The Eternal Battle of Power

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At the end of the 14th century, the feudalism started to face one of its hardest periods since its formation during the 11th century. The peasants begun to reveal against their lords; they started to realize that they had power over the lord’s domains, since they were the ones who sow the crops, raise, harvest, and finally commercialize them to pay the taxes, which were compulsory to be paid by the age of fifteen (in 1381) in every single family.

In this context the film develops. “The reckoning” is based on a novel written by Barry Unsworth (“Morality Play”, 1995). Both are located in a place close to Northern England in 1380, and one of their main topics is power. Power which started to fell because of its own leaders, consequently the peasants gained what they thought was fair for them. As in the film, this essay will develop this issue. On the one hand, the people living in feudal domains noticed the abuse of their lords; this caused a tremendous discontent. On the other hand, the lords did not feel God as the humble creator of humanity, but a supernatural force who granted them power to do whatever they pleased.

The Peasant’s Revolt is one of the most well-known rises of people during the 14th century. Its main causes were the abusive taxes imposed by King Richard II, since the kingdom needed founds to train soldiers to fight overseas. This fact enraged people, who refused to pay the poll-tax. This fact happened on the Essex villages of Fobbing, On 30 May 1381, where Thomas Bampton, a tax collector, was obliged to leave the village without any money. Led by Thomas Baker, the Chief Justice of Common Pleas was attacked, triggering a revolt in Kent too, to finally advance in an armed rebellion in London. In the movie, t...

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... of the Peasants' Revolt. Ed. Jeff Hobbs. N.p., 2000. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

- Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe. Wikipedia, 15 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

- Peasant's revolt. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

- Taxation in the 14th Century. Spartacus Editorial, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

- Unsworth, Barry. Morality Play. London: Norton Paperback Fiction, 1996. N. pag. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

- Renaissance. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance.

- McGuigan, Paul, dir. The Reckoning. Perf. Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe. 2001. 2003. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .

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