Order Culled from Chaos: Fact, Fiction, and the Historic Imagination at Work and Play in the Brut

[[abstract]] One of the most remarkable domestic events in the history of medieval England is the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. During the fourteenth century the people of England were steeped in Roman Catholic values and assumptions, among them the belief that the king held his position as supreme ruler of the land by the will and providence of God. For such a people to rise against their king, then, was not only an act against king and country, it was also an act against God and Heaven. Traditional historians, not surprisingly, have examined the event for the cause and effect relationship. In-depth studies of the event, however, wherein historians examine more minute details and the human factors of the personalities involved, diverge considerably on details, large and small. The reason for this is that the chronicles from the fourteenth century also diverge considerably. The writing of history during the Middle Ages followed different forms and conventions from what is commonly used today. So, a scholar of history must factor in the historiographical process of the medieval chronicler in order to assess, as much as it is possible, the relative truth of an event. The process of historiography during the Middle Ages involved similar political and cultural biases that appear in the writing of history throughout the ages. But especially the religious world view dominates the thought of the chroniclers, who, if not clerics themselves, were certainly educated in the universities controlled by the Church. Such a process of cultural and religious influence on the historiography concerning the Peasants' Revolt is evident in one of the most popular chronicles from medieval England, the Brut. Through an understanding of the political, cultural, and religious perspectives of the medieval chronicler and through an understanding of the writing process evident in that time, modern historians and readers alike will be better able to understand and assess the historical accounts that appear in medieval historical writing