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==The Peasant War==
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 defiance such as a refusal 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>. Many of the peasants had served as soldiers but the majority were untrained and only armed with farm implements. The first revolts were in 1524 and they had spread to all of South West Germany by 1525. Soon there were revolts in the Black Forest Area. The local elite used their own forces and urban militias to try and quell the disturbances. In the past, such measures had worked but the peasants were too large in number and too well-organised. In Swabia, the peasants published the 12 Articles and these later were adopted by other rebels elsewhere and they became the manifesto of the movement. The 12 Articles demanded the dismantling of much of the old feudal system and the rollback of many new innovations in the law. Some of the articles also demanded that ‘tithes’ or payments to the church be only spent locally and that local communities had a greater role in the governing of their churches. The 12 Articles sought a social, economic and religious revolution in German-speaking lands. The 12 Articles were published and spread throughout Germany and this inspired more peasants to take up arms<ref>Miller, p. 120</ref>. It seemed that members of the lesser nobility and the urban elite would side with the peasants and the Imperial government and the great nobles were forced to make concessions to these groups. Once they had received their concessions they sided with the great nobles. This allowed the nobles to come together to defeat the peasant armies, that had seized large areas of Germany. In the southwest of Germany , the rebels heartland the nobles formed the Swabian League. This League was a military alliance and it formed its own army. Militarily, the nobles had all the advantaged they had professional officers and a had cavalry. The peasants resisted at times fiercely and used circled wagons and field works 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. The Peasants soon became radicalized and the largest band was led by the radical preacher Thomas Muntzer. Both sides perpetrated atrocities. At the battle of Frankhausen, the Swabian League shattered the peasant army. They later captured and executed Thomas Muntzer. Sporadic resistance continued until 1527 but the Peasant revolt Revolt had been completely defeated, with the deaths of up to 100,000 people of all classes <ref> Miller, p. 121</ref>.
[[File: Muntzer Two.jpg |thumbnail|200px|Battle of Frankenhausen]]
Muntzer Two
==Martin Luther and the Peasants War==
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. The City of God (London, Penguin, 1993), p. 356, 478</ref>. After the Peasants War, Luther became even more conservative and he even argued that every Christian should obey the temporal ruler without question and if requested should serve as an executioner for a tyrant. Luther, especially after the Peasant’s War believed that temporal authority should not be challenged in anyway. Luther promoted this, somewhat reactionary approach, at least in part because of the Peasants War. Many of the rebels had been inspired by Luther and had hoped that he would join them and even lead them. Luther’s ideas had definitely been interpreted by some rebels and Protestant Pastors such as Muntzer as validating radical change in society. Many Catholics in Germany used the Peasant War to attack the reformers and the war caused something of a crisis in the Reformation. Luther and his supporters were fearful that their movement could become tainted by association with the Peasants Revolt. Luther and others sought to distance themselves from the War and supported unequivocally the nobility and the Swabian League. This was not doubt done out of expediency as Luther know that his reform movement could only survive with the support of the elite. He could not been seen to be siding with the peasants or he would risk losing the support of the nobility, including the Saxon Dukes, his own protectors. Luther was also genuinely appalled by the behaviour of the peasants. He was particular appalled by the massacre at the castle of Weinsberg, when peasant rebels had massacred some nobles and the garrison of a castle. This prompted him to write the polemic ‘Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants’. In this work he used strong language to call for the extermination of the rebels who had ‘’become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name” <ref> Luther, Martin, Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants’ (Saxony, 1525), p. 10 </ref> . Luther, under the influence of St Augustine believed that human will was depraved and prone to evil <ref> Hale, JR. Renaissance and Reformation (Pelican, London, 1988), p. 67</ref>. 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, that 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.
