Peasant Revolt Of 1524 Dbq Sample Essay

The peasant revolts in the German states from 1524-1526 were caused primarily by the extended manipulation of many Lutheran ideals, as well as grievances toward their lords and superiors, while the responses of this revolt were solely condemning of those participating. The compassionate doctrines of the recently introduced lutheran doctrines provided much justification for the Peasant revolts of the 1520’s. Documents one and three demonstrate this idea of Lutheranism. Document one is of Leonhard von Eck, the Chancellor of Bavaria as he reports to the Duke of Bavaria. He says that the revolt has taken place to repress the nobility and that the rebellion itself has its roots in Lutheran teaching, for they relate their demands to the Gospel

Document 2 exemplifies this notion, and it is of Sebastian Lotzer, a peasant from Memmingen. He says that “we” (all peasants) will not allow ourselves to be oppressed by their lords, but will only let them demand what is just. Also he says that lords should no longer force services on the peasants without compensation. What he is saying is that the way the lords have been treating the peasants has been unacceptable and it is time for reform, hence the revolt. Sebastian says this because he is a peasant most likely on the receiving end of the bad treatment from the lords, thus wanting to give further proof to support the revolt. Lotzer’s statement could also be viewed a somewhat biased due to the fact that he could be exaggerating on how peasants were actually treated by lords during this time. Another document that shares these sentiments is that of document 3. Document 3 is of the Peasant Parliament to the Memmingen Town Council, and it says that they have been held as their poor serfs which is pitiable. This statement clearly expresses the unapproval in the way that they have been treated by their

The first of these documents is document 5. Document 5 is of Martin Luther, and he talks about how the peasants have forgotten their place and violently taken matters into their own hands. Also he says that this is the work of that devil, Thomas Muntzer, who rules a Muhlhausen. What Luther is saying is that the peasants are not content with belonging to the devil and because of this they have become complete savages. Luther is saying this because he and Thomas Muntzer were two opposing theologians during the Reformation, and they were constantly disagreeing with each other, thus giving Luther his motive in saying this. The second document in this group is document 6, which is of Caspar Nutzel, in a letter to the Duke of Prussia. He says that the peasants have indeed stepped over the line with their terrible behavior, and that no one could deny how excessively the authorities have torn the hair out of their subjects instead of aiding them. Caspar is condemning not only the peasants but also the authorities, and one reason for Caspar saying this is that he wants to show the Duke what was really going on during this time, and how other authorities were treating their subjects. The final document in this group is that of document 7, which is the Decree of the Imperial Diet. The Decree of the Imperial Diet was