The Lollards, a proto-Protestant movement that developed in the mid-14th century in England, would hold sway on the teachings of the Protestant and Catholic Church for the next two centuries. Calling for the reform of Western Christianity, the Lollards were one of the first Protestant movements in the world, and their efforts undoubtedly contributed to the philosophy of later figures such as Martin Luther. Read on to find out all about the history of Lollardy in later medieval Europe.The Origin of the LollardsJohn Wycliffe, by Thomas Kirby, 1828. Source: Art UKWhile John Wycliffe is credited with starting the Lollard movement in the 14th century, where did his ideas actually originate from?It was through Wycliffes teachings and philosophy that the Lollard movement sparked. Wycliffe was a scholar at Oxford University, and he believed that everybody should have access to the teachings of the Bible, not just those who could read Latin.As such, Wycliffe began the arduous task of translating the Bible into vernacular English, thus making it accessible for more and more people, who could understand its teachings and read it for themselves.Because of this, people who could read and understand Englishsuch as townspeople, merchants, and others lower down the social classes than the clergycould now have access to the teachings of the Bible, instead of hearing it from a Catholic priest.The Catholic Church looked down upon this practice, even before it condemned Wycliffe as a heretic. But perhaps the biggest reason for the Lollards being seen as a disruptive group was due to their involvement in the Peasants Revolt of 1381.Lollardy and the Peasants RevoltRichard II meeting the rebels during the Peasants Revolt, by Jean Froissart, c. 1500. Source: BnFDuring the reign of King Richard II of England, many common people had had enough with the kings incessant taxes and marched to London to protest them.Unfortunately for the Lollard movement, one of the leaders of the Peasants Revolt was a known Lollard, John Ball. Ball had been preaching against the Catholic Church for at least a decade before Wycliffe began developing the early stages of Lollardy, but because he agreed with much of Wycliffes teachings, he was grouped in with him as a Lollard.When Richard IIs forces brutally put down the Peasants Revolt, Ball was seen as a ringleader of the cause, and as such, was hanged, drawn, and quartered, with his body parts being displayed across 14 different parts of the kingdom. This may have seemed like a nail in the coffin for Lollardy, but it was far from over.Wycliffes Next StepsMaster Jan Hus before the Council of Constance, by Vaclav Brozik, 1883. Source: Wikimedia CommonsA year after the Peasants Revolt, Wycliffe was dismissed from his position at Oxford University and deemed a heretic by the Catholic Church at the Council of Constance.Instead of ending the movement completely as the Catholic Church had hoped, Lollardy grew amongst the common people; the Church had spurred the movement on, changing it from a heretical branch of Catholicism to a full-blown underground religious movement.The English-printed Bible was distributed throughout the kingdom among Lollards, and it was at this point that it really began to take off.Political Rebellion and LollardyJohn Badby being burned in a barrel, from Foxes Book of Martyrs, 1563. Source: Wikimedia CommonsFollowing Wycliffes death in 1384, Lollardy did not die with him. On the contrary, it seemed to gain more traction than ever, and began to worry English monarchs by the turn of the 15th century.In 1401, during the reign of Henry IV, a new law was enacted that essentially redefined the term heresy. Previously, heresy was defined as an error in theological belief, but this new law, called De heretico comburendo, equated heresy with sedition (speaking out) against public rulers. As such, Lollardy was driven underground.However, it was the burning of John Badby in 1410 that, much like the dismissal of John Wycliffe, helped to grow the movement even more. Badby was a tailor from the West Midlands and an open Lollard. Once again, this went to show how common tradespeople were adopting Lollardy from a theological point of view. Bandby refused to denounce his Lollardy, citing his denial of transubstantiation (the Catholic belief that the bread and wine at Communion are the literal flesh and blood of Christ).When Badby was burned at the stake for his views, he became two things: the very first Lollard martyr, and the first layman in English history to suffer capital punishment for the crime of heresy.Lollardy in the Medieval English CourtThe burning of Sir John Cobham, Lord Oldcastle, a Lollard and follower of John Wycliffe, in London in 1418. Source: Wikimedia CommonsBadbys brutal execution only served to inspire the growth of Lollardy, but not just among the common people many nobles were taking it up, too.While there had been some names mentioned in the chronicles of Henry Knighton and Thomas Walsingham as early as the reign of Richard II (137799), as Lollards, there was little concrete evidence to say that they were. Some of the men mentioned included Thomas Latimer, William Nevil, John Clanvow, Lewis Clifford, John Trussell, Richard Storey, Reginald Hilton, and Sir John Peche.These men were known as the Lollard Knights, and the evidence for this was that there was some Lollard-inspired language in their wills, such as how they wished to be buried in the earth to return from whence they came.However, there was no hint of these men being Lollards during their lifetime. They were senior figures in the court of Richard II, who had executed and condemned Lollards, and this language could simply be a coincidence.By the time John Oldcastle came along, the view was completely different.The Oldcastle RevoltLollards Prison in Lambeth Palace overlooking the River Thames, photographer unknown, 1887. Source: Wikimedia CommonsJohn Oldcastle, a close and personal friend of King Henry V (r. 141322), was brought to trial in 1413 after evidence of his Lollard beliefs had been uncovered.While he was being held in the Tower of London as both a religious and a political prisoner while awaiting his sentencing, he managed to successfully escape, and even began to organize an insurrection with a long-term plan of kidnapping Henry V.The rebellion was ultimately a failure, and Oldcastle was captured and summarily executed. When it was deemed by the Crown and the Church that Lollards would go so far as to make their movement political and personal as well as religious, persecution of the Lollards became even more severe. It is not wrong to suggest that Lollardy in the early 15th century was seen in as negative a light in England as groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda are today.Lollardy and the ReformationThomas Cranmer, by Gerlach Flicke, 1545. Source: Art UKBy the time the Reformation had reached English shores at the turn of the 16th century, Lollardy was firmly absorbed into the English iteration of the Protestant movement.Because Lollardy had been an underground movement since Henry IVs reign, it is hard to pinpoint where Lollardy formally ended and when it simply became a part of the English Reformation.Theologically, Lollardy and Protestantism were similar enough to be absorbed together, as they were championing the same larger causes, such as the reformation of the Catholic Church and doctrine within the Church.Interestingly, critics of the Protestant Reformationin particular, men like Thomas Moreequated Protestants with Lollards, which went to show how seriously anti-Lollard rhetoric was used and taken in England during the Reformation. On the other hand, one of the key leaders of the English Reformation, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, referred to Lollardy in his sermons in a positive light.Because Lollardy had evolved in the two centuries since Wycliffs teachings, it is also hard to ascertain whether late Lollardy and early Protestantism could be lumped together.The Later Lollard YearsMary I of England, by Antonis Mor, 1554. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe persecution of Lollards was also recorded in the early 16th century, suggesting it was still seen as its own movement. For example, in the Diocese of London, there are records of 310 Lollards being prosecuted or forced to denounce their faith between 1510 and 1532, while in the Diocese of Lincoln, 45 cases were heard against Lollardy in 1506-07.Unsurprisingly, Bloody Mary, better known as Queen Mary I of England (r. 1553-58), was a key figure in the persecution of the Lollards, who fell under the Revival of the Heresy Acts of 1554.Representations of Lollardy in ArtA fox preaching to the gullible fowl, a misericord (1491-94), in the quire at Ripon Cathedral. Source: Wikimedia CommonsDue to the heretical nature of Lollardyor at least heretical by the standards of the later medieval Catholic Churchthey became a target for negative representations in artwork.Lollards were seen, in modern terms, as turkeys voting for Christmas. Representations of Lollards and Lollardy in general can typically be seen in old churches, sculpted into woodwork. A common depiction is a fox dressed as a monk or a priest preaching to geese. In other words, the fox (a Lollard preacher) is an evil being, while the innocent geese (common people) think that they are a true preacher (like a priest or a monk), and have their best interests at heart.Another way that this art is interpreted is that the fox, with its wily words, grace and eloquence, is easily able to draw in its audiencegeese and chickensbefore violently snatching them to devour them.Final ThoughtsHenry VIII, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1540-47. Source: Liverpool MuseumsThe Lollards were more than a typical heretical movement, as many modern historians lump them in as. They were also more than simply a precursor to the Reformation.The Lollards should be looked at as perhaps the biggest inspiration behind the English Reformation, because without Lollardy, Protestantism would never have taken off in the way that it did under Henry VIII in the 16th century.Calling for the reform of the Catholic Church centuries before the Reformation landed on English shores was arguably the beginning of the downfall of trust in the Catholic Church in England, when people began to see the Church overreaching its power.Combine this with brutal executions of Lollards, who ultimately became martyrs, and the Lollard movement was one of the most influential religious movements in English religious history.

Tineke Dijkstra/Central Government Real Estate Agency of the NetherlandsThe foundations of the Spuipoort were uncovered during renovation work at the Binnenhof.Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery amid ongoing renovations at the Binnenhof, a complex of government buildings in The Hague, Netherlands. During excavations near the Tweede Kamer building, where the lower house of parliament meets, workers uncovered the original foundations of a medieval gate known as the Spuipoort.Built in the late 13th or early 14th century, the Spuipoort was part of a system of moats and gates that surrounded the Binnenhof. It was demolished in 1861, but now officials hope to reincorporate its ruins into a new entrance to this historic complex.Uncovering The Remnants Of The Medieval Spuipoort In The HagueIn 2024, renovation work at the Binnenhof in the heart of The Hague the administrative capital of the Netherlands revealed the brick foundations of a massive gate that once led into the government complex located here. The Spuipoort, which connected the area of the city known as the Spui to the Binnenhof, consisted of two tall towers flanking a rectangular guardhouse. It was first mentioned in written records in 1352, but it may have been erected many decades earlier, sometime in the late 13th century.Leiden University LibrariesThe Spuipoort once served as a gate and guardhouse that led into the Counts Court area of the Binnenhof.The gate was located on the southern side of the Counts Court, where the residences and offices of the Counts of Holland were located. The Spuipoort was one piece in an extensive medieval defense system that consisted of double moats, gates, and drawbridges that protected the Binnenhof.As reported by the NL Times, archaeologist Peter Stokkel noted, The Binnenhof was where the power was, so only the elite came under the gate. Not everyone was allowed inside.The towers of the Spuipoort were later replaced by octagonal supports, and the entire structure was demolished in 1861. Previous excavations in 1987 revealed part of what was left of the gate, but now the entire foundation of the Spuipoort has finally been uncovered.Tineke Dijkstra/Central Government Real Estate Agency of the NetherlandsThe Spuipoort was first built in the late 13th century or early 14th century.Andjelko Pavlovic, an archaeologist for The Hague, told the Binnenhof Renovation Program, This discovery sheds new light on the rich history of the Binnenhof After 33 years since the last significant excavation, we now have the opportunity to learn more about how the gate changed over time.While researchers look forward to studying the ruins of the gate and learning more about its historic past, they also have big plans for the future of the Spuipoort.Future Plans For The Historic Gate Found At The BinnenhofDuring the excavation process, archaeologists carefully analyzed the medieval brickwork, or kloostermoppen, that made up the gates foundations. They used 3D scanning to map out where each individual brick was positioned.As Stokkel stated, With a scan, we know exactly which brick goes where, and it will be placed back in the new entrance.Tineke Dijkstra/Central Government Real Estate Agency of the NetherlandsOfficials hope to repurpose the brick foundations of the Spuipoort into a new entrance to the Binnenhof.Officials hope to incorporate the former foundations of the Spuipoort into the renovated entryway to the Tweede Kamer building once the ongoing construction work is complete. As of now, the renovations are expected to be completed by 2031. The process has faced significant delays due to rising costs and the interference of an unexpected nuisance: parakeets.Hundreds of these tiny birds, which are considered an invasive species in the Netherlands, have descended on the construction site to wreak havoc. As soon as the scaffolding was removed from one building, the parakeets alighted on the facade to gnaw on the fresh paint and putty. Theyve also chewed on the cables of electric cranes, posing a safety hazard.The parakeets are so disruptive that the government recently hired a falconer to release his bird in the area throughout the month of March to chase them away.In the meantime, the brick foundations of the medieval Spuipoort are waiting to become part of the historic Binnenhof once more. How cool is it to integrate the last gate into the new gate? said Stokkel. To us as city archaeologists, this is very special indeed.After reading about the medieval gate found in The Hague, go inside the tulip mania that gripped Dutch investors in the 17th century. Then, learn about the Yde Girl, the bog body found in the Netherlands in 1897.The post The Remains Of A Medieval Gate With Two Imposing Guard Towers Were Just Found Under The Dutch Houses Of Parliament appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Disney is an industry built on magic, talking animals, and happily ever afters. The companys films have been enchanting children for generations but the dark stories behind them are more likely to cause nightmares than delight.When the first full-length animated Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released in 1937, families around the world flocked to theaters to see the colorful adaptation of the original Brothers Grimm tale. Luckily for the children, Disney cut out the grisly scenes of death in childbirth and the evil queen dancing to her demise in shoes made of red-hot iron.Public DomainMany of the most beloved Disney films have much darker origin stories like when Pinocchio kills Jiminy Cricket with a hammer.Many other Disney films have equally horrific origin stories. The 19th-century book The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet features the beloved title character hanging from a noose. And in one early version of Cinderella, the ugly stepsisters cut off their toes in an attempt to shove them into the glass slipper.Below, read about the grisly sources behind seven dark Disney stories:The Original Tale Of Pinocchio Was Much More Grim Than Its AdaptationPublic DomainIn Carlo Collodis original version of Pinocchio, the young puppet is hanged.For children today, Pinocchio is nothing more than a sweet young puppet. The 1940 Disney movie follows his adventures with his friend and advisor, Jiminy Cricket, and the silly hijinks he gets into on his quest to become a real boy.But the Italian author who first created the character, Carlo Collodi, wrote the story as a cautionary tale of the severe consequences of misbehavior. It was published in serial form in the early 1880s before the full book, The Adventures of Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet, was released in 1883.Collodis Pinocchio was cruel and mischievous. In the opening pages, the puppet runs away and is caught by the police, who imprison Geppetto for suspected child abuse. The character of Jiminy Cricket, referred to only as the Talking Cricket in the book, is killed early on when Pinocchio throws a hammer at him. His ghost accompanies the puppet through the rest of the story.In one particularly grisly scene, Pinocchios enemies, the Fox and the Cat, hang him from a tree and leave him to die. As Collodi writes in his novel:A few minutes went by and then a wild wind started to blow. As it shrieked and moaned, the poor little sufferer was blown to and fro like the hammer of a bell. The rocking made him seasick and the noose, becoming tighter and tighter, choked him. Little by little a film covered his eyes.Death was creeping nearer and nearer, and the Marionette still hoped for some good soul to come to his rescue, but no one appeared He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, stretched out his legs, and hung there, as if he were dead.Collodi reportedly intended for this scene to be the end of Pinocchios story. But after public outcry, he relented and continued his tale, which was eventually adapted into a Disney film. Like the movie, Collodis book ends with the puppet transforming into a human child and living happily ever after. But the dark Disney story was certainly sanitized for the big screen.The post The Disturbing Stories Behind 7 Beloved Disney Movies That Are Much Darker Than Their Cartoon Adaptations appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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