John Ball preached: 'When Adam delved and Eve span'
1381
The renegade Lollard priest, freed from prison by Tyler's mob, preached a sermon outside London that asked whether God had created any gentlemen. The doggerel couplet attached to his name became the first English protest slogan with a half-life into modern times. Ball was hanged, drawn, and quartered before the king's mother.
In context
Also in 1381 (4 other events on record)
- Peasants' Revolt: Tyler's men enter London · Europe · War
- Timur conquers Herat and absorbs Khorasan · Central Asia · War
- Nanjing's Ming imperial examinations reinstituted · East Asia · Politics
- Yongle prince exiled to Beijing · East Asia · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Religion
Era
Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.