Martin Luther

MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY
PROF. M. M. NINAN
The peasants turns violent
Peasants torturing monks who tried to sell
indulgence during the peasant war. (Niklaus
Manuel)
Revolts that broke out in Swabia, Franconia, and Thuringia in 1524 and gained support among
peasants and some disaffected nobles.
Frustrated by lack of favorable response and sympathy the struggle as usual turned into squabbles
and later into all out fight. We cannot call it war since the peasants never had any weapons of war.
Gaining momentum and a new leader in Thomas Muunzer, the revolts turned into an all-out “war’,
Initially, Luther seemed to many to support the peasants, condemning the oppressive practices of
the nobility that had incited many of the peasants.
Swabian League had its own army whose commander was Georg Truchsess. He took advantage
of the lack of unity and division among uprisers and bring to the end the uprising in Swabia.
Relatively easy his army put down the uprisings in other areas. Peasants’ army was losing one
battle after another. On 29 April 1525, the peasant grumbling and protests in and around
Frankenhausen culminated into an open revolt. Large parts of the citizenry joined the uprising.
more peasants of the surrounding estates camped on the fields and pastures: the final strength of
the peasant and town force is unclear, but estimated at 8,000–10,000. The Princes’ troops included
close to 6,000 mercenaries, the Landsknecht. As such they were well equipped, well trained and
had good morale.
They were also experienced. The peasants, on the other hand, had poor, if any, equipment, and
except for those 300 fighters who had arrived with Müntzer, many had neither experience nor
training. The peasants were caught off guard and fled in panic to the town, followed and
continuously attacked by the mercenaries. Most of the insurgents were slain in what turned out to
be a massacre. Casualty figures are unreliable but peasant losses have been estimated at
3,000–10,000.
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