The New Murrey and Blue blog

Richard II witnessed the grisly execution of John Ball….

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John Ball, Peasants’ Revolt, 1381

John Ball was a Lollard priest who believed people were all equal and should not be crushed by the will of “evil lords”. He was also a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, and in St Albans on 15th July 1381 was drawn, hanged and quartered. In all, fifteen men suffered the same grisly fate that day and another eighty were imprisoned. It is a reminder of how brutal things could be in the medieval period.

However, it is also stated at this site that Ball’s horrible demise was witnessed by King Richard II. This statement, while true, should be explained a little more. In 1381, Richard II was a boy of fourteen, well and truly in the hands of his paternal uncles and the government. He was forced to observe the gory executions by the new Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, the cruel Robert Tresilian.

So do not for a moment imagine a mature Richard II gloating over the bloody deaths of those who had presumed to stand against him.

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