Levellers, True Levellers, and The Diggers of 1649 (1 of 3)

[philattlee1]

Proud to be a Winstanley.

[edo55]

Is this the film by Kevin Brownlow and David Caute?

[jilldwr]

Battle of Hastings was 1066, not 1099, DUH!

[sun10brazil]

so were the levellers and the diggers an army?

i have to write about them and i dont hvae a fucking clue.

[prinznevsky]

Alexander Nevsky as the soundtrack? weird, and anachronous....

[wornpick1]

Pay attention!!

[button1943]

to hear the levellers words again is so inspiring - great video

[Deathlordtwo]

Its almost like watching the pashion of the christ. Its so powerfull!!

[martynhanson]

How about

WHEN ADAM DELVED AND EVE SPAN WHO WAS THEN THE GENTLEMAN?

John Ball 1381 - is that far enough back?

[deutscherdigger]

Vorläufer der True Levellers war der deutsche Bauernkrieg. In diesem Sinne:

Proletarier aller Länder vereinigt euch!

Es lebe die Revolution

Es lebe Michael Gaismair

Es lebe Thomas Müntzer

Es leben immerdar die True levellers

[wks1978]

I agree

[ludocrat]

Well fine. That's not true and you just sound like yet another little proto-tyrant to me.

But hey, good luck with your needy thang.

Just don't ever think you're original. OK?

[FA8T]

The beginning reminds me of Eisenstein. The fast cutting. x

[wongawonga1]

re tygerfeet yes saw winstanley in 78 or 79 great film not been on tv don't think

[tragiccarpet]

I remember seeing it on Channel 4 once, early 90s maybe? I forget exactly. But yeah, great film.

[mikezephyr]

but why is the revolution always thwarted?

do the pigs have to take all the apples and barley from the other animals on the farm?

aren't horses and pigs brothers?

[ludocrat]

The revolution is always 'thwarted' because it is always bollocks. In the sense that whoever is the figurehead of the revolution becomes the new tyrant, usually much worse than that which was overthrown. We're all screwed again, if we get to live!

Mate, we're all mugs. And no amount of violent activism is ever going to change that. If you really want a revolution, you have to do two things: 1) Discover a limitless source of energy and (more importantly) 2) Purge the urge of men to give orders.

[mikezephyr]

bummer.

[ludocrat]

I agree. But we can still try...

Be happy mate.

[Farweasel]

Quick, quick, thumb him down!

How dare he have the temerity to voice an unwelcome truth.

Look at history and get real you people : (

Please, please restore my sanguininity by posting leads to valid, objective, robust evidence which disproves what Ludocrat states.

I hope you do.

I doubt you can.

[BollocksYesBollocks]

my dear sir.

in the history of revolutions, the Digger's revolution was the only one which was not bollocks. it was instigated for the people, by the people (people being the working class, the poor, the peasants).

every single other 'revolution' in history that we know of, whether successful or not, has been instigated, perhaps on the surface FOR the people, however, it has been done BY those that do not suffer, the dissatisfied middle classes, the land owning gentry, who usually have a grudge

[BollocksYesBollocks]

against the king or whatever. so, hidden or not so hidden agenda that has absolutely fuck all do to with helping the poor. well, sometimes it does, i will admit.

but take a brief look and you will see what i mean.

Lenin and the Russian Revolution - this guy and his coterie of 'revolutionaries' were middle class, prosperous.

The French Revolution - hahahaha.

The 'Peasants' revolt - yes, says peasants; they really weren't.

look this and more up if you care.

thee is not enough space here.

[munkeeguy]

Nature, its in our nature to own as much as we can and only to share when its in our best interest to do so.

Its unavoidable.

[bohemiastudios]

They had super rich in a big houses in 1649.

[OttOmOlOtOv]

Fair enough. However, I think seeking out and demonstrating the birth of proto-anarchist ideas through-out history can be beneficial to the political landscape we are faced with today. Anarchism is not just some radical philosophy invented in the 20th century as a negative response to the current socio-political environment. It is a legitimate historical alternative to the arbitrary set up of Capitalist, Democratic, or Communist governments that now rule the world.

[MrCFCarePOO]

@OttOmOlOtOv Wow Otto you sound a real fun guy.Deathless prose or what?The Levellers were without doubt historic ,original and amazing but you can't write proper.Terrible second sentence that means nothing.I think seeking out and demonstrating the bogies I've picked throughout history can be beneficial to the nasal landscape I am faced with today.Nah..doesn't work.Glad I never had to mark your essays.

[DocteurLariviere]

Were these not Christian fanatics, and not, as you seem to believe communists?

It is a very different thing to believe a man equal in the sight of God, and to be commanded to live Christlike sans property on earth, on the one hand, & to think man endowed by nature with absolute equal rights, on the other.

[7863547]

The early christians were communists.

Acts 2:

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

[7863547]

Acts 4:

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

[JohnnyOhio]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting!

[Joyshillaker]

Amazing film. I got a copy from Ebay. How things have changed, St Georges Hill is now a very exclusive area for the super rich!

[bapyou]

Thank you for the information Dave. Yeah, I know what a squatter is. Same meaning in American English. Living in an unused property. Same.

[bapyou]

What is the "File"? Is it a British television program? (I'm a Yank.) and what is "Whinstanley"? Sorry. I don't understand. Can you tell a little more about the "squatters...in the 1970s"? Was that a movement of some sort?

[Joyshillaker]

There is a very interesting book about The Diggers and othe radical movements in 17th century. 'The World Turned Upside Down'.By the late great Christopher Hill.

[bapyou]

Hey, thank you for the book title. I ordered a copy of Hill's book from an online bookseller.

[Joyshillaker]

How did you get on with the book?

[bapyou]

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to reading the book yet. Haven't forgotten about it.

[KrilaSounds]

This is a hugely significant period from English (and American) history from and after the English Civil War. Gerrard Winstanley was the leader of the "True Levellers", also called "The Diggers". They were a commune formed from the dispossessed after the English Civil War, men who had fought on Oliver Cromwell's side and ended up losing everything.

[bapyou]

Who made this film? When was it made?

[dutchbonnet]

This is from the film "Winstanley" which was made by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo in 1975. Copies are available (VHS cassette only I think)from the British Film Institute. The same two made "It Happened Here", an equally intelligent and thought-provoking film, back in the 1960s.