The Great German Peasant War or Revolt (1524-1527) was one of the most widespread popular uprisings in the early modern period. It has often been seen as a precursor of communism and socialism. The uprising engulfed most of the German-speaking lands and created a crisis for Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Full Answer
Why did the German Peasants'War fail?
German Peasants' War. The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt ( German: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of the intense opposition by the aristocracy, who slaughtered up to 100,000...
What did Günter Franz think about the Peasants'War?
After the 1930s, Günter Franz's work on the peasant war dominated interpretations of the uprising. Franz understood the Peasants' War as a political struggle in which social and economic aspects played a minor role.
What was the significance of the Peasants'Revolt in Germany?
For Franz, the defeat thrust the peasants from view for centuries. The national aspect of the Peasants' Revolt was also utilised by the Nazis. For example, an SS cavalry division (the 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer) was named after Florian Geyer, a knight who led a peasant unit known as the Black Company .
What were the effects of the Peasants' Revolt?
Many of the fighters had no experience in military or war tactics. The lack of discipline and organization led to the loss of many peasant lives. During the wars, monasteries were burned down and their possessions stolen or destroyed. Peasants also attacked the nobles, destroying much of their land and homes.
What was the outcome of the German peasants war?
German Peasants' WarDate1524–1525LocationParts of German-speaking Central Europe, especially what is now Germany, Alsace, Switzerland, and AustriaResultSuppression of revolt and execution of its participants, as well as major implications for the Anabaptist movement
What was one significant outcome of the German peasant revolt?
By late April and early May three well-led peasant armies dominated Franconia and won the most significant victories of the rebellion, including seizing the imperial city of Heilbronn, calling a Peasant Parliament, forcing the capitulation of the archbishopric of Mainz (the seat of the chancellor of the Holy Roman ...
What was the impact of the peasant revolt?
The consequences of the revolt were, therefore, limited, but the poll tax was abandoned, restrictions on labour wages were not strictly enforced, and peasants continued the trend of buying their freedom from serfdom and becoming independent farmers.
What ended the German peasants War?
1524 – 1525German Peasants' War / Period
Did the peasant revolt succeed?
It was finally ended when the rebels in East Anglia under John Litster were crushed by the militant bishop of Norwich, Henry le Despenser, on about June 25. The rebellion lasted less than a month and failed completely as a social revolution.
Why did the German peasants war start?
A rebellion that lasted from 1524 to 1525 in German-speaking domains of the Holy Roman Empire. The revolt originated in opposition to the heavy burdens of taxes and duties on the German serfs, who had no legal rights and no opportunity to improve their lot.
What were the three main causes of the Peasants Revolt?
Summary: Causes of the Peasants Revolt The Causes of the Peasants Revolt were a combination of things that culminated in the rebellion. These were: Long term impact of the Black Death; the impact of the Statute of Labourers; the land ties that remained in place to feudal lords and to the church.
How did the Peasants Revolt end feudalism?
The Black Death left in its wake a period of defiance and turmoil between the upper classes and the peasantry. The dispute regarding wages led to the peasants' triumph over the manorial economic system and ultimately ended in the breakdown of feudalism in England.
What did the peasants want?
What were the causes of the Peasants' Revolt? The want to be free of the burden of having to work on church land instead of their own land to feed their families. They were unhappy to make the church rich but their families poor. This policy was supported by the priest John Ball from Kent.
What caused the peasant war quizlet?
What were some other factors that caused the war? It was a product of the feudal reaction, and many were living in border territories, where armies were constantly sweeping over, and causing famine and other issues.
What happened when peasants revolted in the 1520?
What happened when peasants revolted in the 1520's? When the peasants revolted in the 1520's, noble landowners increased taxes that they had to pay, and the crops had been poor for several years.
Why did the German peasants Revolt in 1525 quizlet?
peasants revolted due to martin luther's book On Christian Liberty because they wanted to be free like he described.
How did peasant revolts typically end?
Peasant revolts typically ended with them losing to the King/government. The revolts weren't very effective for long term change.
What caused the peasant war quizlet?
What were some other factors that caused the war? It was a product of the feudal reaction, and many were living in border territories, where armies were constantly sweeping over, and causing famine and other issues.
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Definition
The German Peasants' War (1524-1525) was a conflict between the lower class of the Germanic region of the Holy Roman Empire and the nobility over the feudal system of serfdom, religious freedom, and economic disparity.
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About the Author
A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level.
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Recommended Books
The German Reformation and the Peasants' War: A Brief History with Documents...
Cite This Work
Mark, J. J. (2022, February 07). German Peasants' War . World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/German_Peasants'_War/
Why did the German peasants fight?
Consequently, some peasants, particularly those who had limited allodial requirements, were able to accrue significant economic, social, and legal advantages. Peasants were more concerned to protect the social, economic and legal gains they had made than about seeking further gains.
Why did the German peasants revolt fail?
It failed because of intense opposition from the aristocracy, who slaughtered up to 100,000 of the 300,000 poorly armed peasants and farmers.
What were the bands of the German peasants?
Wandering bands of insurgents during the German Peasants' War. The peasant armies were organized in bands ( haufen ), similar to the landsknecht. Each haufen was organized into unterhaufen, or fähnlein and rotten. The bands varied in size, depending on the number of insurgents available in the locality.
What did Martin Luther do in the Peasant War?
Martin Luther, the dominant leader of the Reformation in Germany, initially took a middle course in the Peasants' War, by criticizing both the injustices imposed on the peasants, and the rashness of the peasants in fighting back. He also tended to support the centralization and urbanization of the economy. This position alienated the lesser nobles, but shored up his position with the burghers. Luther argued that work was the chief duty on earth; the duty of the peasants was farm labor and the duty of the ruling classes was upholding the peace. He could not support the Peasant War because it broke the peace, an evil he thought greater than the evils the peasants were rebelling against. At the peak of the insurrection in 1525, his position shifted completely to support of the rulers of the secular principalities and their Roman Catholic allies. In Against the Robbing Murderous Hordes of Peasants he encouraged the nobility to swiftly and violently eliminate the rebelling peasants, stating," [the peasants] must be sliced, choked, stabbed, secretly and publicly, by those who can, like one must kill a rabid dog." After the conclusion of the Peasants War, he was criticized for his writings in support of the violent actions taken by the ruling class. He responded by writing an open letter to Caspar Muller, defending his position. However, he also stated that the nobles were too severe in suppression of the insurrection, despite having called for severe violence in his previous work. Luther has often been sharply criticized for his position.
What were the demands of the Burghers?
They demanded town assemblies made up of both patricians and burghers, or at least a restriction on simony and the allocation of council seats to burghers. The burghers also opposed the clergy, whom they felt had overstepped and failed to uphold their principles. They demanded an end to the clergy's special privileges such as their exemption from taxation, as well as a reduction in their numbers. The burgher-master (guild master, or artisan) now owned both his workshop and its tools, which he allowed his apprentices to use, and provided the materials that his workers needed. F. Engels cites: "To the call of Luther of rebellion against the Church, two political uprisings responded, first, the one of lower nobility, headed by Franz von Sickingen in 1523, and then, the great peasant's war, in 1525; both were crushed, because, mainly, of the indecisiveness of the party having most interest in the fight, the urban bourgeoisie". (Foreword to the English edition of: 'From Utopy Socialism to Scientific Socialism', 1892)
Why did the Peasant Movement fail?
The main causes of the failure of the rebellion was the lack of communication between the peasant bands because of territorial divisions, and because of their military inferiority. While Landsknechts, professional soldiers and knights joined the peasants in their efforts (albeit in fewer numbers), the Swabian League had a better grasp of military technology, strategy and experience.
Where did the German revolt take place?
Within a few weeks most of southwestern Germany was in open revolt. The uprising stretched from the Black Forest, along the Rhine river, to Lake Constance, into the Swabian highlands, along the upper Danube river, and into Bavaria and the Tyrol.
What were the demands of the peasants?
Other demands were secular: stopping land enclosure which cut off access to fish and game and other products of the woods and rivers, ending serfdom, reform in the justice system.
How many peasants were killed in the Battle of Frankenhausen?
The peasants were crushed in a battle at Frankenhausen, fought May 15, 1525. More than 5,000 peasants were killed, and the leaders captured and executed.
Why did the feudal system end?
The feudal system was ending, where there was an assumed mutual trust and mirrored obligations and responsibilities between peasants and the princes, as princes sought to increase their power over the peasants and to consolidate ownership of land.
What did Luther teach about the peasants?
He taught that peasants had a responsibility to farm the land and rulers had the responsibility to keep the peace. Just at the end as the peasants were losing, Luther published his Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants. In this, he encouraged a violent and quick reaction on the part of the ruling classes.
How many people were killed in the Protestant Reformation?
As many as 300,000 people took part in the rebellion, and some 100,000 were killed. The peasants won almost none of their demands. The rulers, interpreting the war as a reason for repression, instituted laws that were more repressive than before, and often decided to repress more unconventional forms of religious change, too, thus slowing the progress of the Protestant Reformation.
What was the German-speaking part of Europe in the mid-16th century?
In Europe in the mid-16 th century, German-speaking parts of central Europe were loosely organized under the Holy Roman Empire (which, as has often been said, was not holy, Roman, nor really an empire).
Who was the Reformation minister who supported the peasants?
Thomas Müntzer or Münzer, another Reformation minister in Germany, supported the peasants, by the early part of 1525 had definitely joined the rebels, and may have consulted with some of their leaders to shape their demands. His vision of a church and the world used images of a small “elect” battling a greater evil to bring good into the world. After the end of the revolt, Luther and other Reformers held up Müntzer as an example of taking the Reformation too far.
What were the causes of the revolts in the Middle Ages?
Social and economic reasons alone fail to explain the rebellions. The roots were political, legal, and even religious in nature. Among the socioeconomic grievances, complaints against the burdens of lordship played a prominent part. Villagers complained of high rents, dues, labor services, tithes, fees, access to common resources, and serfdom. Some scholars characterize these grievances as a response to an "agrarian crisis" of the late Middle Ages. In Upper Swabia, for example, peasants resisted the lords' uses of serfdom to reduce mobility and control peasant marriages and labor. Population growth may also have exacerbated the competition for land and other resources in some regions. These conditions made small-scale revolts common before 1520. When local harvests failed in the early 1520s and lords dealt ineptly with peasants, the possibility of wider protests grew.
What were the causes of the rebellion in 1524?
Long-simmering conflicts involving small towns added to the potential for rebellion. Tensions between townsfolk and local government oligarchs formed one source of tension. Towns were also frequently at odds with overlords, local bishops, and the clergy over religious issues, legal privileges, and taxes. When the uprising spread in 1524 and 1525, these local conflicts easily spilled over into rebellion.
Why did the local revolts of 1524 occur?
The small revolts of the fifteenth century had broken out over the exercise of three different types of political powers. Clashes over lordship itself represented the most serious source of conflict. Lords viewed their rights and privileges as legitimate and just and expected loyal subordination from their subjects. Villagers, on the other hand, tended to view lordship as a reciprocal relationship in which loyalty was offered in exchange for protection and justice. Tensions also ran high over taxes and other burdens as states began to develop. When powerful lords, princes, and prince-abbots consolidated their lands and jurisdictions into more compact territories in southwest Germany, a region of notoriously fragmented lands, the foundations of early modern states — and resistance to them — were laid. The development of courts and the imposition of Roman law also sparked conflicts.
How did anticlericalism fuel the Reformation?
Anticlericalism also fueled the rebellion, especially when it mixed with the evangelical programs of the early Reformation. Many bishops, abbots, and abbesses combined formal political powers and lordship over the land in the core areas of the rebellion and provoked protests against ecclesiastical taxes before 1525. When these protests were added to demands to reform the clergy and the evangelical zeal for the Gospel after 1520, anticlericalism gained momentum.
How did the rebels organize their own political organization?
In response to these challenges from feudal lords, rebel bands developed their own political organization, notably through communal assemblies. Village communes had long organized many vital local affairs: crop rotation, the division of labor, and access to common fields. While communes tended to treat their members as equals, creating powerful bonds of solidarity, these institutions were not democratic institutions. Women and those who did not hold property were excluded. Communal assemblies and village notables had experience imposing discipline on their neighbors, however, through customary law, courts of discipline, the parish church, and the local militia. In the century before the rebellion, communal institutions had become even stronger in the heartlands of the Peasants' War. Through them villages developed seasoned leaders, skill and experience in negotiations, and the means to organize marches and protests against lords. As the scale of rebellion grew, the commune provided the basis for larger political organizations: rallies, bands, and even federations. When seasoned by veteran soldiers from the militias or mercenary armies, these peasant organizations could be formidable indeed.
What were the peasants' revolts?
Peasants began to revolt against their oppressors, claiming the same divine right that gave Luther the right to rebel. Some peasants even built armies to support them. These uprisings are known as the Peasant Wars. Although many peasants participated in these uprisings, they didn't have firm leadership.
Why did Charles V encourage the German princes to defeat the peasants?
He became so disgusted with the violence of the uprising he encouraged German princes to defeat the peasants to protect their authority. The peasants felt betrayed by Luther, and many abandoned the efforts of the Reformation altogether and returned to Catholicism. Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg treaty in 1555.
Why did Luther condemn the peasants?
The peasant uprisings were condemned by Luther, however, who was against the violent acts of the peasants. Peasants claimed they had biblical authority to demand economic reform, but Luther also disagreed with this claim. He became so disgusted with the violence of the uprising he encouraged German princes to defeat the peasants to protect their authority. The peasants felt betrayed by Luther, and many abandoned the efforts of the Reformation altogether and returned to Catholicism.
Why was the Reformation a turning point in the way people thought?
The movement exploded in Germany and spread throughout Europe. The idea of freedom from authority spread to the peasants who revolted against the nobility and royal oppressors. Because the peasants were unpracticed in military technique and lacked adequate resources and weapons, they were unsuccessful in many of the uprisings.
Why were peasants slaves?
The Peasant Wars. The life of a peasant at this time was not easy. Because of high taxes and the ownership of all land belonging to royalty, peasants were basically slaves who worked the land without receiving any benefit from it. Peasants faced the heaviest taxes. The clergy and the nobles were exempt from taxes.
What did Luther believe about the Pope?
He believed the Bible should hold authority and that each person had as much authority over their own religion as the church officials. Luther nailed 95 theses against indulgences (pardoning of a sin) to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg to display his distaste with the Church. He also said nuns and monks shouldn't be held to their vows as he felt this gave the church more authority.
What was the Reformation responsible for?
Instead, each person was responsible for reading the Bible for guidance. Catholics recognize the sacraments of baptism and communion. The Reformation occurred in the 16th century and was one of the most important events in history. Many say this event was responsible for leading history into the modern age.
What Was The Peasant War?
- The revolt covered large areas of Europe, and it began in Alsace-Lorraine (now in France) and spread as far west as Austria. It was often led by members of the minor nobility and leading peasants in their communities. The revolts usually began with a symbolic act of defiances, such …
What Role Did Martin Luther Play in The Peasants War?
- Luther was deeply influenced by the teachings of St Augustine and believed that all legitimate authority should be obeyed, and it was a Christian’s duty to do so.After the Peasants War, Luther became even more conservative. He even argued that every Christian should obey the temporal ruler without question and, if requested, should serve as an executioner for a tyrant. Luther, esp…
The Reformation of The Lutheran Churches
- The Reformation had always been dependent on the support of the elite. They had helped Luther to defy the Pope. Many had seen in Luther’s teachings an opportunity to enrich themselves and gain control over their own local churches.As the secularisation of monasteries and nunneries progressed, the nobles and the urban elite had benefitted enormously. This trend continued duri…
Luther's Magisterial Reformation
- After the Peasant War, Martin Luther was seen as leading a religious movement that was more concerned with the elite than the ordinary people. Historians have come to see Luther after 1525 as promoting ‘a Magisterial Reformation.’ one directed and controlled by the traditional rulers. Many pastors and ordinary people, who had been inspired by Luther, now turned against him, a…
Social & Religious Background
Insurrection & The Twelve Articles
- Müntzer's vision appealed to a broad segment of the peasant population, tired of heavy taxation and almost no rights of property and zero autonomy. Peasants were prohibited from fishing and hunting on lands they occupied because those lands technically belonged to their lords, and these lords were free to ride through their crops on hunts whenever they pleased. When a peasant he…
Luther & Müntzer
- Luther owed his life to the nobility, specifically to the Elector Frederick III (the Wise, l. 1463-1525) who had taken him into protective custody after he had been condemned as a heretic and outlaw following his appearance at the Diet of Worms. Luther's speech at the Diet of Wormshad broken his ties with the Church and established his Reformed vision, increasing his popularity among th…
The German Peasants' War
- The insurrections of 1524 grew more widespread until, by early 1525, the peasants were in complete revolt and had formed into armies, supported and encouraged by Anabaptist clergy who, though pacifists, saw the peasants' cause as just. There were a number of small conflicts between January and April of 1525 in which the peasants used tactics learne...
Conclusion
- Luther issued his famous condemnation of the peasant uprising, Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasantsin May 1525, encouraging the nobility to crush the uprising and anyone who favored peace and stability to help in that cause: Interestingly, this is the same stand the Church took against Luther himself, who had been condemned by the Edict of Worms as an …
Overview
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (German: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense opposition from the aristocracy, who slaughtered up to 100,000 of the 300,000 poorly armed peasants and farmers. The survivors were fined and ac…
Ultimate failure of the rebellion
The peasant movement ultimately failed, with cities and nobles making a separate peace with the princely armies that restored the old order in a frequently harsher form, under the nominal control of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, represented in German affairs by his younger brother Ferdinand. The main causes of the failure of the rebellion was the lack of communication between the peasant bands because of territorial divisions, and because of their military inferiority. While …
Background
In the sixteenth century, many parts of Europe had common political links within the Holy Roman Empire, a decentralized entity in which the Holy Roman Emperor himself had little authority outside of his own dynastic lands, which covered only a small fraction of the whole. At the time of the Peasants' War, Charles V, King of Spain, held the position of Holy Roman Emperor (elected i…
Causes
Historians disagree on the nature of the revolt and its causes, whether it grew out of the emerging religious controversy centered on Luther; whether a wealthy tier of peasants saw their own wealth and rights slipping away, and sought to weave them into the legal, social and religious fabric of society; or whether peasants objected to the emergence of a modernizing, centralizing nation state.
Outbreak in the southwest
During the 1524 harvest, in Stühlingen, south of the Black Forest, the Countess of Lupfen ordered serfs to collect snail shells for use as thread spools after a series of difficult harvests. Within days, 1,200 peasants had gathered, created a list of grievances, elected officers, and raised a banner. Within a few weeks most of southwestern Germany was in open revolt. The uprising stretched fro…
Course of the war
Kempten im Allgäu was an important city in the Allgäu, a region in what became Bavaria, near the borders with Württemberg and Austria. In the early eighth century, Celtic monks established a monastery there, Kempten Abbey. In 1213, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declared the abbots members of the Reichsstand, or imperial estate, and granted the abbot the title of duke. In 128…
Historiography
Friedrich Engels wrote The Peasant War in Germany (1850), which opened up the issue of the early stages of German capitalism on later bourgeois "civil society" at the level of peasant economies. Engels' analysis was picked up in the middle 20th century by the French Annales School, and Marxist historians in East Germany and Britain. Using Karl Marx's concept of historical materialism, …
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
• Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen, a World War I-era song about the German Peasants' War.
Context
The Revolt
- The first revolt as at Stühlingen, and then it spread. As the rebellion began and spread, the rebels rarely attacked violently except to capture supplies and cannons. Large scale battles began after April, 1525. The princes had hired mercenaries and built up their armies, and then turned to crush the peasants, who were untrained and poorly armed in comparison.
Twelve Articles of Memmingen
- A list of demands of the peasants was in circulation by 1525. Some related to the church: more power of congregation members to select their own pastors, changes in tithing. Other demands were secular: stopping land enclosure which cut off access to fish and game and other products of the woods and rivers, ending serfdom, reform in the justice system.
Frankenhausen
- The peasants were crushed in a battle at Frankenhausen, fought May 15, 1525. More than 5,000 peasants were killed, and the leaders captured and executed.
Key Figures
- Martin Luther, whose ideas inspired some of the princes in German-speaking Europe to break with the Roman Catholic Church, opposed the peasant rebellion. He preached peaceful action by the peasants in his An Exhortation of Peace in Response to the Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants. He taught that peasants had a responsibility to farm the land and rulers had the respo…
Resolution
- As many as 300,000 people took part in the rebellion, and some 100,000 were killed. The peasants won almost none of their demands. The rulers, interpreting the war as a reason for repression, instituted laws that were more repressive than before, and often decided to repress more unconventional forms of religious change, too, thus slowing the progr...