Christian Cyclopedia

Uprising of Ger. peasants 1525 brought on by oppression under wealthy and powerful landowners operating under the feudal system; establishment of codified Roman law in Ger. had given the lords advantages over the peasants. M. Luther* first sided with the peasants, but when they refused to refrain from violence and murder he called on the govt. to take necessary countermeasures. The authorities overreacted, disregarding Luther's admonition for mercy to innocent peasants. T. Münzer was among the slain. See also Philip of Hesse; Schilling, Johann.

E. Baumgartner, Der grosse Bauernkrieg (Vienna, n. d.); E. B. Bax, The Peasants War in Germany 1525–1526 (London, 1899; reprint. New York, 1968); E. Bohnenblust, Lather und der Bauernkrieg (Bern, 1929); G. Franz, Der deutsche Bauernkrieg, 2 vols. (Munich, 1933–35) and Quellen Zur Geschichte des Bauernkrieges, in Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte der Neuzeit, II (Darmstadt, 1963); P. Althaus, Luthers Haltung im Bauernkrieg(e) in Luther-Jahrbuch VII (Wittenberg, 1925; repub. separately Basel, n. d.); H. J. Grimm, “Luther, Luther's Critics, and the Peasant Revolt,” The Lutheran Church Quarterly, XIX (1946), 115–132.