Peasants with Pitchforks: The Reality of Peasant Rebellions
The image is iconic, almost a caricature: a furious mob of peasants, their faces contorted with rage, armed with sharpened pitchforks and blazing torches, rising up against their oppressors. It conjures visions of disorganized, desperate villagers driven to a primal fury. But how accurate is this enduring depiction of medieval and early Renaissance peasant revolts? … Read more