Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2003
In 1348 a group of villein tenants of the manor of Badbury of the Abbey of Glastonbury in Wiltshire attempted to go to court in order to prove that their manor was of ancient demesne status. Although the peasants were unsuccessful in their claim, they tried again in 1377. Their case is entered and explained in unusual detail in the court records of the manor, and therefore allows us valuable insights in this particular, and far from uncommon, form of peasant resistance. This paper explores the motives and aims of the peasants who planned the action, the organisation of their revolt, and the individuals involved, whose background and histories can be traced through the court records.