William Grindecobbe or William Grindcobbe was one of the peasant leaders during the English

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

of 1381. A

Townsman A municipal council is the legislature, legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, he was a substantial property owner there and has been described as a 'hero' of the revolt.

Life

His name implies that he was a miller of grain. He was one of a number of millers who took part in the revolt, and has been described as having been eloquent and literate. It has also been suggested that he was an

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, possibly an

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

. It thus possible that he was motivated at least in part to rebel as a result of the pressures of

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

. Along with

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

and

John Wrawe John Wrawe (d. May 6, 1382) was a rebel leader during the English Peasants' Revolt. He was executed in 1382. Details At the start of the Peasants' Revolt in June 1381, John Wrawe, a former chaplain, marched north from Essex towards the neighbou ...

, he was one of the key leaders of the peasants during the revolt of 1381, leading the townspeople of

on 15 June. He was executed in 1381 along with John Wrawe and John Ball. His trial and execution was overseen by

Henry le Despenser Henry le Despenser ( 1341 – 23 August 1406) was an English nobleman and Bishop of Norwich whose reputation as the 'Fighting Bishop' was gained for his part in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt in East Anglia and in defeating the peasants at th ...

Role in Peasants' Revolt

During the

of 1381, he became well known for his actions against the high lord Thomas de la Mare, Abbot of St. Albans. He led a deputation to

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

, whom the rebels met at

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

which 'extorted' a letter from the King to the Abbot forcing the latter to give up the royal charters he held to the rebels. They ultimately destroyed the charters and a portion of the abbey itself. He was executed along with other leaders of the Revolt, and although his trial was deemed to have been fair, it has also been described as being in the nature of a 'show trial.' It has been suggested that he made a speech from the

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...

implicating

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...

in the rebellion.

Sources

Most of the details about his life have been derived from the writings of Thomas Walsingham, who was a monk resident in an abbey, and may well have witnessed Grindecobbe's execution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grindcobbe, William Year of birth missing 1381 deaths English rebels Peasants' Revolt