Harelle

The Harelle (French pronunciation: [aʁɛl]; from haro) was a revolt that occurred in the French city of Rouen in 1382, followed by an uprising a few days later in Paris, as well as numerous other revolts across France in the subsequent week. France was in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, and had seen decades of warfare, widespread destruction, high taxation, and economic decline, made worse by bouts of plague. In Rouen, the second largest city in the kingdom, the effects of the war were particularly felt.

Tensions had been building nationally for nearly a year following the death of Charles V; on his deathbed he repealed many of the war taxes he had previously imposed. With their re-imposition months later, a localized revolt, led by Rouen's guilds, occurred in the city and was followed by many similar such incidents across France. The new king, Charles VI, accompanied troops led by his uncle and regent, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, from Paris. Paris itself revolted shortly after the army left the city. The duke's army quickly turned back to crush the rebels in Paris before resuming its original march to Rouen. The leaders of the Harelle in Rouen feared execution on the scale that occurred in Paris and resolved to not resist the army. Twelve leaders of the revolt were executed, the city was stripped of its independent councils and placed under royal governorship, and a fine of 100,000 francs was imposed. Despite the victory, the King was unable to re-enforce the taxation that prompted the Harelle and would spend much of the new two years suppressing other revolts that had sprung up in its wake. The Harelle was one of many popular revolts in late medieval Europe, including the English peasants' revolt of 1381 one year earlier, all part of a larger crisis of the Late Middle Ages.