The German Reformation and the Peasants' War A Brief History with Documents

by Baylor, Michael G.

• ISBN13: 9780312437183
• ISBN10: 0312437188
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-13
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

The Protestant Reformation, begun with Martin Luther's posting of The Ninety-Five Thesesin 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.

Author Biography

Michael G. Baylor (Ph.D., Stanford University) is professor of history at Lehigh University, where he specializes in the history of early modem 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 Mntzer, 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.

Table of Contents

The Reformation: Freedom, Authority, and Resistance	p. 43
Martin Luther, Ninety-Five Theses. October 31, 1517	p. 43
Pope Leo X, Arise, O Lord (Exsurge domini), June 1520	p. 46
Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, 1520	p. 50
Greasing the Bundschuh, 1522	p. 55
Martin Luther, A Sincere Admonition to Guard against Rebellion, 1522	p. 57
Peasants Torturing an Indulgence Preacher, 1525	p. 59
Huldrych Zwingli, The Sixty-Seven Articles, 1523	p. 61
Martin Luther, The Rights of a Christian Congregation, 1523	p. 65
Thomas Müntzer. Sermon to the Princes, 1524	p. 68
Religion and Politics in the Peasants' War	p. 74
Articles of the Peasants of Stühlingen, Early 1525	p. 74
Sebastian Lotzer and Christoph Schappeler, The Twelve Articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants, March 1525	p. 76
Thomas Müntzer[?] and Balthasar Hubmaier, The Constitutional Draft, 1525	p. 83
Title Page of The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7, 1525	p. 85
The Memmingen Federal Ordinance, March 7, 1525	p. 87
The Document of Articles. May 8, 1525	p. 90
The Field Ordinances of the Franconian Peasantry, April 24-27, 1525	p. 93
Thomas Müntzer, Letter to the league at Allstedt, April 26 or 27,1525	p. 98
Michael Gaismair, Territorial Constitution for the Tirol, February or March 1526	p. 100
The Debate on the Reformation and the Peasants' War	p. 106
Martin Luther, Admonition to Peace: A Reply to the Twelve Articles. April 1525	p. 106
Title Page of To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525	p. 113
Christoph Schappeler[? , To the Assembly of the Common Peasantry, May 1525	p. 115
Title Page of Against the Murdering and Robbing Hordes of Peasants, May 1525	p. 128
Martin Luther, Against the Murdering and Robbing Hordes of Peasants. May 1525	p. 130
Hermann Mühlpfort, Mayor of Zwickau, Letter to Stephan Roth at Wittenberg. June 4, 1525	p. 135
Martin Luther, An Open Letter on the Harsh Book against the Peasants, June or July 1525	p. 137
Albrecht Dürer, Design for a Monument to the Victory over the Peasants, 1525	p. 140
Appendixes
A Chronology of the Early Reformation and the Peasants' War (1502-1526)	p. 143
Questions for Consideration	p. 146
Selected Bibliography	p. 148
Index	p. 153
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