On June 15, 1381, Wat Tyler's Rebellion ended in England
when Tyler was suddenly killed by King Richard II's advisers during a field
parley between their two standing armies. Although Tyler's peasant uprising was
tens of thousands strong, the unexpected death of their leader sent the
untrained men into a rout.
In the months that had led up to the standoff, Tyler's
rabble was likened to the apocalyptic forces of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel and
Revelation. Among the many who denounced the marchers as agents of the
Antichrist was Geoffrey Chaucer's friend and fellow poet John Gower.
The uprising's main grievance had been against a regressive
poll tax.
