ABSTRACT
Popular movements between the late fourteenth and the early sixteenth centuries are best understood in the broader context of developments in peasant society, even although most such risings seem to have been prompted by political or fiscal considerations rather than by social grievances. In Essex, a shire which had been at the heart of the 1381 troubles, the peasantry was able to improve their lot after the repression of the revolt. During the fifteenth century, the laws of supply and demand worked in favour of the peasantry. Population shortage had reduced the demand for land, and it was not until the sixteenth century that demand again began to exceed supply. More important are the political demands, but most significant of all was local discontent at the action of royal officials in the shire. This was directed particularly at the sheriff, William Crowmer, and his father-in-law, Lord Say, who as Sir James Fiennes had been.
