In the summer of 1381 a large group of peasants led by Wat Tyler stormed London. These peasants, unwilling to pay another poll tax to pay for an unpopular war against France and discontent with unfair labor wages, freed prisoners from London prisons, killed merchants, and razed the home of John of Gaunt, considered the creator of the poll tax. Perhaps more important, however, was the rebels attack on the Temple, a symbol of the British …showed first 75 words of 1416 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1416 total…s laws, and everything you have practiced day by day.” (Langland, p. 97) The 14th Century put a great strain on British society, especially the Church. In a time when salvation was needed, the Church failed to provide it, but remained a wealthy landowner and a strong political player. The people’s reaction was heard loudly near the end of that century and would be heard even louder in the coming religious changes that loomed ahead.