In 1401, the Lollards, followers of John Wycliffe, faced severe persecution in England for advocating the translation of the Bible into the vernacular and calling for church reform. Many were executed by burning, reflecting the tensions between emerging reformist ideas and established church authority. This persecution highlighted the early struggles for religious reform and the quest for accessibility to sacred texts.

The Lollard persecutions in England during 1401 contributed to the emergence of English vernacular religious poetry. Poets began to express proto-Protestant sentiments, reflecting on faith, dissent, and the quest for spiritual truth in a changing religious landscape.