Medieval Riots.

[Ulrick]

Here in Ames, IA, we had another VEISHEA riot. Cops were all decked out in riot gear, and I experienced Tear Gas for the first time in my life. Btw--washing with Milk is a good way to ease the burning)A good time was had by all. :\

Anyway,
This actually gave me ideas for an adventure.

Peasants are rioting in a medieval city because of some threat the PCs have to face. The PCs have to somehow "get through" the rioting to their goal.

On the way they'd face:
--Town guards mistaking them as rioters.
--A wizard casting "Stinking Cloud" to disperse rioters.
--Innocents becoming victims.
--Burning buildings/hay wagons/etc.


The only question I have are:
What would cause peasants to riot? Back in the day, the avg peasant was fearful of his lord or lady. To riot might bring ex-communication.
How would a good church (say of Pelor) address the situation?
If the peasants were serfs, would their lord get upset for having to destroy his "property?"

 

[drnuncheon]

What would cause peasants to riot? Back in the day, the avg peasant was fearful of his lord or lady. To riot might bring ex-communication.

Well, if they're in an honest-to-goodness city, there may be fewer 'peasants', at least in the classic 'farmer' sense, and a lot more lower and middle-class people. As for motives, the same stresses that cause them today:

- unpopular decisions by the government, especially if it's perceived as weak
- a perception of inequality - if the poor begin starving while the rich are well fed
- a charismatic leader or leaders inciting the populace
etc

J

 

[Agback]

Peasants are rioting in a medieval city because of some threat the PCs have to face.

Is there any particular reason why you want the peasants to come in from the country to riot in the city? Could not the burghers riot? Could not the peasants riot in their villages?

What would cause peasants to riot?

High food prices. Plague. Omens. Perceived miscarriages of justice. Desire to commit a racist or religious massacre. Revolutionary fervour. Taxes.

Back in the day, the avg peasant was fearful of his lord or lady.

Some more so that others. And at some times more than at others. And they very often rioted anyway.

If the peasants were serfs, would their lord get upset for having to destroy his "property?"

If mediaeval European nobles' reactions to the 'Maillotin' riots or Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the presence of the Londoners at the Battle of Lewes are anything to go by, the nobles would enter into a prospective slaughter of uppity serfs with great gusto.

And by the way, in most of Europe such nobles as had serfs would not permit them to go to a city in the first place, since the prospect of getting them back was poor. De jure or de facto, city air made free men.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Krieg]

Here in Ames, IA, we had another VEISHEA riot. Cops were all decked out in riot gear, and I experienced Tear Gas for the first time in my life. Btw--washing with Milk is a good way to ease the burning)A good time was had by all. :\

For those of us who have absolutely no idea what VEISHEA is...

VEISHEA

 

[^Graff]

Actually, in Medieval times, riots were extremely common. The lower class had no representation, so the only way that they could make their opinions heard was by rioting, so they did it every time that they wanted something. It could be over a single cp increase in the average cost of bread, or because they were afraid of the Huns.

 

[Mystery Man]

For those of us who have absolutely no idea what VEISHEA is...

And now for those of us who are utterly confused as to how the the nine hells a riot could be started out of something like this.
Checking any and all Iowa colleges off my list of schools to send my children.

 

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello,

Posted by Ulrick:
What would cause peasants to riot?

Same thing that does today - sporting events.

Rioting chariot-racing fans nearly toppled the mightiest ruler in Dark Ages Europe, the Byzantine Emperor, in 532 AD (a bit before the true "medieval" period).

Rival fan clubs in Byzantium united to attack the authorities and free members arrested for violence; this rapidly escalated into full-scale arson and rioting that shook the city, with rampaging looters shouting "Nika! Nika!" ("conquer" or "victory", a common chariot-racing cheer). Emperor Justinian prepared to flee his capital city even as his rivals among the nobility exploited the chaos, feeding political demands to the rioters. Justinian's wife, Theodora, inspired him to stay and fight on, and Justinian mobilized the army. The famous general Belisarius (who, incidentally, was mentioned as an "iconic" Fighter in previous editions of the Player's Handbook) and his troops broke the riot after trapping a large number of the rioters in the Hippodrome, Byzantium's chariot-racing arena. When his work was done, an estimated thirty thousand rioters were slain and order was restored. Justinian executed one unfortunate noble who had been proclaimed the new Emperor by some of the rioters, and exiled other opportunistic nobles who had misbehaved during the tumult.

For more details, pop the phrase "nika revolt" or "nika rebellion" into your favorite search engine...

Harry Turtledove's "Videssos" books are set in an empire based strongly on the Byzantine, and riots are not an uncommon event in them. You mention fear of religious consequences in your post, yet in more than one riot in these books, religious figures are actually fomenting the violence against "heretic" foreign mercenaries brought to the city by the Emperor (who is more concerned with the shrinking borders of his empire than with logic-chopping theological disputes). Visiting foreign merchants are another popular target; they are wealthy minorities who are derided as swindling exploiters, and who also usually have religious differences that can form part of an excuse for murder and plunder.

Labor disputes and food shortages have often been the cause of rioting. And not just in medieval times, or among peasants. Last May, a strike among cafeteria help at the United Nations building set diplomatic-service workers from nations all over the world to pillaging and looting their way among the commisaries and snack bars. Food, liquor, and by some accounts silverware and even furniture; all were carted off, and some witnesses compared the aftermath to a war zone. Time Magazine's article on the riot describes the scene as "nothing short of Baghdad-style chaos". If pampered modern diplomats (!!!) will do this when their dining room shuts down during lunch hour (because, you know, there's nowhere else to get food in New York City), what will medieval street folk do when told that incompetence and graft among the city's grain-storage bureaucracy will certainly reduce the bread rations that are barely keeping body and soul together even now?

Hope this helps!

 

[Henry]

Peasant Revolt of 1381 - http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa071798.htm

Some very enlightening reading.

 

[WizarDru]

The only question I have are:
What would cause peasants to riot? Back in the day, the avg peasant was fearful of his lord or lady. To riot might bring ex-communication.
How would a good church (say of Pelor) address the situation?
If the peasants were serfs, would their lord get upset for having to destroy his "property?"

Okay, let's back up a step. There were peasants, serfs, villeins and others...most of whom are rural folk. If you really mean an honest-to-goodness medeival city, the rioters are likely to be pulled from the ranks of guildsmen, merchants, servants and various craftsmen. Farmers would come in to the city to sell their wares, but they certainly didn't live there, and it wouldn't be practical for them to riot there unless there was something like a festival or fair in progress to bring them there.

Understand that the average peasant wasn't alway so much afraid of his local lord/lady as he was conditioned by his society to serve them. The average peasant accepted his lot in life, and assumed certain social contracts. The local lord had his end of the bargain to maintain, and failure to do so could lead to things like riots. Or it might not. The situation was a lot more complicated than it first appears.

Understand also that excommunication was not the same kind of threat that you might think it is. The church didn't threatened much more than they actually did, because if you use that club too often, it loses it's effectivenes. Remember also that at certain points in history, such as the 12th-13th centuries, Bishops were as powerful or more powerful than local lords, and often people might be in a Bishopric, paying homage and receiving protection from the local cleric. And there instances of rioting against Bishops too, and even killing them during the riots. Why did they riot? For the reasons mentioned above, and for all the common reasons you might expect: usually financial abuses, or anything that made life simply intolerable for the common man. If you tax someone into starvation, they reach a breaking point. A man with nothing to lose is a very dangerous man, as some medieval lords found out the hard way. Excommunication was really something of a rich man's penalty, in many ways.

Remember that more often than not, medieval lords are all about the Benjamins. Affect their bottom line, and they'll get violent and be glad to smack a rebellion down....but killing all of your own workers is counterproductive. If you have soldiers kill them all, you still lose. Negotioation and capitulation occured as often as not. A good church would try to faciliatate this, after arresting the riot (if possible).

 

[Emperor Valerian]

And now for those of us who are utterly confused as to how the the nine hells a riot could be started out of something like this.
Checking any and all Iowa colleges off my list of schools to send my children.

Bored people, and overabundance of alcohol. Thats how it started (I saw part of the mess... I was one of the intelligent ones that went AWAY from the trouble when it first started).


Which brings me back to the topic in the thread. How could a peasant riot start? Overabundance of alcohol at a festival or event, and then a trigger... something small and innocous... a fistfight over a lady's honor, a shoving match over a keg of ale. When enough alcohol's involved, those could easily turn into mass brawls.

For more traditional riots, how about ye old 'holy assault on evil' riot? For example, the villagers are out to hunt down and kill a family or group of families, thinking they're shapeshifters, witches or warlocks... when they're really nothing more than simple, misunderstood hermits.