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A tale of two Ketts |
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Hope and fears
Battle painting at Wymondham museum |
Tudor accounts of the rebellion, like Neville's Norfolke furies, continued this negative take on the "legend" of Kett. Written for upper-class readers, they presented Kett and his men as barbarous and ignorant. Kett had shaken the gentry’s nerve because of his vision of a political world which excluded them, and by his success – all be it short-lived - in creating an alternative system of rule.
Kett's legend continued to be utilised in the 17th Century as a stern reminder that rebellion did not pay. At the outbreak of civil war in 1642, for example, a sermon was preached by a Mr Claxton, about the overthrow of Kett – a sure warning to the congregation not to fall in with the wrong side!
Fond memories
An altogether different picture of Kett lived on in the memories and stories of his followers. From legal documents we can see that Kett and his cause were remembered with affection by commoners. One record recounts how a man was overheard in Norwich marketplace, appealing to God for Kett's body to be taken down from the 
Kett established a court of justice at the "Oak of Reformation" |
castle and allowed to rest, and there were reports of comments made against the gentry, and in support of another camp on Mousehold Heath.
Kett’s followers often embellished the legend of the rebellion in their stories. One tale, related by a supporter Margaret Adams, said the rebels had sought help from the Turks and the Dauphin! The fondness with which Kett was remembered by his supporters helps to explain why the authorities sought to tarnish his memory – otherwise it might prove a rallying point for resistance against the Earl of Warwick, whose domination of the city was resented.
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