 Many of those involved in the revolt used pseudonyms , particularly in the letters sent around the country to encourage support and fresh uprisings . They were used both to avoid incriminating particular individuals and to allude to popular values and stories . One popular assumed name was Piers Plowman , taken from the main character in William Langland 's poem . Jack was also a widely used rebel pseudonym , and historians Steven Justice and Carter <unk> suggest that this may have been because it resonated with the Jacques of the French Jacquerie revolt several decades earlier . 
