Jean Foissart Thesis

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In Jean Froissart’s chronicles of the French peasant revolt, he records the somewhat skewed and biased accounts of the 1358 rebellion. The overall writing can be debated over how much is historically correct, however there are clear indicators in every chronicle that they were biased against the peasant class, especially those who took part in the revolt. Certain events were obviously exaggerated and might not have even occurred, simply stories fabricated to throw the revolt into a demonic light. Others are simply glossed over and made especially vague as to give as little detail as possible, making it likely the writer himself was not actually a participant in the revolt. Specific words and phrases are used repeatedly to describe the two sides …show more content…

They were rarely called simply “peasants” or “rebels”, instead Froissart used specially chosen descriptive words that without a single shred of evidence can bias how the writing is viewed. Words like “Barbarion”, “mad dogs”, “Evil men”, and “Ungracious” were all used, many of them more than one time. Words and phrases like these influence how someone would think of the rebels, instead of normal people who are simply tired of being oppressed one is more likely to conclude that these are inhuman monsters. Froissart himself comes to the same conclusion, claiming the acts claimed to have been committed by the rebels were ones that normal people couldn’t possibly do. He claims they not only know they are inhuman, but that they enjoy it and that they chose their king specifically because he was the most horrible of them …show more content…

He writes about how God was on the side of the nobles, a statement that cannot be backed up by any true fact, and is blatant bias on the writer’s part. There is no way to assure God was on either side, but by using his beliefs and the beliefs of a majority of France, Froissart is able to pull more support for his account. No one would dare go against God, and because the rebels lost they must have gone against God’s will. He also cites a specific conflict in religious history to equate to the revolt itself. This is the struggle between Christians and Muslims, a long and bloody feud that evokes powerful images within any reader. This combined with already biased language and events, and the peasants behind the revolt have been completely demonized in the eyes of any nobleman or nobility

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