William Andrews WAP Podcast

Samuel Morris, born in 1340, discusses life in the West Midlands during his time. He mentions the 100 years war, the Black Death, and the improvements in working conditions after the plague. He also talks about the impact of the Black Death on religion and the weakening of the clergy. He mentions the development of the Renaissance and newfound freedoms for the common people. Samuel discusses his marriage, the stability of the monarchy, and the Peasants' Rebellion. He did not participate in the uprising but supported it. The revolt led to changes in the feudal system and a decline in support for King Richard II. Samuel lived a fulfilling life as a farmer and died in 1405. Welcome to the historical figure podcast. I'm your host Mimi Bogart, and I'd like to welcome today's guest on to the show Bonjour, I'm Samuel Morris. Thank you for inviting me. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Yes, I was born in the serfdom in 1340 in the West Midlands of England, and I grew up in a very large family I ended up becoming a farmer just like my father and grandfather and got married when I was 20 Tell us what the West Midlands was like when you were growing up The reigning monarch at the time of my birth was Edward III and England had just entered the 100 years war In the West Midlands, we thought very little about international affairs though, and we're mostly concerned with local matters English had not even developed into a standardized language yet, and we had our own dialect in our region Most of the population were sheriffs, and we had very little education Although our feudal lords were extravagantly wealthy and often went on the path of conquest in France I was born in Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi 1340 to peasant parents who worked as serfs and had eight other children I was baptized in a Roman Catholic Church in the Worcester Cathedral But spent most of my life outside of Worcester in the countryside When I was 10 years old the Black Death spread to the West Midlands and killed four of my siblings and both of my parents But fortunately I survived and as the oldest living male was placed in charge of La Ferre by our Lord What was it like living through the Black Death? We believe that the Mort Noir was sent by God in a sign of his dissatisfaction with Christendom Those who died were considered to have been punished for their sins And those of us that were alive largely believed the only way to become cured of or avoid contracting the disease Is to repent of our wrongdoings. In continental Europe the plague's devastating effects were alleviated by the emergence of Pratiqués Medicinales But this was not widespread and did not occur in England What was life like after the plague? How did you provide for your siblings? Even though it seemed like our lives were ruined after the bubonic plague passed, the working conditions for our society dramatically improved While tragic, the sheer amount of death caused a massive waiver of shortage And surviving Lords thought themselves to be lucky if they had any workers at all Because of this they began to respect us service more and grant us more liberated days It was difficult to feed my family at the time as the Lord still procured large quantities of the harvest But overall life improved for all of us How did the Black Death emotionally impact you? How did any hope of survival in England especially when you believed your loved ones to have died of their iniquities? The church always taught that Christians who died in sin went to a place known as Purgatoire rather than heaven or hell All we had to do to free our dead parents and siblings from Purgatoire was to provide the church with payments called indulgences We didn't worry much about what happened if those died or what would happen to us following the plague As the priest told us to trust in God's plan for his people and that they were praying on behalf of le profane How did the plague weaken the clergy? Like how it weakened the fetal system? Did this contribute to the development of the Renaissance as people began to pursue their own goals without being inhibited by Lords and priests? To some extent yes, but the church took the plague on much better than feudalism ended. In the latter half of the 14th century Feudalism was antiquated and in rapid decline Greater freedom experienced by the common people did plant the seeds of the Renaissance But it would still be decades before it actually began. At the same time The Byzantine Empire was declining even as the last Crusaders desperately tried to hold back the Turkic hordes The Erivage of Greek, Albanian, and Slavic scholars from the Byzantine Empire to the Italian peninsula Would be essential for starting the Renaissance. But yes, in England at the time, freedom in art was becoming more accessible to la populace What exactly were these newfound freedoms? Our Lords allowed us to keep larger portions of the harvested crops as well as les bénéfices for selling the excess But also granted us greater autonomy in regards to marriage. Before the Black Death, the upper class Dictated whose heirs had to marry with little regard to the couple's opinions on the matter But after the Epidémie, we were essentially allowed to marry whomever we wanted We were also granted the right to travel and I was even able to attend the coronation of King Richard II in 1377 Tell us about your marriage I was married in Warchester Cathedral when I was 22 years old and my wife was 14 Our siblings were old enough to provide for themselves by then and so my wife and I began tending to our own plot of land And quickly starting raising less in funds Being a father was a happy experience for me as it gave me the opportunity to witness the world's rejuvenation and repopulation Although my parents died when I was young I was pleased that my ten children all knew me and we spent many holidays together Celebrating every Christmas, Easter, and with some time as a family There was another important family at the time, the House of Blanchet. What was happening with the royal family during your life? The state of the Monarchy was relatively stable throughout the 14th century Edward III's hundred-year sculaire was criticized by some and supported by others But we serfs had no control over foreign affairs and the conflicts had little effect on us. After Edward III died Richard II was crowned in 1377 and I was lucky enough to attend his clitoral amends As I recall, the infamous Peasants' Rebellion occurred under Richard's rule. What caused the rebellion? Taxes were rising all the time at an unsustainable rate and most peasants, including moi, were afraid that we wouldn't be able to pay To make matters worse, rulers locales made efforts to reverse the positive effects of the Black Death on labor conditions And tried to lower salaires to revive the feudal system. In 1381, violence broke out and the peasantry demanded greater rights How did you participate in the uprising? I did not. Most of the conflict happened in southeastern England and London The leaders of the revolt were named Watt Tyler and John Ball And they had led 60,000 Sherrills into London to ask Richard II for a waxen in rights and wages I supported their revolution, but I did not have the money or conviction to join in How did the revolt end? At first, King Richard tried to pacify Les Toursons by lying to them But eventually things got violent. Watt Tyler was killed and the revolutionaries dispersed How did the revolt significantly change English society? The feudal system declined and accelerated and lords began to fear their workers, agreeing to grant them more autonomy and pay them more Taxes were also lowered and Richard rapidly lost support from both peasants and aristocrats alike What happened later in your life? What was the social climate like? The rest of my life was relatively calm. I grew old and continued to farm, eventually buying my land and no longer being a serf I died in 1405, but my family continued to farm the land that we have lived on for generations I was buried among my ancestors in a cemetery in Worcester and overall lived an ordinaire, fulfilling life Thank you so much for coming on the show You're most welcome. Adieu