How to organize an urban revolt in medieval Northern France: strategies of mobilization and political communication of craftsmen in Saint-Omer, 1305–1306

Abstract

This article studies the strategies of mobilization and political communication of craftsmen during a revolt in Saint-Omer in 1305–6. An analysis of a written series of testimonies about the revolt shows that it was not a spontaneous happening, but the outcome of a strategically planned and cunningly carried out mobilization of men, money and means. The well-established practices of gathering, the remarkable culture of assembly and the efficiency of the mobilization of craftsmen of Saint-Omer demonstrate that these corporate associations had developed a sophisticated ‘repertoire of contention’ already around 1300. The repertoire was not new or unheard of, but rather strongly rooted in existing structures, corporate practices and venerable communal ideas of protecting the city.