On 10/17/11 8:22 AM, Tim wrote:
On Oct 17, 5:30 am, X ` wrote:
In 1358, according to historian and author Barbara Tuchman, a peasant
revolution started in the Oise valley of France. The peasants attacked
and looted a manor house, killed the knight who lived there and roasted
him on a spit while his wife and children watched. A dozen of the serfs
raped the lady of the manor while the children watched, and then they
forced her to eat the cooked flesh of her husband. Then they killed her.

Now that is serious class warfare.

Discussing whether the top one percent of the wealthy in this country
should pay a higher tax rate is not, though I think the "French"
treatment of a few dozen Wall Street chiefs and industrial chiefs would
provide quicker results.

Wiki gives credit of the story to one Jean La Bel, but I thought this
line was interesting:

"The peasants involved in the rebellion seem to have lacked any real
organization, instead rising up locally as an unstructured mass. It is
speculated by Jean le Bel that evil governors and tax collectors
spread the word of rebellion from village to village to inspire the
peasants to rebel against the nobility. When asked as to the cause of
their discontent they apparently replied that they were just doing
what they had witnessed others doing. Additionally it seems that the
rebellion contained some idea that it was possible to rid the world of
nobles. Froissart's account portrays the rebels as mindless thugs bent
on destruction, which they wreaked on over 150 noble houses and
castles, murdering the families in horrendous ways."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquerie#The_uprising


In the 14th Century, the serfs had every reason to murder nobles. They
still do.