The Peasant War in Germany

Chapter 2
The  Main  Opposition  Groups  and  their  Programmes;
Luther and Muenzer
The  grouping  of  the  numerous  and  variegated  groups  into  bigger  units  was  at  that  time
made  impossible  by  decentralisation,  by  local  and  provincial  independence,  by  industrial
and  commercial  isolation  of  the  provinces  from  each  other,  and  by  poor  means  of
communication.  This  grouping  develops  only  with  the  general  spread  of  revolutionary,
religious  and  political  ideas,  in  the  course  of  the  Reformation.  The  various  groups  of  the
population which either accept or oppose those ideas, concentrate the nation, very slowly
and  only  approximately  indeed,  into  three  large  camps,  the  reactionary  or  Catholic,  the
reformist  middle-class  or  Lutheran,  and  the  revolutionary  elements.  If  we  discover  little
logic even in this great division of the nation, if the first two camps include partly the same
elements,  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  official  groupings  brought  over  from  the
Middle Ages had begun to dissolve and to become decentralised, which circumstance gave
to  the  same  groups  in  different  localities  a  momentary  opposing  orientation.  In  the  last
years we have so often met with similar facts in Germany that we will not be surprised at
this apparent mixture of groups and classes under the much more complicated conditions
of the Sixteenth Century.
The  German  ideology  of  to-day  sees  in  the  struggles  to  which  the  Middle  Ages  had
succumbed  nothing  but  violent  theological  bickerings,  this  notwithstanding  our  modern
experiences.  Had  the  people  of  that  time  only  been  able  to  reach  an  understanding
concerning the celestial things, say our patriotic historians and wise statesmen, there would
have  been  no  ground  whatever  for  struggle  over  earthly  affairs.  These  ideologists  were
gullible  enough  to  accept  on  their  face  value  all  the  illusions  which  an  epoch  maintains
about itself, or which the ideologists of a certain period maintained about that period. This
class of people, which saw in the revolution of 1789 nothing but a heated debate over the
advantages  of  a  constitutional  monarchy  as  compared  with  absolutism,  would  see  in  the
July Revolution a practical controversy over the untenability of the empire by the grace of
God,  and  in  the  February  Revolution,  an  attempt  at  solving  the  problem  of  a  republic  or
monarchy,  etc.  Of  the  class  struggles  which  were  being  fought  out  in  these  convulsions,
and whose mere expression is being every time written as a political slogan on the banner
of  these  class  struggles,  our  ideologists  have  no  conception  even  at  the  present  time,
although  manifestations  of  them  are  audible  enough  not  only  abroad,  but  also  from  the
grumbling and the resentment of many thousands of home proletarians.
In  the  so-called  religious  wars  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  very  positive  material  class-
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interests  were  at  play,  and  those  wars  were  class  wars  just  as  were  the  later  collisions  in
England and France. If the class struggles of that time appear to bear religious earmarks, if
the  interests,  requirements  and  demands  of  the  various  classes  hid  themselves  behind  a
religious screen, it little changes the actual situation, and is to be explained by conditions
of the time.
The Middle Ages had developed out of raw primitiveness. It had done away with old
civilisation,  old  philosophy,  politics  and  jurisprudence,  in  order  to  begin  anew  in  every
respect. The only thing which it had retained from the old shattered world was Christianity
and  a  number  of  half-ruined  cities  deprived  of  their  civilisation.  As  a  consequence,  the
clergy retained a monopoly of intellectual education, a phenomenon to be found in every
primitive  stage  of  development,  and  education  itself  had  acquired  a  predominantly
theological nature.
In  the  hands  of  the  clergy,  politics  and  jurisprudence,  as  well  as  other  sciences,
remained branches of theology, and were treated according to the principles prevailing in
the  latter.  The  dogmas  of  the  church  were  at  the  same  time  political  axioms,  and  Bible
quotations had the validity of law in every court. Even after the formation of a special class
of jurists, jurisprudence long remained under the tutelage of theology. This supremacy of
theology in the realm of intellectual activities was at the same time a logical consequence
of  the  situation  of  the  church  as  the  most  general  force  coordinating  and  sanctioning
existing feudal domination.
It is obvious that under such conditions, all general and overt attacks on feudalism, in
the  first  place  attacks  on  the  church,  all  revolutionary,  social  and  political  doctrines,
necessarily became theological heresies. In order to be attacked, existing social conditions
had to be stripped of their aureole of sanctity.
The  revolutionary  opposition  to  feudalism  was  alive  throughout  all  the  Middle  Ages.
According to conditions of the time, it appeared either in the form of mysticism, as open
heresy, or of armed insurrection. As mysticism, it is well known how indispensable it was
for the reformers of the Sixteenth Century. Muenzer himself was largely indebted to it. The
heresies  were  partly  an  expression  of  the  reaction  of  the  patriarchal  Alpine  shepherds
against the encroachments of feudalism in their realm (Waldenses
[4]
), partly an opposition
to feudalism of the cities that had out-grown it (The Albigenses, Arnold of Brescia, etc.),
and partly direct insurrections of peasants (John Ball, the master from Hungary in Picardy,
etc.). We can omit, in this connection, the patriarchal heresy of the Waldenses, as well as
the  insurrection  of  the  Swiss,  which  by  form  and  contents,  was  a  reactionary  attempt  at
stemming the tide of historic development, and of a purely local importance. In the other
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