Peasants' War

The Peasants' War (in German, der Deutsche Bauernkrieg) was a popular revolt in Europe, specifically in the Holy Roman Empire between 1524-1526 and consisted, like the preceding Bundschuh movement and the Hussite Wars, of a mass of economic as well as religious revolts by peasants, townsfolk and nobles. The movement possessed no common programme.

Causes of the war

The war was in part an expression of the religious upheaval known as the Reformation, during which critics of the privileges and alleged corruption of the Roman Catholic Church challenged the prevailing religious and political order.

Related Topics:
Reformation - Roman Catholic Church

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However, it also reflected deep-seated social discontents. To understand the causes of the peasant war one must examine the changing structure of social classes in Germany and their relationship to one another. These classes were the princes, the lesser nobles, the prelates, the patricians, the burghers, the plebians and the peasants.

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