Writing revolt: Historical representations of Jack Cade's 1450 rebellion in the London Chronicles

The English chronicles of fifteenth-century London remain a politically charged body of quasi-historical literature, a loose canon of fragmented narratives where life and government in late medieval England are represented in sometimes vivid prose. The Jack Cade rebellion of 1450 was an event that brought the capital of Great Britain to within a few days of total conflagration, and if it had not been halted, the seeds of this rebellion may have spread more quickly and taken hold of other areas of the country. The Chronicles of London and the Jack Cade rebellion go hand-in-hand. It is from the various Chronicles of London where historians, past and present, retrieve the majority of information on the rebellion, and synthesize it with other historical sources---parliamentary rolls, court records, letters---so as to formulate a grand narrative and attempt to describe to readers what "really happened" during the early summer months of 1450. This dissertation will work through the problems of historical representation as seen in the London chronicles of the fifteenth century, and the Cade revolt, the event that so dominates the London chronicles, will be the touchstone. The Cade revolt and its various representations serves as the prime example as to how the chroniclers imbued their work with literary devices, subtle ideological strategies, and an astute sense of historical interpretation. To undertake this analysis, I use the works of theorists concerned with issues of historical representation, ideology, and language, such as Hayden White, Terry Eagleton, F. R. Ankersmit, and Berel Lang.