The Order of St John & the peasants' revolt of 1381

Abstract

The St. John Historical Society was founded at an inaugural meeting of some seventy interested members of the Order, and others, held at St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, on Thursday 9th April 1981, when Professor Lionel Butler, the Librarian of the Order, gave enthusiastic support to the project, and took a leading part in the formation of the Society. A month later, on the 19th May 1981, at St. John's Gate, following the formal business of the Society's first regular meeting, Dr. Butler gave his immensely interesting lecture "The Order of St. John and the Peasants' Revolt of 1381", to a large and appreciative audience. Sadly he died suddenly in November 1981, and so in his memory as a personal friend, as well as to mark the first anniversary of the founding of the Society, I have requested, and been granted, the privilege of presenting his lecture as the first published Transaction of the Society, and have donated a sufficient number of copies for distribution to the current membership, with my best wishes for the future success of the Society. In the preparation of this publication my particular thanks are due to Miss Pamela Willis, Curator of the Order's Museum and Library, for transcribing and editing the work from the original tape recording, which she has done so admirably without losing the character of the lecture. [excerpt]