The German Reformation and the Peasants' War
A Brief History with DocumentsFirst Edition ©2012
The Protestant Reformation, begun with Martin Luther’s posting of The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, rapidly escalated into an evangelical reform movement that transformed European Christianity. Less than a decade later, a massive rebellion of German commoners challenged the social and political...
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The Protestant Reformation, begun with Martin Luther’s posting of The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, rapidly escalated into an evangelical reform movement that transformed European Christianity. Less than a decade later, a massive rebellion of German commoners challenged the social and political order in what would prove to be the greatest popular rebellion in European history until the French Revolution. In this volume, Michael Baylor explores the relationship between these two momentous upheavals — one enduring, the other fleeting — and the centuries-long debate over whether and how they might be connected. A collection of period documents — including letters, sermons, pamphlets and illustrations — offer firsthand accounts from the reformers, rebels, and the institutions they sought to topple. Document headnotes, maps, a chronology of events, questions to consider, a selected bibliography, and an index are provided to enrich student understanding.
“A superior work that provides an instantiation of the controversies of the 1520s and a clear and convenient entry to the events and the debates.”
—Ellis L. Knox, Boise State University“This volume fills an important gap in resources available to teach the history of the Reformation and of early modern Germany. Baylor’s introduction provides students with a clear overview of the Peasants’ War and highlights well the major questions involved in interpreting this event and its relationship to the religious changes associated with the Reformation.”
—Geoffrey Dipple, Augustana College (Sioux Falls)“A useful collection of documents addressing the Reformation, principally its political dimensions, and the peasants’ revolt that followed.”
—Benjamin Ehlers, University of Georgia
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
List of Maps and Illustrations
PART ONE. INTRODUCTION: GERMANY’S DUAL REBELLIONS
Popular Discontent and the Need for Reform
The Reformation Break
The Gospel and Social Unrest
The Reformation in City and Countryside
The Onset and Spread of the Peasants War, 1524-1526
The Aims of the Insurrection
The Peasants’ Military and Political Organization
Luther, the Peasants Defeat, and the Aftermath of the Rebellion
Preface
List of Maps and Illustrations
PART ONE. INTRODUCTION: GERMANY’S DUAL REBELLIONS
Popular Discontent and the Need for Reform
The Reformation Break
The Gospel and Social Unrest
The Reformation in City and Countryside
The Onset and Spread of the Peasants War, 1524-1526
The Aims of the Insurrection
The Peasants’ Military and Political Organization
Luther, the Peasants Defeat, and the Aftermath of the Rebellion
PART TWO. THE DOCUMENTS
1. Unrest Before the Reformation
1. The Articles of the Bundschuh in the Bishopric of Speyer, 1502
2. Title Page of Pamphilius Gegenbach’s The Bundschuh, 1514
3. The “Poor Conrad” movement in Württemberg, 1514
2. The Reformation: Freedom, Authority, and Resistance
4. Martin Luther, Ninety-five Theses, October31, 1517
5. Pope Leo X, Arise, Oh Lord (Exsurge domini), June, 1520
6. Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, 1520
7. Greasing the Bundschuh, 1522
8. Martin Luther, A Sincere Admonition to Guard against Rebellion, 1523
9. Peasants Torturing an Indulgence Preacher, 1525
10. Huldrych Zwingli, The Sixty-Seven Articles, 1523
11. Martin Luther, The Rights of a Christian Congregation, 1523
12. Thomas Müntzer, Sermon to the Princes, 1524
3. Religion and Politics in the Peasants’ War
13. Articles of the Peasants of Stühlingen, early April 1525
14. Sebastian Lotzer and Christoph Schappeler, The Twelve Articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants, March 1525
15. Thomas Müntzer [?] and Balthasar Hubmaier, The Constitutional Draft, 1525
16. Title Page of The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7,1525
17. The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7,1525
18. The Document of Articles, May 8, 1525
19. The Field Ordinances of the Franconian Peasantry, April 24-27, 1525
20. Thomas Müntzer, Letter to the League at Allstedt, April 26 or 27, 1525
21. Michael Gaismair, Territorial Constitution for the Tirol, February or March 1526
4. The Debate on the Reformation and the Peasants’ War
22. Martin Luther, Admonition to Peace. A Reply to the Twelve Articles, April 1525
23. Title Page of To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525
24. Christoph Schappeler[?], To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525
25. Title Page of Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of the Peasants, May 1525
26. Martin Luther, Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of the Peasants, May 1525
27. Hermann Mühlpfort, Mayor of Zwickau, Letter to Stephan Roth at Wittenberg, June 4, 1525
28. Martin Luther, An Open Letter on the Harsh Book Against the Peasants, June or July 1525
29. Albrecht Dürer, Design for a Monument to the Victory over the Peasants
1. Unrest Before the Reformation
1. The Articles of the Bundschuh in the Bishopric of Speyer, 1502
2. Title Page of Pamphilius Gegenbach’s The Bundschuh, 1514
3. The “Poor Conrad” movement in Württemberg, 1514
2. The Reformation: Freedom, Authority, and Resistance
4. Martin Luther, Ninety-five Theses, October31, 1517
5. Pope Leo X, Arise, Oh Lord (Exsurge domini), June, 1520
6. Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, 1520
7. Greasing the Bundschuh, 1522
8. Martin Luther, A Sincere Admonition to Guard against Rebellion, 1523
9. Peasants Torturing an Indulgence Preacher, 1525
10. Huldrych Zwingli, The Sixty-Seven Articles, 1523
11. Martin Luther, The Rights of a Christian Congregation, 1523
12. Thomas Müntzer, Sermon to the Princes, 1524
3. Religion and Politics in the Peasants’ War
13. Articles of the Peasants of Stühlingen, early April 1525
14. Sebastian Lotzer and Christoph Schappeler, The Twelve Articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants, March 1525
15. Thomas Müntzer [?] and Balthasar Hubmaier, The Constitutional Draft, 1525
16. Title Page of The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7,1525
17. The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7,1525
18. The Document of Articles, May 8, 1525
19. The Field Ordinances of the Franconian Peasantry, April 24-27, 1525
20. Thomas Müntzer, Letter to the League at Allstedt, April 26 or 27, 1525
21. Michael Gaismair, Territorial Constitution for the Tirol, February or March 1526
4. The Debate on the Reformation and the Peasants’ War
22. Martin Luther, Admonition to Peace. A Reply to the Twelve Articles, April 1525
23. Title Page of To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525
24. Christoph Schappeler[?], To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525
25. Title Page of Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of the Peasants, May 1525
26. Martin Luther, Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of the Peasants, May 1525
27. Hermann Mühlpfort, Mayor of Zwickau, Letter to Stephan Roth at Wittenberg, June 4, 1525
28. Martin Luther, An Open Letter on the Harsh Book Against the Peasants, June or July 1525
29. Albrecht Dürer, Design for a Monument to the Victory over the Peasants
Appendixes
A Chronology of the Early Reformation and the Peasants’ War (1502-1526)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
Authors
Michael G. Baylor
Michael G. Baylor (Ph.D. Stanford University) is professor of history at Lehigh University, where he specializes in the history of early modern Europe and the social and cultural history of Germany at the time of the Reformation. His works include Revelations and Revolution: Basic Writings of Thomas Müntzer, The Radical Reformation, and Action and Person: Conscience in Late Scholasticism and the Young Luther, as well as a chapter on political thought during the Reformation for the Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy and numerous articles on the Reformation in Germany.
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