The Norman peasants' revolt in 996 was a revolt against the Norman nobility. The revolt was ultimately defeated by the nobles under the early reign of

Richard II, Duke of Normandy Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: ''Le Bon''), was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026. Life Richard was the eldest surviving son and heir of Richard the Fearless and Gunnor. He succeeded his father as the ruler o ...

. His uncle Rodulf of Ivry was the regent of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

during the revolt. The revolt was started in 996 after the peasants had met in local assemblies (''conventicula'') throughout Normandy. The revolt was coordinated by a central assembly (''conventus'') that was formed by members of the local assemblies. Each ''conventicula'' sent two representatives to the central assembly. The peasants wanted concessions on various economic grievances. One reason in particular included local barons harassing the peasants with vexatious services. The main reason, however, was the removal of hunting rights for the lower classes; peasants were no longer able to hunt even a single deer. Medieval sources claim that the revolt was caused by demands of free hunting and fishing rights.Peasant Society
is.edu The revolt probably only affected the

Seine valley The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

rather than the whole of Normandy. Dating of the revolt in 996 has also been disputed. The revolt may have been a reaction to the rise of serfdom in Normandy. It has been suggested that the revolt resulted in abolishing serfdom in Normandy. Lack of serfdom in Normandy has also been linked to the depopulation of coastal France brought by extensive warfare during the time period. However, evidence for existence and extent of serfdom has been difficult to obtain. Peasant leaders who brought complaints to the regent Rodulf of Ivry had their hands and feet cut off, after they were captured. Others were blinded, impaled, or burnt alive, and small land owners were made to forfeit their land. Despite the revolt at the start of his reign, the rest of the Richard II's rule was very peaceful. In May 1023 he did not implement the

Peace of God The Peace and Truce of God () was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and was one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit the violence o ...

, due to the calm situation in his lands. However, Norman culture retained more of its

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

and

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

characteristics and eventually lost its Scandinavian influences.

See also

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