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The Peasants’ War (1524–25) is one of the outstanding events in German history. L. Ranke called it the greatest natural event of the German state. It was also a turning point in the historical process, according to K. Marx and F. Engels. It has thus attracted the attention of many generations of students of history. 1. Course After a first outbreak of fighting in Hegau (near the German Black Forest) in the summer of 1524, the war began in earnest in January 1525 in Upper Swabia. Peasants from various estates and territories assembled by the thousands …

[German Version] I. Character and Name 1. The Peasants’ War began in the summer of 1524 between Basel and Lake Constance as peasants formed a paramilitary mob reacting to harassing demands by the authorities. It spread to Upper Swabia, then rapidly broadened because of the “Twelve Articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants,” written in March 1525 and running to 28 printings in two months. It was accompanied by the storming of castles of the nobility and the occupation of monasteries. By May 1525, the upris…