Peasant's revolt

Question 1

The peasants revolt

Answer 1

• From June 1524- May 1525 much of Germany was plunged into chaos by one of the largest mass revolts ever known

Question 2

Why did the peasants revolt begin?

Answer 2

• Largely a rural revolt: In 1524, numerous local uprisings started in the south-west, allegedly beginning on the estate of the count von Lupfen
• Within months, the uprisings had spread to Austria and into central North Germany

Question 3

Who revolted in the peasants revolt?

Answer 3

• Armies of peasants up to 15,000 roamed the country, not connected with no central leadership or common agenda
• The only thing that connected the, was the Bundschun Symbol (or peasants shoe)

Question 4

What did the rebels in revolt do?

Answer 4

• Sacked castles and monastaries and plundered towns. Mob rule and terror replaced local authorities

Question 5

What caused the peasants to revolt?

Answer 5

• In many respects, reflected the mounting hardships:
• for past decades, increasing financial demands made by landlords had been compounded by legal changes which undermined the traditional way that the peasants had made ends meet.

Question 6

Aim of many peasants in the revolt

Answer 6

• Recovering the lost liberties

Question 7

Why was this revolt so different from previous ones?

Answer 7

• The grievances now coincided with the spread of new religious ideas
• The fact that many praisers joined the rebells (some being Lutherans) gave the impression that this was a religious rebellion

Question 8

How was luther a cause of the peasants revolt: inadvertently and idrectly

Answer 8

• Ambiguity in some of his theology, self- promotion as a holy man and aggressive language can be blamed
• Since the bible made no mention of tithes, and Luther preached Sola Scripture, they thought he would support them in denouncing Tithes
• Luther also stressed ‘Preisthood of all believers’ which they took to mean the social equality of all men, rather than religious
• They also took the emphasis on christian liberty to be a licence to act as they pleased

Question 9

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt? : self- promotion as a holy man

Answer 9

• From 1519, woodcuts had been in circulation which showed Luther with a halo and dove over his head, representing the Holy Spirit, as if he were a prophet from God
• Luther did not reject this (one even appeared on the cover of one of his 1520 pamhplets) and he used the prophecy of a holy man as a means to gain support
• The peasants took him literally and assumed he would help them

Question 10

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt? : aggressive language

Answer 10

• Luther was very agressive against opponents. Insulting princes and papists
• Peasants may have argued they were carrying out his wishes through aggressive means

Question 11

Why can we withhold Luther from some of the blame of causing the revolt?

Answer 11

• Much of the anti-clericaosm was deep rooted and pre dated 1517

Question 12

Luther’s reaction to the peasants revolt

Answer 12

• Initially sympathetic. Pamphlet appealing for calm
• Then became horrified at the level of violence and way his ideas were being misinterpreted
• In April 1525 he toured the Mansfeld valley and Thuringia, where he preached to the peasantry trying to pacify the revolt with reason.
• This however made no impact, he was received with hostility, booed and spat at

Question 13

What did Luther decide after the tour in 1525 (peasants revolt)

Answer 13

• He made up his mind, the peasants were ‘robbers and murdered’ who used the Gospel to cover their wickedness, and compelling good people to join them

Question 14

Luthers pamphlet in response to the peasants revolt

Answer 14

• May 1525 he wrote famous pamphlet: ‘Against the robbing and murdering Hordes of peasants’
• This called on princes to ‘stab, smite, slay’ the peasants, saying they had gods approval
• Luther said the authorities could execute peasants without trial and that god was on their side

Question 15

How did the revolt eventually diffuse?

Answer 15

• After Luthers pamphlet, the princes eventually defeated the peasants with ease
• Through men such as Phillip of Hesse, using forces like the Swabian League
• Around 100,000 peasants were executed out of hand

Question 16

negative consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’

Answer 16

• luther was blamed for the violence and savagery of repression
• his tone shocked even close supporters, lost him mass support, certainly from peasants, saw him as a traitor

Question 17

positive consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’ - princes

Answer 17

• the pamphlet gained him princely support, at least from those already contemplating religious reform.
  > Confirmed he was respectable and conservative.
  > He supported rulers’ rights and property.
  > In the long term, it was much more valuable for Lutheranism to have the princes support rather than the peasants

Question 18

positive consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’ - secular authorities

Answer 18

• ensured that secular authorities fairly immediately started taking initiative in imposing religious reform
• e.g. in aug 1525, the Margrave Gerorge of Brandenburg- Ansbach issued an edit to remove all ‘unlearned and unsuitable preachers’ anyone who had preached rebellion was arrested. The remainder were given clear instructions on what to preach

Question 19

what happened post ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’

Answer 19

from then on there was a clear-cut distinction between a respectful magisterial reformation and the radical one (which both luther and princes agreed should be destroyed)

the following year at the Diet of Speyer, it was agreed that each prince should enforce the faith ‘as he would have to answer to God and to the emeror’