Cosmo Jarvis stars as Wat Tyler in The Uprising, the story of a huge revolt in England in the 14th century. Possibly a former soldier, he was one of the key leaders of common folk looking for freedom from serfdom and new rights. But how closely does the film’s portrayal echo the real Tyler, asks James White?
The Uprising is the latest film from director Paul Greengrass, who has previously worked on the likes of Bloody Sunday and United 93. In his latest, he employs his traditional jittery, grounded style to bring to screens the story of one of the most famous revolts in English history.
Country and town dwellers alike rose up to protest new taxes imposed by the crown and its government. The poll taxes were widely resented as unfair, but it was largely the behaviour of the royal commissions dispatched to enforce payment that triggered the Peasants' Revolt.
Wat Tyler (played by Shogun's Cosmo Jarvis) was a key player in the uprising, a man who may have had military experience and was horrified by how people were being treated. But how closely does the version of the character we see on screen hew to the historical figure?
Who was the real Wat Tyler?
Tyler’s early life is something of a mystery, with little known for certain about his birth. His given name, Wat, was a diminutive form of Walter, and he is called Walter in a number of sources. ‘Tyler’ likely came from his occupation as a roof tiler, and would not necessarily have replaced an earlier surname.
He’s introduced as a military man in The Uprising and some historical sources suggest he may have served in France in earlier campaigns of the Hundred Years War as an archer, though this is by no means certain.
How did Wat Tyler come to be involved in the uprising?
As with his birthplace and other details, sources differ on how exactly he came to be involved. One potentially mistaken story conflates Wat with a man named John Tyler, who attacked and killed a poll tax collector who assaulted Tyler’s daughter.
- Read more | The real history of The Uprising explained
But what is known is that when the uprising’s assembled masses began their coordinated assault on London, Wat Tyler was the leader of the Kentish forces, having been elected during a mass meeting on 7 June 1381. On 13 June, Tyler was with the rebels who crossed London Bridge and entered the city.
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Was Wat Tyler involved in the attacks on the King’s government?
The behaviour of the rebels was relatively orderly, with not much in the way of looting. They did, however, roam the city attacking the properties of those they held responsible for the tax collection, including the home of John of Gaunt, the King’s uncle.
Tyler appears to have been actively involved in at least some of the attacks, with the chronicler Froissart stating that Tyler himself killed the financier Richard Lyons. He was meeting the King to submit the rebels’ demands when others stormed the Tower of London and killed members of the government, including Simon Sudbury, who was Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, and Lord Treasurer Robert Hales.
How did Wat Tyler die?
King Richard II, then just 14, offered pardons and concessions including moves to abolish serfdom, and while some were satisfied with that, Tyler and others were not.
On 15 June, Tyler and the remaining forces met with the King at Smithfield, just outside London to share their additional demands. The meeting was initially described as polite, with the King appearing to agree that the rebels “should have all that he could fairly grant”.
Yet there are disputed accounts that Tyler became contemptuous, calling for a flagon of water to rinse his mouth, and when he received the water, he reportedly rinsed his mouth in rude fashion in front of the King. A member of the royal retinue then said he recognised Tyler as “the greatest thief and robber in all of Kent”.
The resulting fight between Tyler and the officials led to the Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth attacking Tyler, slashing him across the neck and head with his sword, while another servant stabbed Tyler.
In The Uprising, Tyler dies here, though historical accounts have him riding 30 yards on his horse before collapsing. He was taken to a hospital for the poor, but tracked down by Walworth and publicly beheaded. His head was placed on a pole, carried through the city and ultimately displayed on London Bridge.
In the wake of his death, the rebellion began to falter, the King revoked all the concessions he had made to the rebels and the revolt was effectively ended.
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