Changes

While inspired in part by the Reformation, the uprising forced the movement into the hands of the landed nobility and elites in the German-speaking lands. Luther's Reformation became an increasingly conservative movement. The conservative Reformation forced commoners to establish faith and church that met their needs and gave birth to the Radical or Popular Reformation.

The German Peasant Wars of 1524-1527 were revolts aimed at overthrowing the existing socio-economic system in German-speaking lands. <ref> Zagorín, Pérez. <i>Rebels and Rulers, 1500–1660</i> (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984). pp. 187, 188, 190</ref> The Revolt involved peasants and merchants, artisans, members of the minor nobility, and Protestant pastors. They all united in changing the prevailing political system. There were many reasons for the outbreak. The German Peasants, especially the wealthier groups, wanted to safeguard hard-earned prosperity that they believed was under threat from the nobility.<ref> Zagorin, p. 116</ref>

Many Protestant pastors, such as Thomas Muntzer and they believed that feudalism and the existing social order could be changed and that God did not ordain it but only designed by the elite for their own advantage and gain.<ref>Scott, Tom. <i>Thomas Müntzer: Theology and Revolution in the German Reformation</i>. London: Macmillan, 1989), p. 45</ref> Many educated peasants had also been disappointed with the course of the Reformation and they believed that it did not go far enough and they wanted a more radical church, one that was not hierarchical and dominated by the local notable.

[[File: Muntzer Two.jpg |thumbnail|left|300px|Battle of Frankenhausen]]

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 as refusing to carry out some order or custom. Soon the peasants would begin to arm themselves and formed companies based on local, territorial units.<ref> Scott, p. 117</ref>

The peasants resisted at times fiercely and circled wagons to defend themselves, but the army of the nobles prevailed</ref> Miller, p. 117</ref>. The professional army of the Swabian League and similar military alliances throughout Germany soon had the upper hand. They killed thousands of peasants in battle and executed many others. Those who surrendered had to pay hefty fines.

[[File: Muntzer Three.jpg |thumbnail|300px|left|Pamphlet of the 12 Articles]]

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.<ref> St Augustine. <i>The City of God</i> (London, Penguin, 1993), p. 356, 478</ref> 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.

Only a strong monarch or government could control the evil nature, especially of the lower orders. As a result of the Peasants War, existing trends in the Reformation were confirmed and even became entrenched in Lutheranism. The Protestant Churches were to support the existing social order, which was hierarchal and socially conservative.<ref>Hale, p. 115</ref> Lutheranism in part, because of the Peasant War, became a faith that was very much concerned with social order and discipline. Initially, Luther had seemed to promise a Church that was more liberal, but after the Peasant’s War, it became noticeably more conservative and even reactionary.

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.<ref>Hale, p. 115</ref> As the secularisation of monasteries and nunneries progressed, the nobles and the urban elite had benefitted enormously. This trend continued during the Peasant War and in its aftermath. Moreover, the elites began to have more control over the actual running of the newly formed Lutheran Churches. This was despite Luther’s belief in the separation of state and church. He had previously believed that the church should be kept separate from the secular power, which is inherently corrupt and corrupting.<ref> Luther, p. 3</ref>

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.’<ref> Hale, p. 145</ref> one directed and controlled by the traditional rulers. Many pastors and ordinary people, who had been inspired by Luther, now turned against him, and this had begun before the Peasants War. However, this dissatisfaction with Luther and his teachings became more pronounced after 1524-1527. Soon Protestant pastors and preachers, disillusioned with the ‘Magisterial Reformation,’ taught a more radical version of Protestantism, one that Luther condemned.<ref> Williams, George H., <i>The Radical Reformation</i>, 3rd ed (Truman State University Press, 2000), p.113</ref> This led to the formation of many sects and groups.

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