The Kett family can trace its ancestry back to Domesday and this book provides an unbroken history of the family from the reign of William I to the end of the nineteenth century. This book details the increasing prosperity of the family while settled at Wymondham between 1200 and 1550 and the years or persecution that followed the infamous insurrection of Robert Kett in 1549. A detailed genealogical study, well indexed and with several tree charts.

"Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in Norfolk, England during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the enclosure of land. It began at Wymondham on 8 July 1549 with a group of rebels destroying fences that had been put up by wealthy landowners. One of their targets was yeoman farmer Robert Kett who, instead of resisting the rebels, agreed to their demands and offered to lead them. Kett and his forces, joined by recruits from Norwich and the surrounding countryside and numbering some 16,000, set up camp on Mousehold Heath to the north-east of the city on 12 July. The rebels stormed Norwich on 21 July and on 1 August defeated a force led by the Marquess of Northampton that had been sent by the government to suppress the uprising. Kett's rebellion ended on 27 August when the rebels were defeated by an army under the leadership of the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Dussindale. Kett was captured, held in the Tower of London, tried for treason, and hanged from Norwich Castle on 7 December 1549"--Wikipedia.

During the political upheaval of Tudor-era England, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake must decide where his loyalties lie in "one of the best ongoing mystery series" for fans of Hilary Mantel (Christian Science Monitor). LONGLISTED FOR THE SIR WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION Spring, 1549. Two years after the death of Henry VIII, England is sliding into chaos. The nominal king, Edward VI, is eleven years old. His uncle, Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford, rules as Edward's regent and Protector. In the kingdom, radical Protestants are driving the old religion into extinction, while the Protector's prolonged war with Scotland has led to hyperinflation and economic collapse. Rebellion is stirring among the peasantry. Matthew Shardlake has been working as a lawyer in the service of Henry's younger daughter, the lady Elizabeth. The gruesome murder of one of Elizabeth's distant relations, rumored to be politically murdered, draws Shardlake and his companion Nicholas to the lady's summer estate, where a second murder is committed. As the kingdom explodes into rebellion, Nicholas is imprisoned for his loyalty, and Shardlake must decide where his loyalties lie -- with his kingdom, or with his lady?

"The short reign of Edward VI was a turbulent one, even by Tudor standards. In addition to such perennial problems as religious change, inflation, poor harvests, and war with Scotland and France - and to some extent as a result of them - the kingdom was threatened by widespread unrest, riots, and rebellions among the common people." "The riots and rebellions were, of course, put down, and their history was recorded by the educated ruling class. In this study, Barrett L. Beer looks at these dramatic events from the viewpoint of the rebellious commoners. Drawing on a variety of contemporary manuscript sources, he analyzes the themes of discontent that motivated them, the radical demands that challenged the social order, and the acts of repression and reform by which the government responded. Above the clamor of the streets and countryside runs the intricate story of the interaction and often confusing relations among the commoners, the gentry who controlled local government, and the king's councillors in London." "Rebellion and Riot provides insights into the critical mid-Tudor period in England. The discontents these riots reflected helped shape the direction of later history."--BOOK JACKET.

This book, first published in 1977, looks at the two peasant revolts that occurred in 1549, in the troubled period following the death of Henry VIII. The uprisings reveal a harsh background of economic and social injustice, intensified at the time by inflation. Peasants in North Devon rose against the imposition of the English Prayer Book, and with the local authorities paralysed and the government wavering between conciliation and repression, a general rebellion broke out. Reinforced by Cornishmen, rallying to the defence of their national identity, the peasants assembled a formidable army and laid siege to Exeter itself. Only after three major battles was the revolt suppressed. The Norfolk peasants rose against agrarian abuses, routing a small royal force and occupying Norwich. Ably led by Robert Kett, they expelled the gentry and governed the county on a programme of social justice until they were crushed by the forces released by the collapse of the other risings. These revolts display the deep-seated resentments and injustices felt by the peasantry of the sixteenth century.