116. The Great German Peasants’ War, Central Europe 1524-1525

The Great German Peasants War included not only battles and snails, but a list of demands, called The Twelve Articles. Here, a collection of German peasants, armed well but alas not with cannons, appear on the cover of a leaflet containing the demands. (From Otto Henne am Rhyn: Cultural History of the German People, 2nd Volume, Berlin 1897, page. XXI.)

In the early 16th century, the peasants of Central Europe were being overtaxed, overworked, and underfed, and the lords of the lands kept making things worse. Things worsened, after which they worsened some more, snails got involved, and then there was the biggest peasant revolt in Europe before the French Revolution. If you’re a native English speaker, and you haven’t heard of it, great though it be, don’t feel bad; there is only one book in English on the Great German Peasants’ War, and it was published this year. Michelle has a new hero, a badass knight beloved by Goethe, Sir Walter Scott, and the Internet, and Anne is quite perturbed about the snails. By the way. As far as we’re concerned, the revolt wasn’t the crime; killing 100,000 peasants was.

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2 thoughts on “116. The Great German Peasants’ War, Central Europe 1524-1525”

  1. Love the idea of a spiritual kinship between Götz von Berlichingen and Cohen the Barbarian… but then… loved the whole show – very well done, you two!

    … and actually I just wanted to say “Thank you!” for linking my old blog post on “Weinsberger Bluttat” in your show notes and ended up becoming a fan 🙂

    Kind regards from Frankfurt, Germany – Dirk of WunderkammerTales

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