English Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 only appeared in the historical record through bitterly hostile sources. Medieval chroniclers like Froissart presented it as a terrifying eruption of savagery from the lower classes. But the rise of modern social movements organizing workers and farmers encouraged historians to take a fresh look at this early challenge to aristocratic power.</p><br /><p>Dominic Alexander, historian and the author of <em>Saints and Animals in the Middle Ages</em>, joins Long Reads to discuss this revolt and a much earlier one, in the twelfth century, led by a man called William Longbeard. While Longbeard was defeated, he has a strong claim to be recognized as England’s first social revolutionary.</p><br /><p>Find Dominic's articles, <a href="https://jacobin.com/2023/01/william-longbeard-england-first-revolutionary-leader-class-conflict-revolt" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">"William Longbeard Was England’s First Revolutionary Leader"</a> and <a href="https://jacobin.com/2023/04/english-rising-1381-peasants-townspeople-london-class" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">"The English Peasants’ Revolt Gave Birth to a Revolutionary Tradition,"</a> on the <em>Jacobin</em> website.</p><br /><p><em>Long Reads</em> is a <em>Jacobin</em> podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.</p>