Despite extensive research on the Ciompi Revolt, historians have agreed upon little with regard to the causes, course, and after-effects of the revolt. For all intents and purposes, it was the result of class conflicts and other tensions that were ready to rupture and implode after decades of build-up. The seven major guilds controlled seventy-five percent of all government positions within Florence, the fourteen minor guilds only twenty-five percent. Meanwhile, the Ciompi (wool workers) and the other popolo minuto (“little people”) powered the Florentine economy, yet as a group nevertheless remained the grossly underpaid subjects of the guilds. Thus they suffered with the vicissitudes of the Florentine economy and, at the same time, were also denied political representation. Uniting in cause and belief, they allied themselves in the summer of 1378 with the members of the fourteen minor guilds. Both groups hoped to gain representation within the government and to bring about changes that would benefit their general well-being, which they felt the citizens of the major guilds had long-since denied to them. As tensions between the two groups increased, chaos reigned as the Ciompi and the minor-guildsmen wreaked havoc on the city, burning and looting the houses of several patrician families. The violence did not stop there, however, for the Ciompi soon took control of the government by force. They replaced the government and proclaimed one of their own, Michele di Lando, as the Standard-Bearer of Justice. The new government then created three new minor guilds, two representing dyers and doublet makers, and a twenty-fourth guild having a much broader base. Increasingly, however, the Ciompi came to believe that Michele di Lando had become ensnared in his own power and was no longer holding true to his promises. Chaos reigned once again as a bloody battle was fought between the Ciompi and di Lando’s forces, which now consisted of both the major and minor guilds, and, in one of the bloodiest days in Florentine history, the Ciompi were slaughtered. Afterward the twenty-fourth guild was abolished and, with the exception of di Lando, the Ciompi were once again barred from participation in the government. Nonetheless, the impact of the Ciompi did not end after their fall. Through the lenses of several known and anonymous chroniclers, this thesis pieces together the events that took place during these few months, examining the tensions within the city and looking for the long-term impact of this revolt. As such, this study not only contributes to the understanding of the class conflicts of the time, but also to an understanding of why this event is still so important today.