German Peasants' War
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| At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict, which occurred mostly in the southern, western and central areas of what is now modern [[Germany]] plus areas in neighboring [[Alsace]] and modern [[Switzerland]] and [[Austria]], involved an estimated 300,000 peasant rebels: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising prior to the [[French Revolution]] of 1789. | At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict, which occurred mostly in the southern, western and central areas of what is now modern [[Germany]] plus areas in neighboring [[Alsace]] and modern [[Switzerland]] and [[Austria]], involved an estimated 300,000 peasant rebels: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising prior to the [[French Revolution]] of 1789. | ||
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| - | ==Anabaptists== | ||
| - | On [[December 27]], [[1521]], three [[Zwickau prophets]], both influenced by and influencing [[Thomas Müntzer]], appeared in [[Wittenberg]] from [[Zwickau]]: Thomas Dreschel, Nicolas Storch and Mark Thomas Stübner. [[Martin Luther|Luther's]] reform was not radical enough for them. Like the [[Roman Catholic Church]], Luther practiced [[pedobaptism|infant baptism]], which the [[Anabaptist]]s considered to be "neither scriptural nor primitive, nor fulfilling the chief conditions of admission into a visible brotherhood of saints, to wit, repentance, faith, spiritual illumination and free surrender of self to [[Christ]]." | ||
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| - | The reformist theologian and associate of Luther, [[Philipp Melanchthon]], who was powerless against the enthusiasts with whom his co-reformer [[Andreas Karlstadt]] sympathized, appealed to Luther, who was still hiding in the [[Wartburg]]. Luther was cautious in not condemning the new doctrine out of hand, but advised Melanchthon to treat its supporters gently and to test their spirits, in case they should be of [[God]]. There was confusion in Wittenberg, whose schools and university had sided with the "prophets" and were closed. From this arises the allegation that the Anabaptists were enemies of learning, which is contradicted by the fact that two of them, [[Ludwig Haetzer|Haetzer]] and [[Hans Denck|Denck]], produced and printed the first German translation of the [[Hebrews|Hebrew]] prophets in 1527. The first leaders of the movement in [[Zürich]]—[[Conrad Grebel]], [[Felix Manz]], [[George Blaurock]], [[Balthasar Hubmaier]]—were learned in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. | ||
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| - | On [[March 6]], [[1522]]), Luther returned to Wittenberg, where he interviewed the prophets, scorned their "spirits", banished them from the city, and had their adherents ejected from Zwickau and Erfurt. Denied access to the churches, the latter preached and celebrated the sacrament in private houses. Having been driven from the cities, they swarmed across the countryside. Compelled to leave Zwickau, Müntzer visited [[Bohemia]], lived for two years at Alltstedt in Thuringia, and in 1524 spent some time in Switzerland. During this period he proclaimed his revolutionary religious and political doctrines with increasing vehemence, and, so far as the lower orders were concerned, with growing success. | ||
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| - | The Peasants' War began chiefly as a revolt against feudal oppression, but under the leadership of Müntzer it became a war against all constituted authorities in a forcible attempt to establish Müntzer's ideal of a Christian commonwealth based on absolute equality and the community of goods. The total defeat of the rebels at [[Battle of Frankenhausen|Frankenhausen]] ([[May 15]], [[1525]]), followed by the execution of Müntzer and several other leaders, proved to be a merely temporary check on the Anabaptist movement. Scattered throughout Germany, [[Switzerland]] and the [[Netherlands]] were zealous propagandists whose teachings many were prepared to follow as soon as another leader emerged. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| *[[List of peasant revolts]] | *[[List of peasant revolts]] | ||
| - | *[[Florian Geyer]] | ||
| - | *[[Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt]] | ||
| - | *[[German Peasants' War]] | ||
| *[[Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe]] | *[[Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe]] | ||
| + | *[[Melchior Rink]], who was accused by [[Lutherans]] of being an instigator of the war | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 21:28, 26 July 2017
Illustration: The image breakers, c.1566 –1568 by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder
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The Peasants' War (Deutscher Bauernkrieg in German, literally the German Peasants' War) was a popular revolt that took place in Europe during 1524–1525. It consisted, like the preceding Bundschuh movement and the Hussite Wars, of a series of both economic and religious revolts in which peasants, townsfolk and nobles all participated.
At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict, which occurred mostly in the southern, western and central areas of what is now modern Germany plus areas in neighboring Alsace and modern Switzerland and Austria, involved an estimated 300,000 peasant rebels: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising prior to the French Revolution of 1789.
See also
- List of peasant revolts
- Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe
- Melchior Rink, who was accused by Lutherans of being an instigator of the war
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