Julian's World: Society and Country
Julian's World: Society and Country
longer, offers a revisionist teaching aimed at a wide readership about the "meaning" of God, the nature of creation, human identity and destiny, and their interrelationship. Nicholas Watson, one of the editors of a relatively recent scholarly edition of Julian's writings, argues in an earlier article that the Short Text was not simply written from notes fairly soon after the visions; that is, shortly after 1373. In the form in which we have it, Watson suggests that it may not have been finished until up to 15 years later; that is, in the mid to late 1380s. He argues, therefore, that the Long
Text may not have been started until the 1390s and could well have gone through several revisions until Julian's death in the second decade of the fifteenth century.19
Julian's World: Society and Country The fourteenth century and early fifteenth century, both specifically in England and in wider Europe, have been described as an "age of adversity": one of the bleakest periods in medieval history characterized by the diversity and magnitude of human suffering.20
In fourteenth‐century England, government suffered from two ineffectual monarchs, Edward II (1307–1327) and Richard II (1377–1399).
They were separated by the longer reign of a much stronger king, Edward III (1327–1377). However, his attention was deflected from domestic concerns by his preoccupation with war – with Scotland and with France.
In the latter case, this developed into what became known as the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). War no longer pretended to operate according to chivalrous ideals but was ruthless, brutal, and destructive. This not only led to an increased death toll among the men of England (resulting in many widows) but also to marauding mercenaries wandering the English countryside, plundering and making travel dangerous for ordinary people.
The various wars had a serious knock‐on effect at home. There was heavy taxation to fund the wars which impacted on the local clergy and on the poor. As a result government and knights were seen as responsible for a massive waste of resources. In particular, the notorious third poll tax of 1381 provoked the outbreak of what became known as the Peasants'
Revolt. This began in South‐east England and sought the reduction of taxation and the end to serfdom. Eventually a group from Kent led by Wat Tyler and inspired by the sermons of a priest, John Ball, marched on London. Because there were so few royal troops available, they were joined by local city folk and pillaged and burnt property associated with government. The young king, Richard II, was initially forced to give in to many demands but eventually Wat Tyler was killed, the rebels dispersed,