Rage against the system – the Jacquerie

Hi, this is Our Bloody History, where we filter through buckets of bias to bring you small, pungent historical snacks.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

The peasant uprising that traumatised French aristocracy, a brief but violent groundswell that collapsed this week, 664 years ago, on 9-10 June 1358.

It's often said by daydreamers pining for the past: oh how great it would be to live before technology, consumerism and big city hustle. One might imagine a cozy hut, fresh milk, honest self-sufficiency, deep connection to the land, and time for what really matters. Freedom from big tech and it's reaching fingers.

It sounds lovely...

Now let's pop that bubble.

Life for the medieval peasant in Europe was absolutely miserable. It couldn't suck more. Especially in France.

For starters, we're talking the Black Plague, shocking weather, famine, war, roaming mercenaries who rape and pillage, oh, and an entire class of oppressive nobles (read leeches) who drain the lower classes of any material gain.

No thanks.

But, amazingly, there is someone who endures all of this and more – Good ol' Jacques Bonhomme.

Jack Goodfellow, or Silly Jack, so nicknamed by the nobles, is the common countryside peasant, the good-natured fool and beast of burden, a "stupid, clownish human being" who patiently endures all manner of abuse and cruelty.

But Jack's back is breaking.

For centuries the country folk have suffered at the hands of greedy feudal overlords. The French nobility is, for the most part, embarrassingly unproductive, crazy in debt and addicted to gambling and extravagant, wasteful spending. And Jack's there to pay for it all.

There is no safety from extortion. No legal recourse. The nobles take what they want, when they want. Jack has no rights. He can be tortured or imprisoned on a whim. He needs permission to marry, to write a will, or to do anything semi important. He's drowning in a sea of tithes, duties and taxes. Every time a noble holds a wedding, a knighthood or some other festive celebration, who do you think pays for it? Jack does. And slowly, but surely, Jack's rage is building year after year, decade after decade.

Although Jack may hate the nobles, he still respects their heroic prestige on the battle field. But during the 14th century that begins to change. In 1302, the French nobles are completely routed at the Battle of the Golden Spurs and many of them abandon their humble vassals who are on foot. Then, in 1356, at the Battle of Poitiers, during the Hundred Years' War with England, the French are again smashed and their King captured. And who is exhorted and bullied to pay for King John's ransom? That's right, Jacques Bonhomme. Always Jack.

But Jack's not gonna take it. Oh no, he aint gonna to take it. He's not gonna take it anymore.

In the summer of 1358, a group of peasants attack a garrison at Saint-Leu d'Esserent in Northern France. The word spreads and Jacks across the north revolt, giving birth to a social movement the nobles called The Jacquerie.

The Jacquerie is fast and destructive. Groups of peasants lay waste to noble houses and castles, killing men, women and children. Although historical accounts are often confused and unclear on the exact order of events, who did what and where, the movement is far reaching and critically weakens the Crown's northern territories.

Yet within two weeks the raging revolt begins to unravel.

First, on 9 June, one of our days in history this week, a band of Parisians (under the leadership of Étienne Marcel who happens to be leading a separate, unrelated revolt in Paris) descend upon the city of Meaux. Joined by the disenchanted townsfolk, this group of armed commoners try to take the Marché, a fortified citadel on the other bank of the Seine. They fail and are utterly crushed by Crown forces.

In their anger, the nobles and men-at-arms plunder the city and set it on fire. They then spill out into the countryside, burning cottages and barns and slaughtering every single Jack they can find.

While this is happening, the next day on 10 June, another force of rural folk prepares for a deadly clash at Mello, north east of Paris. The 4,000-ish peasants are led by a man named Guillaume Cale, not Jacques Bonhomme as some chroniclers would have it (that's far too convenient. Imagine that. One Jack to rule them all).

Again the peasant army is destroyed.

Everything then falls apart for poor Jack.

The stunned nobles, now fully awake, unleash their full fury upon the north. Their reprisal is vicious and without mercy. An estimated 20,000 peasants are killed in the coming weeks. Guilty or innocent, it doesn't matter. Even cities that have no involvement whatsoever to the Jaquerie are butchered.

The unhinged nobles rob, burn, plunder, lynch and kill through to July. Until finally, the Prince Regent says gee, this is a bit excessive, maybe we should stop... He issues his Letters of Remission and Ordinances, putting an end to the madness. But, because the Crown is broke as hell, he also lays heavy fines on the guilty districts.

Jacques Bonhomme can't afford it. So he leaves. And so begins a sad exodus of peasants and serfs from the provinces and the kingdom. One big, silent stuff you to the cruel, leeching aristocracy.

Although short-lived, the Jacquerie bites deep and leaves a lingering mark on French society.

This mental model, about how we view revolts, dominated popular thinking for many years.

Due to this paradigm, many historians and text-books have glossed over the events of 1358, not giving them the gravity they deserve. However, recent thinking and study of more balanced sources, including the Letters of Remission, offer us a different viewpoint.

The Jacquerie was more than a mindless rampage. It wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction to the Black Plague or the expected seasonal madness triggered by bad crops. Nor was it spontaneous or incoherent. No, the Jacquerie was organised and driven by purpose. Small village units cooperated without the help of nobles (mon Dieu! Yes, it's possible). It was a united effort against an oppressive system.

The mental model of the mindless crowd is still prevalent today. Its lure is strong. In the wake of recent social and civil protests around the world, it seems easier for some to condemn the violence and the crowd without trying to understand the individuals holding the sickles and ploughs. It can take decades of injustice and broken systems to finally erupt into violence. And it's lazy and fearful thinking to only see a crowd of faceless delinquents looking for an excuse to let their passions run amok. It's more complex than that.

As Brené Brown said, "People are hard to hate close up. Move in."

If you're on the outside of a movement, the best thing you can do is move in. Seek to understand. Get to know the one.

3 quick facts:

• Whilst the majority of the insurgents were peasants, the chronicles indicate that some townsfolk and even gentry joined the Jacquerie, perhaps inspired by personal hatred and vengeance.

• Most records state that Guillaume Cale (the Jack's leader) is invited to truce talks before the decisive battle of 10 June but gets tortured and decapitated instead, a massive strike to Jack's morale.

• Not only was the noble's retaliation extremely destructive, but it was extremely profitable: "They burned everything in many places, killing and hunting down the people and carrying off their wealth, of which much was to be had." (La Chronique Normande)

Other conflicts that happened this week:

• 6 June 1944: Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy, France, the largest amphibious military operation in history.

• 7 June 1099: The Siege of Jerusalem begins as part of the First Crusade.

• 8 June 1776: American invaders are driven back by the British at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, during the American Revolutionary War.

• 9 June 1967: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War. 

• 10 June 1692: Bridget Bishop is hung, the first person to be tried and convicted during the Salem Witch Trials in New England.

• 11 June 173: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi. In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle of the rain."

• 12 June 1935: A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War, also known as the La Guerra de la Sed (The War of Thirst) that caused both countries to lose 2-3% of their populations.

A historical quote about historical things:

That's all for today my good fellows. Remember Jack!

DisclaimerYou are reading my abstractions based on the abstractions of others. History is not always an accurate map of what really happened. The map is not the territory. Reality can be very different. We are like blind people groping an elephant, describing what we feel. It always pays to do your own research and ask questions.