William Fitz Osbert
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William Fitz Osbert or William with the long beard (died 1196) was a citizen of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
who took up the role of "the advocate of the poor" in a popular uprising in the spring of 1196. Popular revolts by the poor and peasants in England were rare in the 12th century, and quickly and easily suppressed. The fullest known account of the revolt of 1196 comes from the contemporary English historian
William of Newburgh William of Newburgh or Newbury ( la, Guilelmus Neubrigensis, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon de ...
in his ''Historia rerum anglicarum'' from a chapter entitled "Of a conspiracy made in London by one William, and how he paid the penalty of his audacity".


The revolt

Fitz Osbert was a striking figure who held demagogue-like charismatic power over his followers. He had a long beard and was given the nickname "the Bearded". He had a
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
education, had been on the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
and held a civic office in London. A contemporary remarked "He was of ready wit, moderately skilled in literature, and eloquent beyond measure; and wishing .. to make himself a great name, he began to scheme .. upon the achievement of mighty plans." Urban riots were uncommon in 12th and 13th century England with one dramatic exception, that of the events of the spring of 1196. Fitz Osbert had become a champion of the poor of London. He held gatherings with stirring speeches, travelled surrounded by mobs of the poor for protection, and started, according to one source, "a powerful conspiracy, inspired by the zeal of the poor against the insolence of the rich". He had gathered over 52,000 supporters, stocks of weapons were cached throughout the city for the purpose of breaking into the houses of the rich citizens of London. He did not, however, overtly oppose the king,
Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
, and went to the king in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
to make clear his loyalty. Nevertheless, Hubert Walter,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, decided that Fitz Osbert had to be stopped. He sent two accomplices to capture Fitz Osbert when he was alone and not surrounded by his mob. In the melee that followed one of the accomplices was killed and Osbert escaped with a few followers to take refuge in the nearby church of St Mary le Bow, intending not to seek
sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
but to defend it as a fortress. Most of his supporters however, feared to defend the church by force, and Hubert surrounded it with armed men and had it burned down. As Fitz Osbert emerged from the smoke and flames he was stabbed and wounded in the belly by the son of the man whom he had earlier killed, upon which Osbert was taken into custody. Within days he was convicted and "first drawn asunder by horses, and then hanged on a
gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, decapitation, executioner's block, Impalement, impalement stake, gallows, hanging gallows, or related Scaffold (execution site), scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows- ...
with nine of his accomplices who refused to desert him". His followers called him a
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
and the spot where he was hanged became a daily place of gathering; objects associated with his execution were venerated, and even the soil at the spot where he died was collected, resulting in the creation of a pit. Eventually armed guards were put in place to keep people away. In later centuries such revolts would become more common; in the 12th and 13th centuries English kings were in constant trouble from revolts by the aristocracy, but rarely had trouble from the lower classes.


Quotes

"I am the savior of the poor. Do ye, oh, poor! who have experienced the heaviness of rich men's hands, drink from my wells the waters of the doctrine of salvation, and ye may do this joyfully; for the time of your visitation is at hand. For I will divide the waters from the waters. The people are the waters. I will divide the humble from the haughty and treacherous. I will separate the elect from the reprobate, as light from darkness."''Historia rerum anglicarum'', Book 5 Ch.20-6


See also

*
Revolt of 1173–1174 The Revolt of 1173–1174 was a rebellion against King Henry II of England by three of his sons, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their rebel supporters. The revolt ended in failure after eighteen months; Henry's rebellious family members had ...
– Aristocratic revolt. *
University of Paris strike of 1229 The University of Paris strike of 1229 was caused by the deaths of a number of students in punishing a student riot. The students protested with a "dispersion", or student strike, which lasted more than two years and led to a number of reforms of t ...
– Student revolts.


Notes


References

* Book 5 Ch. 20&21
"Of a conspiracy made in London by one William, and how he paid the penalty of his audacity"
Full-text online. * *


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz Osbert, William English rebels 1196 deaths Year of birth unknown England in the High Middle Ages Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe People executed under the Plantagenets Politicians from London 12th-century executions by England Christians of the Third Crusade