During a short two year period of the 16th century, the peasant class formed groups to challenge the power and argue for freedom. Dialogue turned into violence and principles such as the Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants turned to pillage throughout the German States of the Holy Roman Empire (Doc.2).
The impact was felt everywhere but in the end the uprising led to over 100,000 deaths and not much change. The peasants began the fight by arguing against being treated unfairly through actions that were imposed on them by the nobility. The nobility reacted to the peasants’ claims out of fear over the potential loss of their “workforce” and their power.
The peasants were unhappy with the decisions made by the nobles. They were also mobilized by religious preaching. They argued that since Christ gave his blood for all people not just the rich (Doc. 3) they should be treated as brothers. They felt that they shouldn’t be forced to do more work without compensation (Doc. 2).
At first, people in positions of power saw reason in the ideas that the peasants advanced. As an example, Caspar Nützel, a town councilor with power, opposed the tactics of the peasants but stated that it is highly unchristian and unreasonable to take from them. He recognized the obligation of the nobles to “aid, defend and rule rather than fleece (Doc. 9).
However some peasants did act rather more violently than was necessary by plundering and attacking towns and villages. On rare occasions the peasants were actually helped by commoners who opened the gates to let them attack (Doc. 5).
The Essay on Russian Peasant Doc Peasants Conditions
DB- The Russian Peasantry Keith JacobsMr. Rodriguez From the day serfdom was abolished to the start of World War I, the conditions of the Russian peasantry was perceived differently by many different citizens of Russia. The poor conditions sought change and many Russians had different ideas on how to change these conditions. Although the peasants / serfs were free, not all was well in the big bear ...
The peasants’ main objective was to be released from serfdom. They wanted the nobility to be charitable and not use them entirely for their personal needs because they felt that the rich should share with the poor (Doc. 8).
The clergy like the rest of the population was divided. They didn’t pick one side as a whole but there were individuals who campaigned strongly for both sides. Two powerful clerics who had incredibly different views on the peasant revolts were Thomas Müntzer and Martin Luther. Thomas Müntzer was an ex follower of Luther. He highly encouraged these revolts saying that they should strike fast and hard because it is the will of God (Doc. 6).
It was his leadership that aligned the efforts of the peasants to Lutheran teaching (Doc. 1), even though the founder of Lutheranism, Martin Luther, argued against Müntzer. Luther accused Müntzer of doing the work of the devil and compelling peasants to rob and murder and commit all sorts of other evil deeds (Doc. 7).
The reasons for Luther’s strong statements were because he had been excommunicated and needed the support of the nobility to ensure his safety. As mentioned before Müntzer was a follower of Luther and this proves Luther’s bias by showing that he went against his original ideas.
Out of fear of a shift in the balance of power the nobility took actions against the peasants or claimed support that did not really exist. Unwilling to recognize that they needed to change, in their reply to issues concerning serfdom the nobles said that “the serfdom of a Christian is no hindrance to the salvation of his soul” (Doc 4).
In addition for a price, the nobles asserted that the peasants could be set free. The nobles told the peasants that since they had paid a large sum of money for the right to have the peasants as serfs, they could be set free of said serfdom if the peasants paid them a “reasonable” amount (Doc. 4).
However, the peasants did not have that money.
This “compromise” is very demonstrates the main concern of the nobles. They were so used to having a lavish lifestyle that the only way they would give up their workers was if the workers managed to give them enough money to still be well off. The goal for the nobility was to sound reasonable but assure that they kept the peasants as poor as possible. In that way even if they had “freedom” the nobles would still be the highest position in society. In the end, nobles who gave support tried to say that it was forced. For example, Christoffel von Lichtenstein a nobleman who did not see what was so bad about the peasants pledged allegiance to the peasant cause but claimed that it was forced (Doc. 10).
The Term Paper on Martin Luther Marsilius On Secular Authority
Martin Luther & Marsilius on Secular Authority In this essay we are going to deal with two ancient theological theorists Martin Luther and Marsilius. We shall try to cope with their views on the issue of Secular Authority. Martin Luther was one of the greatest representatives of the Reformation era in church history. He was born in1483 in Eisleben, Germany and got his education at Leipzig ...
The change in support occurred when the peasants became more violent and started to burn down the houses of the nobles (Doc.11).Those who supported the cause when they were not the target (Doc 8) changed from seeing reason in the peasants’ cause to viewing the peasants as animals. After the peasants seemed out of control the nobility bound together and slaughtered anyone who came in their way. Once defeated, the nobility forced the peasants to surrender. In the end it was the goal of the nobility to restore things to how they were, including exacting punishment against the peasants to demonstrate that the nobility had greater power (Doc. 12).
Historically, the peasant revolts demonstrate that oppressed people can organize for change. But the desire to shift the balance of power was and probably always will be resisted by those who have the power. Offers for purchasing equality and claims of allegiance usually have a catch, and do not last once power is regained. Nevertheless, the willingness of the peasant to die for what they wanted made a difference.
Bibliography
Spielvogel, Jackson J. _Western Civilization_. Ed. Nancy Blaine and Lauren Bussard. Seventh ed.
Boston: Suzanne Jeans, 2010. Print.
