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284 General History of Europe France and Germany ; it then spread over England, attacking every part of the country during the year 1349. This disease, like other terrible epidemics, such as smallpox and cholera, came from Asia. Those who were stricken with it usually died in two or three days. It is supposed that about half the population of England was carried off by the "Black Death." 473. The Peasant Revolt of 1381. In England there was growing discontent among the farming classes. Up to this time the majority of those who cultivated the land were serfs, or vil- lains, who belonged to some particular manor, paid dues to their lord, and worked for him ( 404-407). Hitherto there had been new farm hands who could be hired. The Black Death, by greatly decreasing the number of laborers, raised the wages of those who survived and created a great demand for them. The serfs now began to think the dues and work demanded of them by their lords very unjust. In 1381, not long after the death of Edward III, the peasants rose in revolt against their lot and the heavy taxes levied to carry on the unpopular French wars. They burned some of the manor houses belonging to the nobility and the rich bishops and abbots and so destroyed the registers in which their obligations were recorded. 474. Disappearance of Serfdom in England. Although the peasants met with little success, serfdom rapidly disappeared in England. It became more and more common for the former serf to pay his dues in money instead of work. The landlord then either hired men to cultivate his fields or rented them to tenants. Sixty or seventy years after the Peasant Revolt the English farming population had in one way or another become free men and the serfs had practically disappeared. 475. John Wycliffe. Among those accused of encouraging the Peasant Revolt was John Wycliffe, a teacher of Oxford. He sought to reform the Church and organized a group of "simple priests" to preach to the people. He translated the Bible from Latin into English so that it might be more commonly read. He found himself opposed by the Pope and the churchmen, and finally went so far as to deny that the Pope was the rightful head of the