Uploaded August 2008 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
John Ball
Died in 1381. An English priest and social reformer. He was one of the instigators of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 He was an itinerant for many years, acting independently of the influence of John Wyclif and advocating ecclesiastical poverty and social equality. Excommunicated in 1376, he was in prison at Maidstone when rebels released him in 1381. After the dispersal of the rebels, Ball was captured at Coventry. He was taken to St. Albans, where he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. He is perhaps best remembered for giving currency to the couplet "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman"
John Ball
Died in 1381. An English priest and social reformer. He was one of the instigators of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 He was an itinerant for many years, acting independently of the influence of John Wyclif and advocating ecclesiastical poverty and social equality. Excommunicated in 1376, he was in prison at Maidstone when rebels released him in 1381. After the dispersal of the rebels, Ball was captured at Coventry. He was taken to St. Albans, where he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. He is perhaps best remembered for giving currency to the couplet "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman"
