Who was John Ball in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381?

John Ball (died 1381) was a radical English priest and a prominent leader of the Peasants’ Revolt. Excommunicated around 1366 for preaching in favor of a classless society, he was frequently imprisoned for his inflammatory sermons.12

During the 1381 rebellion, Ball was liberated from prison by Kentish rebels and accompanied them to London. At Blackheath, he famously incited the crowd with the egalitarian question, “When Adam dalf [dug] and Eve span [spun], Who was then a gentleman?” Chroniclers of the time reported that he urged the rebels to target the nobility and clergy. Following the collapse of the uprising, he was captured, tried, and executed.12

Ball is the central figure in the romantic fantasy A Dream of John Ball, written by the British artist and author William Morris, which explores themes of social equality and the historical struggle against feudalism.2