The Peasant War in Germany

In  the  meantime,  a  decisive  change  had  taken  place  in  the  region  of  Wuerzburg.  The
bishop  who,  after  the  first  uprising  early  in  April,  had  withdrawn  to  the  fortified
Frauenberg near Wuerzburg, from there to send unsuccessful letters in all directions asking
for  aid,  was  finally  compelled  to  make  temporary  concessions.  On  May  2,  a  Diet  was
opened with the peasants represented, but before any results could be achieved, letters were
intercepted  which  proved  the  bishop’s  traitorous  machinations.  The  Diet  immediately
dispersed,  and  hostilities  broke  out  anew  between  the  insurgent  city  inhabitants  and  the
peasants on one hand, and the bishop’s forces on the other. The bishop fled to Heidelberg
on  May  5,  and  on  the  following  day  Florian  Geyer,  with  the  Black  Troop,  appeared  in
Wuerzburg and with him the Franconian Tauber Troop which consisted of the peasants of
Mergentheim, Rottenburg and Anspach. On May 7, Goetz von Berlichingen with his Gay
Bright Troop came, and the siege of Frauenberg began.
In the vicinity of Limpurg and in the region of Ellwangen and Hall, another contingent
was  formed  by  the  end  of  March  and  the  beginning  of  April,  that  of  Gaildorf  or  the
Common  Gay  Troop.  Its  actions  were  very  violent.  It  aroused  the  entire  region,  burned
many  monasteries  and  castles,  including  the  castle  of  Hohenstaufen,  compelled  all  the
peasants to join it, and compelled all nobles, even the cup-bearers of Limpurg, to enter the
Christian Alliance. Early in May it invaded Wuerttemberg, but was persuaded to withdraw.
The separatism of the German system of small states stood then, as in 1848, in the way of a
common  action  of  the  revolutionaries  of  the  various  state  territories.  The  Gaildorf  Troop,
limited to a small area, was naturally bound to disperse when all resistance within that area
was broken. The members of this troop concluded an agreement with the city of Gmuend,
and leaving only 500 under arms, they went home.
In the Palatinate, peasant troops were formed on either bank of the Rhine by the end of
April. They destroyed many castles and monasteries, and on May 1 they took Neustadt on
the  Hardt.  The  Bruchrain  peasants,  who  appeared  in  this  region,  had  on  the  previous  day
forced Speyer to conclude an agreement. The Marshal of Zabern, with the few troops of the
Elector,  was  powerless  against  them,  and  on  May  10  the  Elector  was  compelled  to
conclude an agreement with the peasants, guaranteeing them a redress of their grievances,
to be effected by a Diet.
In  Wuerttemberg  the  revolt  had  occurred  early  in  separate  localities.  As  early  as
February, the peasants of the Urach Alp formed a union against the priests and masters, and
by  the  end  of  March  the  peasants  of  Blaubeuer,  Urach,  Muensingen,  Balingen  and
Rosenfeld  revolted.  The  Wuerttemberg  region  was  invaded  by  the  Gaildorf  Troop  at
Goeppingen,  by  Jaecklein  Rohrbach  at  Brackenheim,  and  by  the  remnants  of  the
vanquished  Leipheim  Troop  at  Pfuelingen.  All  these  newcomers  aroused  the  rural
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population. There were also serious disturbances in other localities. On April 6, Pfuelingen
capitulated  before  the  peasants.  The  government  of  the  Austrian  Archduke  was  in  a  very
difficult situation. It had no money and but few troops. The cities and castles were in a bad
condition,  lacking  garrisons  or  munitions,  and  even  Asperg  was  practically  defenseless.
The  attempt  of  the  government  to  call  out  city  reserves  against  the  peasants,  decided  its
temporary defeat. On April 16 the reserves of the city of Bottwar refused to obey orders,
marching,  instead  of  to  Stuttgart,  to  Wunnenstein  near  Bottwar,  where  they  formed  the
nucleus of a camp of middle-class people and peasants, and added other numbers rapidly.
On  the  same  day  the  rebellion  broke  out  in  Zabergau.  The  monastery  of  Maulbronn  was
pillaged, and a number of monasteries and castles were ruined. The Gaeu peasants received
reinforcements from the neighbouring Bruchrain.
The  command  of  the  Wunnenstein  Troop  was  taken  by  Matern  Feuerbacher,  a
councillor  of  the  city  of  Bottwar,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  middle-class  opposition
compromised enough to be compelled to join the peasants. In spite of his new affiliations,
however, he remained very moderate, prohibiting the application of the Letter of Articles to
the  castles,  and  seeking  everywhere  to  reconcile  the  peasants  with  the  moderate  middle-
class.  He  prevented  the  amalgamation  of  the  Wuerttemberg  peasants  with  the  Gay  Bright
Troop,  and  afterwards  he  also  persuaded  the  Gaildorf  Troop  to  withdraw  from
Wuerttemberg. On April 19 he was deposed in consequence of his middle-class tendencies,
but  the  next  day  he  was  again  made  commander.  He  was  indispensable,  and  even  when
Jaecklein Rohrbach came, on April 22, with 200 of his associates to join the Wuerttemberg
peasants, he could do nothing but leave Feuerbacher in his place of commander, confining
himself to rigid supervision of his actions.
On  April  18,  the  government  attempted  to  negotiate  with  the  peasants  stationed  at
Wunnenstein.  The  peasants  insisted  upon  acceptance  of  the  Twelve  Articles,  but  this  the
government’s representatives refused to do. The troop now proceeded to act. On April 20,
it  reached  Laufen,  where,  for  the  last  time,  it  rejected  the  offers  of  the  government
delegates.  On  April  22,  the  troops,  numbering  6,000,  appeared  in  Bietighein,  threatening
Stuttgart.  Most  of  the  city  council  had  fled,  and  a  citizens’  committee  was  placed  at  the
head  of  the  administration.  The  citizenry  here  was  divided,  as  elsewhere,  between  the
parties of the honourables, the middle-class opposition, and the revolutionary plebeians. On
April  25,  the  latter  opened  the  gates  for  the  peasants,  and  Stuttgart  was  immediately
garrisoned  by  them.  Here  the  organisation  of  the  Gay  Christian  Troop  (as  the
Wuerttemberg insurgents called themselves) was perfected, and rules and regulations were
established  for  remuneration,  division  of  booty  and  alimentation.  A  detachment  of
Stuttgarters, under Theus Gerber, joined the troops.
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