 The decades running up to 1381 were a rebellious , troubled period . London was a particular locus of unrest , and the activities of the city 's politically active guilds and fraternities often alarmed the authorities . Londoners resented the expansion of the royal legal system in the capital , in particular the increased role of the Marshalsea Court in Southwark , which had begun to compete with the city authorities for judicial power in London . The city 's population also resented the presence of foreigners , Flemish weavers in particular . Londoners detested John of Gaunt because he was a supporter of the religious reformer John Wycliffe , whom the London public regarded as a heretic . John of Gaunt was also engaged in a feud with the London elite and was rumoured to be planning to replace the elected mayor with a captain , appointed by the Crown . The London elite were themselves fighting out a vicious , internal battle for political power . As a result , in 1381 the ruling classes in London were unstable and divided . 
