ABSTRACT
The failure of the rebels to enter into discussions with the king was followed by further action against the property of the leading men of the government, including the Archbishop's palace at Lambeth, the Treasurer's manor at Highbury, the Marshalsea Prison and the property of the Mayor of London
in Southwark. On 13 June (the feast of Corpus Christi) the 13 June rebels crossed London Bridge, unopposed, and entered the city, where they were welcomed by the London poor who had already begun to destroy the Duke of Lancaster's Savoy Palace on the Strand. The duke, the king's uncle, was the most hated of those in high places, but luckily for him he was on a diplomatic mission in Scotland. The morning of Corpus Christi was spent by the rebels pursuing their London enemies, of whom the most important were the lawyers and others connected with the judicial system. Another attemptthis time from the Tower-was made by the king to parley with the rebels, but he was unable to make them disperse The peasants demanded the death of the traitors, and for themselves charters of freedom, rejecting the king's offers of pardon and promise to consider their grievances. On the following day, Friday, the king and those of his council 14 June who were not directly threatened met the rebels at Mile End where a first set of demands was presented by Wat Tyler, to which the king pretended to agree. This meeting was immediately followed by the occupation by the rebels of the Tower and the beheading of Sudbury, Hales and a Franciscan friar who was the king's physician. Some other prominent servants of the government together with many Flemings and other aliens were attacked and killed. The clerks of the royal chancery were set by the king's advisers to writing out charters of freedom, and it was this ruse which may have caused a preliminary dispersal of some of the Essex rebels. On the following day, Saturday, after a visit to Westminster Abbey for con-15 June fession, the king with his advisers met the rebels at Smithfield. Once again, refusing to remrn home unsatisfied, the rebels through their spokesman Wat Tyler put forward their second set of demands. Shortly afterwards Tyler was killed by the Mayor of London. The king and his advisers at last obtained the dispersal of the rebel army, prudently avoiding an armed clash in the city.
