This episode recounts the dramatic Peasants' Revolt of 1381, a turning point when ordinary people challenged the medieval order. Decades after the Black Death decimated England's population, labor shortages gave peasants new bargaining power — but the crown and nobility imposed the Statute of Labourers to freeze wages. Mounting resentment deepened as war taxes, including an unpopular poll tax, burdened the poor.

Led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, the rebels rose in Essex and Kent, proclaiming equality before God and marching on London. For days, they seized control of the capital, executing royal officials and demanding the end of serfdom. The young King Richard II, only fourteen, met the rebels and promised reforms — but after Tyler's death at Smithfield, the movement collapsed. Royal forces crushed the rebellion, and its leaders were executed.

Though suppressed, the revolt exposed the fractures of feudalism. Over the next century, serfdom declined and laborers gained freedoms unimaginable before. The Peasants' Revolt failed as an uprising — but it succeeded in awakening England to a new truth: the people's voice could no longer be silenced.

This episode explores the remarkable reign of Edward III, who transformed England from a fractured realm into a dominant medieval power. Ascending the throne at just 14 after the overthrow of his father, Edward II, the young king soon seized control from his mother, Queen Isabella, and her ally Roger Mortimer, restoring royal authority and stability.

Edward revived England’s pride through military might and chivalric splendor. He restructured Parliament, strengthened governance, and cultivated national identity through pageantry and the Order of the Garter. His claim to the French throne ignited the Hundred Years’ War, where his victories at Sluys and Crécy, aided by the longbow and his son the Black Prince, cemented England’s reputation as a formidable power.

Yet triumph came with tragedy. The Black Death devastated the population, reshaping society and labor forever. Edward’s later years saw declining vigor and political corruption, but his legacy endured. Remembered as both the King of Chivalry and the Father of the English Nation, Edward III’s reign marked the dawn of England’s golden warrior age.

This episode tells the tragic story of Edward II, a king who inherited a strong and united realm from his father, Edward I — only to lose nearly everything through misrule. Unlike his disciplined warrior father, Edward II favored pleasure, personal companions, and lavish court life. His close relationship with favorites like Piers Gaveston and later the Despenser family enraged the barons, who saw their influence eclipsed. When Edward refused to reform, they executed Gaveston and later rebelled again.

His reign was further undermined by disaster abroad. In 1314, Edward suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn against Robert the Bruce, ending English dominance in Scotland. At home, discontent escalated until his own wife, Queen Isabella, allied with the exiled noble Roger Mortimer and invaded England.

Edward II was captured, forced to abdicate in 1327, and replaced by his young son, Edward III. Soon after, he died mysteriously in captivity — allegedly murdered in gruesome fashion. His downfall marked the first deposition of an English king, setting a powerful precedent: a monarch could be removed if he failed to rule justly.