The Inspiratorium

History, as they say, repeats itself. The recent protests in Iran are the latest incarnation of an old story: the uprising of citizens against the perceived injustices of a political regime. Sometimes they succeed in bringing significant change, often they fail. But no matter the consequences, these rebellions are never really forgotten. They may be quelled for a time, but they live in memory and in the collective imagination of the oppressed. The same impulse that gives rise to these expressions of discontent, emerges again, if not in renewed protests, but in other forms of expression, such as art, music or poetry.

The other day, I heard a song from an album I used to listen to in the 1980s, Chumbawamba’s English Rebel Songs, 1381-1914. One of the more stirring songs from that record was “The Cutty Wren,” which they say originated in 1381. I’ve long since lost my copy of the album, but, no matter! Youtube to the rescue! Here is a video performance of Chumbawamba performing the song. Have a look and listen:

The Cutty Wren

Oh where are you going? said Milder to Moulder
Oh we may not tell you! said Festel to Fose
We’re off to the wood! said John the Red Nose
We’re off to the wood! said John the Red Nose
And what will you do there? said Milder to Moulder
Oh we may not tell you! said Festel to Fose
We’ll shoot the cutty wren! said John the Red Nose
We’ll shoot the cutty wren! said John the Red Nose
Oh how will you cut him up? said Milder to Moulder
Oh we may not tell you! said Festel to Fose
With knives and with forks! said John the Red Nose
With knives and with forks! said John the Red Nose
And who’ll get the spare ribs? said Milder to Moulder
Oh we may not tell you! said Festel to Fose
We’ll give them all to the poor! said John the Red Nose
We’ll give them all to the poor! said John the Red Nose

One of the band members at the end of the video explains that they recorded the song in the mid-1980s when the government of Margaret Thatcher was about to impose her infamous Poll Tax, which her propagandists referred to as “The Community Charge.” He explains that the first poll tax had been imposed in 1381 and that the “song was specifically about people rebelling against it.”

The English Peasant’s Revolt, 1381

The Chumbawamba singer is making a reference to the English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, otherwise known as Tyler’s Rebellion, (briefly referred to here) and the reason for the revolt was that, in fact, Richard II (by way of his regent, John of Gaunt) had just imposed the third poll tax in four years on English citizens. A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census. (Poll is an old English word meaning “head”, thus “head tax”). The three poll taxes, imposed in 1377, 1379 and 1381, were designed to finance England’s longstanding war with France. The 1381 tax was particularly unpopular because it required each person aged over 15 to pay the amount of one shilling, which was then a large amount. The citizenry had also recently been decimated by several outbreaks of the plague and felt as if it were being subjected to unjust more hardships.

Shortly after the tax was imposed, rebels, from Kent and Essex joined forces under Wat Tyler and marched on London. On the outskirts of London, at Blackheath, the rebels were roused by a sermon by the renegade priest John Ball, which included the famous question: “When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?” (i.e. In the garden of Eden, were there any class distinctions?) The following day, a growing number of rebels arriving from other areas crossed London Bridge and stormed the Tower of London. They killed various officials who had locked themselves behind its impregnable walls, including Simon of Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Treasurer, Robert de Hales. The Savoy Palace of John of Gaunt was one of the London buildings destroyed by the rioters.

On the following day, King Richard II, then only 14 years old, met with the rebels to negotiate a peaceful end to the uprising, but the meeting did not go according to plan. Wat Tyler met the King, along with a few attendants, in neutral ground, surrounded by the two armies. According to various chroniclers (e.g. Froissart and Walsingham), Tyler behaved most beligerantly. He dismounted his horse and rudely called for a drink. In the ensuing dispute, Tyler drew his dagger and William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, drew his sword and attacked Tyler, mortally wounding him in the neck; Sir Ralph de Standish, one of the King’s knights, drew his sword and ran it through Tyler’s stomach, killing him almost instantly.

The Revolt is Quelled

The rebel army was in uproar, but King Richard, seizing the opportunity, rode forth and shouted “You shall have no captain but me”, an ambiguous statement that happened to defuse their discontent. He promised the rebels that all was well, that Tyler had been knighted, and that their demands would be met. They were to meet at St. John’s Field for more negotiations, but when they finally met, the King broke his promise. The nobles quickly re-established control with the help of a hastily organised militia, and most of the other leaders were pursued, captured and executed, including John Ball and Jack Straw, another prominent rebel, who was beheaded. The revolt was finished.

In the ensuing weeks and months, the King’s army hunted down known participants in the revolt and imprisoned or executed them.

How often have we heard of uprisings that have been cruelly stifled by prevailing despots in order preserve the status quo? Iran is the most recent example, and perhaps the Buddhist monk-led protests in Myanmar in August and September 2007. We’ve also recently passed the 20th anniversary of the protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. These are sad examples of how the human spirit and the fight for justice have been crushed by the darker forces. But nothing is forgotten, and history is full of poignant reminders of these struggles in simple, beautiful songs like “The Cutty Wren,” that show the human spirit cannot ultimately be subdued.

Note: Incidentally, Canada had its own version of the poll tax: the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, which stipulated that all Chinese entering Canada would be subjected to a head tax of $50. The racist intent was to prevent Chinese from entering the country, but when it was found the Chinese were still able to pay the fee and enter the country, the government raised the tax to $100 in 1900 and $500 in 1903. In 2006, the Canadian government apologized and delivered a message of redress for the head tax. Survivors or their spouses were to receive $20,000 compensation.