Today is a special post to honour a promise made to my fab groups of University of Exeter History students. Yesterday’s session was all about the 1381 peasant’s revolt. We looked at the various ways in which the rioters were depicted in chronicles, and the many striking similarities in the ways that rioters in recent years have been portrayed in the press. If the Daily Mail had reported on the Peasant’s Revolt, Wat Tyler would doubtless have been depicted in a hoodie!
The students were split into two groups, peasants and nobles, and challenged to report the revolt from their point of view in five tweets…complete with hashtags. Both groups did a brilliant job: enjoy!
GROUP 1
Peasants:
1) Not paying tax, time to act hashdaretoTyler
2) Bally said let’s go nuts hashriots hashpolo
3) Lord chancellor seems to have lost his head hashescalating quickly
4) Just met the king hash king hash midget
5) Well that ended well hash awks hash lolz hash hanging
Nobility
1) Heard some aggy plebs rebelling against a system in place 100s of years #feudalbants #1381 #goodluck
2) Bloody gatekeepers have let them in #getoutofourgrill #pray for Richard
3) Alright boys, jokes over now, back to the fields you go #classlessscum #pipedown
4) Ok peasants you win #Smithfield #winkwink #snake #asif
5) Laters Wat #peak #wasteman #Wotusayin
GROUP 2
Peasants:
1) Axes on our taxes #thirdwholetax
2) Burning down the house #burnbabyburn
3) We’re coming to get you @simonsudbury @roberthales #offwithyourheads
4) Our captain is dead, our leader has been treacherously killed #shoot #bows #it’snotover #yesitis
5) RT @JohnBall when Adam delved and Eve span who is then the gentleman? #orderdisorder
Nobility
1) The pessies are outside #offyoupop
2) Never seen so many poor people in my life f#irstworldproblems
3) #ripArchieB You’re not getting your hands on my records #can’ttouchthis
4) Wat Tyler 6 feet under #winning #thuglife
5) Have fun in your mud huts you scum #steaknight #
champersforus
Dr Alun Withey 