Through undergoing the research process, I was able to gain a deeper insight into the methods used by historians in forming arguments about periods where significant gaps in the historical record exist. Due to the nature of the event as centering around illiterate peasants and having transpired over 600 years ago, the focus on secondary sources was necessary. Most of the qualitative primary accounts came from the monastic chroniclers whose origin and personal bias significantly influenced the description of events while quantitative evidence was often fragmented. As a result, I needed to extrapolate and fill in the gaps using secondary analysis but this was tempered by the analysis and evaluation of historical perspectives. I also initially struggled in refining my research question as it oscillated between being too broad, leading to overly descriptive writing and too narrow and if I were to undergo the process again, I would try to focus my research question at the beginning so that I could effectively find information. Ultimately, the process raised questions about the role of historical interpretation and the implications of demographic changing events.

Throughout the writing and research process, I’ve been able to find a plethora of secondary sources but have had some issues in ascertaining primary sources that represent a wide range of perspectives. Since of the rebels and the vast majority of the population were illiterate and any few records from the lower classes have survived, it has been difficult to find sources that come directly from the peasants and the other rebels. Instead, I’ve tried to gauge their motivations and the zeitgeist amongst the serfs by considering their actions during the revolt, something that has been documented by monastic chroniclers. This issue with this is the disconnect between socio-political sentiments and revolutionary action. However, through trying to cross-reference secondary interpretations and trying to place actions in the historical context, I’ve tried to limit the extent of the gap. I have also tried to take the ideology and political basis of the historian under consideration when cross-referencing.