Electors of Saxony
172-604: Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration Thomas Müntzer ( c. 1489 – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was foremost amongst those reformers who took issue with Luther's compromises with feudal authority. He
344-431: A citizenry able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity, and thus capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities and persuading others to virtuous and prudent actions. Humanism, while set up by a small elite who had access to books and education, was intended as a cultural movement to influence all of society. It was a program to revive the cultural heritage, literary legacy, and moral philosophy of
516-463: A convert to the Catholic Church from Greek Orthodoxy , who was considered for the papacy , and was one of the most learned scholars of his time. There were several 15th-century and early 16th-century humanist Popes one of whom, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), was a prolific author and wrote a treatise on The Education of Boys . These subjects came to be known as the humanities, and
688-651: A royal absolutist (and not a republican like the early Italian umanisti ) who was active in civic life, serving as a diplomat for François I and helping to found the Collège des Lecteurs Royaux (later the Collège de France ). Meanwhile, Marguerite de Navarre , the sister of François I, was a poet , novelist , and religious mystic who gathered around her and protected a circle of vernacular poets and writers, including Clément Marot , Pierre de Ronsard , and François Rabelais . Many humanists were churchmen, most notably Pope Pius II, Sixtus IV , and Leo X , and there
860-549: A two-volume printed version of the Vulgata in the early 1450s. High and Low German , Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech and Catalan translations of the Bible were published between 1466 and 1492; in France, the Bible's abridged French versions gained popularity. Laypeople who read the Bible could challenge their priests' sermons, as it happened already in 1515. Completed by Jerome (d. 420),
1032-494: A "political reform program is central to the humanist movement founded by Petrarch. But it is not a 'republican' project in Baron's sense of republic; it is not an ideological product associated with a particular regime type." Two renowned Renaissance scholars, Eugenio Garin and Paul Oskar Kristeller collaborated with one another throughout their careers. But while the two historians were on good terms, they fundamentally disagreed on
1204-504: A God-fearing cadre for the coming apocalypse. It met under a huge white banner which had been painted with a rainbow and decorated with the words The Word of God will endure forever . In the surrounding countryside and neighbouring small towns, the events in Mühlhausen found a ready echo, for the peasantry and the urban poor had had news of the great uprising in southwest Germany, and many were ready to join in. In late April, all of Thuringia
1376-616: A Hussite church hierarchy enabled the Czech aristocrats and urban magistrates to assume control of the Hussite clergy from the 1470s. The radical Hussites set up their own Church known as the Union of Bohemian Brethren . They rejected the separation of clergy and laity, and condemned all forms of violence and oath taking. Marshall writes that the Lollards, Hussites and conciliarist theologians "collectively give
1548-406: A clear distinction between the supernatural and the human, Renaissance artists depicted God and the saints in a more human way. The institutional church was the reliable religious authority, through its bishops and priests, transmitting without error both apostolic tradition and the Bible, as interpreted by the decisions of ecumenical councils and by papal authority , through the mechanism of
1720-475: A communist movement. Friedrich Engels ' analysis of Thomas Müntzer's work and the wider German Peasants' War led him and Karl Marx to conclude that the communist revolution , when it occurred, would be led not by a peasant army but by an urban proletariat . The doctrines of essential suffering, of spiritual revelation, of denial of the fear of Man - all combined with the expectation of the Apocalypse to place
1892-614: A community of believers whose religious ideal—constantly aspired to if seldom attained—was peace and mutual love." The Catholic Church taught that entry into heaven required dying in a state of grace . Based on Christ's parable on the Last Judgement , the Church considered the performance of good works by the faithful, such as feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, as an important condition of salvation. Villagers and urban laypeople were frequently members of confraternities (such as
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#17328835636092064-442: A dismal mode of life. On the contrary, he alone shows the most enjoyable life of all and the one most full of true pleasure. This passage exemplifies the way in which the humanists saw pagan classical works , such as the philosophy of Epicurus , as being in harmony with their interpretation of Christianity . Renaissance Neo-Platonists such as Marsilio Ficino (whose translations of Plato's works into Latin were still used into
2236-635: A document known to posterity, slightly misleadingly, as the Prague Manifesto . This document exists in four forms: one in Czech, one in Latin, and two in German. One of them is written on a large piece of paper, about 50 by 50 centimetres (20 by 20 in), much like a poster, but written on both sides. However, it is evident that none of the four items was ever published in any shape or form. The contents of this document indicate clearly just how far he had diverged from
2408-477: A flourishing return to linguistic, stylistic and literary models of antiquity. There emerged a consciousness of the need for a cultural renewal, which sometimes also meant a detachment from contemporary culture. Manuscripts and inscriptions were in high demand and graphic models were also imitated. This "return to the ancients" was the main component of so-called "pre-humanism", which developed particularly in Tuscany , in
2580-399: A genuine revelation could not challenge traditional religious principles. Apostolic tradition verified religious practices that some Protestant groups say had no explicit Biblical foundations, such as infant baptism . Latin was the language of public worship in most dioceses of Catholic Europe although few laypeople understood Latin. The Eucharist, the central element of liturgy ,
2752-500: A gift of faith independently of their acts. He first denounced the idea of justification through human efforts in his Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam ('Disputation against Scholastic Theology') in September 1517. Renaissance Humanism Renaissance humanism is a worldview centered on the nature and importance of humanity that emerged from the study of Classical antiquity . Renaissance humanists sought to create
2924-412: A head, and the poorer inhabitants had managed to wrest some political concessions from the town council; building on this success, the radical reform movement kept up the pressure, under the leadership of a lay preacher named Heinrich Pfeiffer, who had been denouncing the practices of the old church from the pulpit of St Nikolaus Church. Thus, before Müntzer arrived, there was already considerable tension in
3096-633: A major theological movement or period or series of events in Western Christianity in 16th-century Northwestern Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church . Towards the end of the Renaissance , the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism and in turn resulted in a major schism within Western Christianity. It
3268-449: A moral renewal in Florence . He was arrested and executed for heresy , but his meditations remained a popular reading. Historian John Bossy (as summarized by Eamon Duffy) emphasized that "medieval Christianity had been fundamentally concerned with the creation and maintenance of peace in a violent world. “Christianity” in medieval Europe denoted neither an ideology nor an institution, but
3440-417: A new and more ambitious name ( Studia humanitatis ), but also increased its actual scope, content and significance in the curriculum of the schools and universities and in its own extensive literary production. The studia humanitatis excluded logic, but they added to the traditional grammar and rhetoric not only history, Greek , and moral philosophy, but also made poetry, once a sequel of grammar and rhetoric,
3612-456: A nunnery at Glaucha just outside Halle . Here he found little opportunity to continue with his desire for change, despite the existence of a strong and militant local reform movement; his one attempt to break the rules, by delivering the communion "in both kinds" ( Utraquism ) to a noblewoman named Felicitas von Selmenitz probably led directly to his dismissal. His next post was both relatively permanent and productive. In early April 1523, through
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#17328835636093784-457: A ploy, not seriously meant by Valla, but designed to refute Stoicism, which he regarded together with epicureanism as equally inferior to Christianity. Valla's defense, or adaptation, of Epicureanism was later taken up in The Epicurean by Erasmus , the "Prince of humanists:" If people who live agreeably are Epicureans , none are more truly Epicurean than the righteous and godly. And if it
3956-682: A process that could involve good works , as in the Catholic view. Protestantism also introduced new ecclesiology . The Counter-Reformation was the Catholic reform efforts initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation and its causes. In the 16th-century context, the term mainly covers four major movements: Lutheranism , Calvinism , the Radical Reformation , and the Catholic Reformation . Historian John Bossy criticized
4128-496: A protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529) , were the first individuals to be called Protestants. The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier . Europe experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early 14th century . These culminated in a devastating pandemic known as
4300-422: A result of which, leading members of the town council fled the town, taking with them the city insignia and the municipal horse. But the coup was short-lived – partly because of divisions within the reformers inside the town and partly because the peasantry in the surrounding countryside took issue with the "unchristian behaviour" of the urban radicals. After only seven weeks in the town, on 27 September, Müntzer
4472-529: A sack of papers and letters which he was clutching. On 27 May, after torture and confession, he was executed alongside Pfeiffer, outside the walls of Mühlhausen, their heads being displayed prominently for years to come as a warning to others. Müntzer's theology has been the subject of many studies over the years. Modern researchers agree that Müntzer was deeply read and that it was his theology, and not any socio-political dogma, which drove him to stand up to feudal authority. The short paragraphs below attempt to give
4644-514: A slice of history in which certain ideas, attitudes, and values were developed, explored, and applied". The historian Peter Marshall emphasizes that the "call for 'reform' within Christianity is about as old as the religion itself, and in every age there have been urgent attempts to bring it about". Charlemagne employed a "rhetoric of reform". Medieval examples include the Cluniac Reform in
4816-482: A son. It was not only Luther who was concerned. The Catholic Count Ernst von Mansfeld spent the summer of 1523 trying to prevent his own subjects from attending the reformed services in Allstedt. Müntzer felt secure enough to pen a letter to the count in September, ordering him to leave off his tyranny: "I am as much a Servant of God as you, so tread gently, for the whole world has to be exercised in patience. Don’t grab, or
4988-565: A special emphasis on the education of laypeople. A leader of the movement the Dutch Wessel Gansfort (d. 1489) attacked abuses of indulgences. As the manufacturing of paper from rags and the printing machine with movable type were spreading in Europe, books could be bought at a reasonable price from the 15th century . Demand for religious literature was especially high. The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg (d. 1468) first published
5160-513: A statement of what his captors feared rather than what Müntzer actually believed. In the same confession, Müntzer is reported as recommending that princes should ride out with a maximum of eight horses and "gentlemen with two". Müntzer's own writings and letters clearly propose that power be taken from the feudal authorities and given to the people. For that proposal, he may be described as a revolutionary, but not proposing redistribution of wealth . Subsequent scholars have analysed Müntzer's movement as
5332-529: A stop-over en route to Prague . It was in Prague that the Hussite Church was already firmly established and Müntzer thought to find a safe home where he could develop his increasingly un-Lutheran ideas. He arrived here in late June 1521, was welcomed as a "Martinist" (a follower of Luther), and was allowed to preach and to give lectures. He also found the time to prepare a summary of his own beliefs, which appeared in
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5504-594: A theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony. Born into a middle-class family, Luther entered an Augustinian monastery after a heavy thunderstorm dreadfully reminded him the risk of sudden death and eternal damnation, but his anxiety about his sinfulness did not abate. His studies on the works of the Late Roman theologian Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) convinced him that those whom God chose as his elect received
5676-407: A tipping point. Now God would set right all the wrongs of the world, largely by destruction, but with the active assistance of true Christians. From this would emerge a new age of mankind. In the Prague Manifesto he wrote: "O ho, how ripe the rotten apples are! O ho, how rotten the elect have become! The time of the harvest has come! That is why he himself has hired me for his harvest." In a letter to
5848-431: A true Christian belief. The theme of hardship and suffering, purgation and sevenfold cleansing, runs through all of his writings. What you must do is endure patiently, and learn how God himself will root out your weeds, thistles and thorns from the rich soil which is your heart. Otherwise nothing good will grow there, only the raging devil... Even if you have already devoured all the books of the Bible, you must still suffer
6020-528: A very brief summary of his theology. Evident from Müntzer's writings is his broad knowledge of aspects of the Christian religion. From 1514 onwards, possibly earlier, he read widely in the early Christian fathers ( Tertullian and Cyprian ), in the history of the early church ( Eusebius and Egesippus ), in the mystics of the late medieval period (Suso and Tauler), in Humanist ideas which harked back to Plato, and in
6192-452: Is alleged to have formed a "league" against the incumbent Archbishop of Magdeburg – to what end the league was formed is wholly unknown. In May 1514, he took up a post as priest in the town of Braunschweig (Brunswick), where he was occupied on and off for the next few years. It was here that he began to question the practices of the Catholic Church, and to criticize, for example, the selling of indulgences . In letters of this time, he
6364-511: Is already being addressed by friends as a "castigator of unrighteousness". Between 1515 and 1516, he also managed to find a job as schoolmaster at a nunnery in Frose , near Aschersleben. In the autumn of 1517, he was in Wittenberg , met with Martin Luther , and became involved in the great discussions which preceded the posting of Luther's 95 Theses . He attended lectures at the university there, and
6536-480: Is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe. When the Reformation era ended is disputed among modern scholars. Prior to Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers , there were earlier reform movements within Western Christianity. The Protestant Reformation, however, is usually considered to have started on 31 October 1517 with
6708-462: Is in the true spirit of the apostles, the patriarchs, and the prophets. Hence it is no wonder that Brother Fatted Pig and Brother Soft Life ( i.e. Luther ) reject them. But when one has not yet heard the clear word of God in the soul, one has to have visions. It was essential, in Müntzer's view, for a person to experience real suffering and pain – either spiritual or physical – in order to come to
6880-667: Is names that bother us, no one better deserves the name of Epicurean than the revered founder and head of the Christian philosophy Christ , for in Greek epikouros means "helper". He alone, when the law of Nature was all but blotted out by sins, when the law of Moses incited to lists rather than cured them, when Satan ruled in the world unchallenged, brought timely aid to perishing humanity. Completely mistaken, therefore, are those who talk in their foolish fashion about Christ's having been sad and gloomy in character and calling upon us to follow
7052-736: Is no direct evidence of what Müntzer did in this part of the world, but almost certainly he would have come in contact with leading members of the various rebel conspiracies; it is proposed that he met the later Anabaptist leader, Balthasar Hubmaier in Waldshut , and it is known that he was in Basel in December, where he met the Zwinglian reformer Oecolampadius , and may also have met the Swiss Anabaptist Conrad Grebel there. He spent several weeks in
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7224-589: Is not appropriate to claim that they were all or consistently "Müntzerites", it is possible to argue that they all shared some common teaching. A common thread links Müntzer, the early Anabaptists, the " Kingdom of Münster " in North Germany in 1535, the Dutch Anabaptists, the radicals of the English Revolution, and beyond. There was a short-lived legacy even within the "official" reformed church as well; in
7396-408: The 10th–11th centuries , and the 11th-century Gregorian Reform , both striving against lay influence over church affairs. When demanding a church reform, medieval authors mainly adopted a conservative and utopian approach, expressing their admiration for a previous "golden age" or "apostolic age" when the Church had allegedly been perfect and free of abuses. Both the starting and ending date of
7568-498: The Age of Exploration , Pope Alexander VI claimed the right to distribute the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal, and his decision was confirmed in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The Spanish and Portuguese conquests and developing trade networks contributed to the global expansion of Catholicism. The popes were generous patrons of art and architecture. Julius II ordered
7740-602: The Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone ,) mutual-support guilds associated with a saint, or religious fraternities (such as the Third Order of Saint Francis .) The faithful made pilgrimages to saints' shrines , but the proliferation in the saints' number undermined their reputation. Church buildings were richly decorated with paintings, sculptures, and stained glass windows. While Romanesque and Gothic art made
7912-471: The Black Death which hit Europe, killing about one third of the population. Around 1500, the population of Europe was about 60–85 million people—no more than 75 percent of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum. Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise. The constant fear of unexpected death
8084-451: The Chancellor of Florence . In Italy, the humanist educational program won rapid acceptance and, by the mid-15th century, many of the upper classes had received humanist educations, possibly in addition to traditional scholastic ones. Some of the highest officials of the Catholic Church were humanists with the resources to amass important libraries. Such was Cardinal Basilios Bessarion ,
8256-596: The College of Cardinals developed into the Western Schism (1378-1417) when his opponents declared his election invalid and proclaimed the French Clement VII ( r. 1378–1394 ) pope. Clement returned to Avignon, establishing a rival line of popes who were considered as antipopes by their opponents. When taking sides between the two popes, church leaders mainly accepted the local ruler's decision, which weakened
8428-677: The Electoral Duke Johann in Allstedt Castle, possibly in lieu of a belated "trial sermon", and there he preached his famous sermon on the Second Chapter of the Book of Daniel (aka The Sermon Before the Princes ) – a barely concealed warning to the princes that they should pitch in with the Allstedt reforms or face the wrath of God. What a pretty spectacle we have before us now – all
8600-492: The Eucharist , and priestly ordination as the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church . Women were not ordained priests but could live as nuns in convents after taking the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience . The authority of the papacy was based on a well-organised system of communication and bureaucracy. The popes claimed the power of binding and loosing that Christ had reportedly granted to Peter
8772-540: The Greco-Roman civilization . It first began in Italy and then spread across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term humanist ( Italian : umanista ) referred to teachers and students of the humanities , known as the studia humanitatis , which included the study of Latin and Ancient Greek literatures, grammar , rhetoric , history , poetry , and moral philosophy . It
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#17328835636098944-509: The Harz Mountains of central Germany. The legend that his father had been executed by the feudal authorities is untrue. There is every reason to suppose that Müntzer had a relatively comfortable background and upbringing, as evidenced by his lengthy education. Both his parents were still alive in 1520, his mother dying at around that time. Shortly after 1490, the family moved to the neighbouring and slightly larger town of Quedlinburg , and it
9116-639: The Klettgau area, and there is some evidence to suggest that he helped the peasants to formulate their grievances. While the famous " Twelve Articles " of the Swabian peasants were certainly not composed by Müntzer, at least one important supporting document, the Constitutional Draft , may well have originated with him. In February 1525 Müntzer returned to Mühlhausen (via Fulda, where he was briefly arrested and then – unrecognized – released) and took over
9288-509: The Low Countries , Poland-Lithuania, Hungary and England with the adoption of large-scale printing after 1500, and it became associated with the Reformation . In France, pre-eminent humanist Guillaume Budé (1467–1540) applied the philological methods of Italian humanism to the study of antique coinage and to legal history , composing a detailed commentary on Justinian's Code . Budé was
9460-464: The Nicene Creed in 325. Its Western text contained a unilateral addition which contributed to the schism between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy . The Creed contained the dogma of Trinity about one God uniting three equal persons: Father , Son , and Holy Spirit . Church authorities acknowledged that an individual might exceptionally receive direct revelations from God but maintained that
9632-489: The Papal States in Italy, the popes were deeply involved in the power struggles of the peninsula. In this respect, the Renaissance popes were not dissimilar to secular rulers. Pope Alexander VI ( r. 1492–1503 ) appointed his relatives , among them his own illegitimate sons to high offices. Pope Julius II ( r. 1503–1513 ) took up arms to recover papal territories lost during his predecessors' reign. In
9804-455: The Protestant denominations . Some humanists, even moderate Catholics such as Erasmus , risked being declared heretics for their perceived criticism of the institutional church. A number of humanists joined the Reformation movement and took over leadership functions, for example, Philipp Melanchthon , Ulrich Zwingli , Martin Luther , Henry VIII , John Calvin , and William Tyndale . With
9976-776: The Veneto region, and at the papal court of Avignon , through the activity of figures such as Lovato Lovati and Albertino Mussato in Padua, Landolfo Colonna in Avignon, Ferreto de' Ferreti in Vicenza, Convenevole from Prato in Tuscany and then in Avignon , and many others. By the 14th century some of the first humanists were great collectors of antique manuscripts , including Petrarch , Giovanni Boccaccio , Coluccio Salutati , and Poggio Bracciolini . Of
10148-497: The disputation in Leipzig between the reformers of Wittenberg (Luther, Karlstadt, and Philip Melanchthon ) and the Catholic Church hierarchy (represented by Johann Eck ). This was one of the high points of the early Reformation. Müntzer did not go unnoticed by Luther, who recommended him to a temporary post in the town of Zwickau. However, at the end of that year, he was still employed in a nunnery at Beuditz, near Weissenfels . He spent
10320-403: The rationalism of ancient writings as having tremendous impact on Renaissance scholars: Here, one felt no weight of the supernatural pressing on the human mind, demanding homage and allegiance. Humanity—with all its distinct capabilities, talents, worries, problems, possibilities—was the center of interest. It has been said that medieval thinkers philosophised on their knees, but, bolstered by
10492-494: The rediscovery of the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato ( 347/348 BC ). Plato's ideas about an ultimate reality lying beyond visible reality posed a serious challenge to scholastic theologians' rigorous definitions. Textual criticism called into question the reliability of some of the fundamental texts of papal privilege: humanist scholars, like Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) proved that one of the basic documents of papal authority,
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#173288356360910664-641: The sacraments and liturgy . Western and Eastern Christians believed that the sacramental bread and wine of the Eucharist changed into the Body and Blood of Christ , though not in outward appearance. This belief, formulated as " transubstantiation ", was declared a Catholic dogma in 1215. From the 12th and 13th centuries, laypeople only received the bread during the Eucharist . The ecumenical councils' decisions were binding to all Catholics. The crucial elements of mainstream Christianity had been first summarised in
10836-457: The "Elect" person in total opposition to feudal authority, and to both Catholic and Lutheran teaching. However, this was no individualistic path to salvation. The importance which Müntzer laid on communal activities – the reformed liturgies and the leagues he founded or supported in Zwickau, Allstedt, and Mühlhausen – are central to his ministry. To judge from his writings of 1523 and 1524, it
11008-533: The "academics" or scholars (this included Luther) meant that it was impossible for the common man to gain a true understanding of the true faith. Müntzer's true believers (also known as " the Elect ") were capable of reaching faith through personal suffering, guided by "true servants of God", and without regard to Catholic or Lutheran-reformed priests. Spiritual revelation came sometimes through dreams and visions and sometimes through suffering. In Zwickau, Müntzer's belief in
11180-650: The "rebellious spirit of Allstedt", this "bloodthirsty Satan". Shortly afterwards, Müntzer described Luther as "Brother Fatted Pig and Brother Soft Life" in his Sermon Before the Princes . After the summer of 1524, the tone of the written conflict became ever more bitter on both sides, culminating in Müntzer's pamphlet A Highly-Provoked Vindication and a Refutation of the Unspiritual Soft-living Flesh in Wittenberg of 1524, and in Luther's A Terrible History and Judgement of God on Thomas Müntzer of 1525, in which
11352-456: The 1390s. He considered Petrarch's humanism to be a rhetorical, superficial project, and viewed this new strand to be one that abandoned the feudal and supposedly "otherworldly" (i.e., divine) ideology of the Middle Ages in favour of putting the republican state and its freedom at the forefront of the "civic humanist" project. Already controversial at the time of The Crisis ' publication, the "Baron Thesis" has been met with even more criticism over
11524-413: The 19th century) attempted to reconcile Platonism with Christianity, according to the suggestions of early Church Fathers Lactantius and Saint Augustine . In this spirit, Pico della Mirandola attempted to construct a syncretism of religions and philosophies with Christianity, but his work did not win favor with the church authorities, who rejected it because of his views on magic. The historian of
11696-414: The Apostle (d. c. 66), and offered indulgence —the reduction of the penance in both this world and the purgatory—to sinners from an allegedly inexhaustible treasury of merit . The popes also granted dispensations to institutions or individuals, exempting them from certain provisions of canon law (or ecclesiastic law). In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII ( r. 1294–1303 ) declared obedience to
11868-444: The Bible itself. By around 1522, after he had left Prague, most of his theology had matured and settled around some guiding principles, even if some details, such as the identity of "the Elect", were unclear. Despite the profusion of biblical quotations in Müntzer's writings, it was his doctrine that true belief was dictated by spiritual experience, not by written testimony. The Bible was for him evidence only of spiritual experiences of
12040-416: The Church and the Fathers , contained all knowledge necessary for salvation. The Reformation in Germanic countries was instigated by Martin Luther, however historians note that many of his ideas were pre-dated by Wycliff, Huss, Erasmus , Zwingli and others, both heretic and orthodox. Pope Leo X ( r. 1513–1521 ) decided to complete the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As
12212-434: The Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent (1545–1563), positions hardened and a strict Catholic orthodoxy based on scholastic philosophy was imposed. However the education systems developed by Jesuits ran on humanist lines. Hans Baron (1900–1988) was the inventor of the now ubiquitous term "civic humanism." First coined in the 1920s and based largely on his studies of Leonardo Bruni, Baron's "thesis" proposed
12384-558: The Counterfeit Faith , in which he set out his belief that the true faith came from inner spiritual suffering and despair. In the spring of 1524, supporters of Müntzer burned down a small pilgrimage chapel at Mallerbach, much to the annoyance of the abbess of the Naundorf nunnery. The town council and the castellan failed to do anything about her complaint. But in July, Müntzer was invited before
12556-568: The Eucharist was to be administered sub utraque specie ('in both kinds') to the laity. The most radical Hussites, called Taborites after their new town of Tábor , held their property in common. Their millenarianism shocked the Utraquists who destroyed them in the Battle of Lipany in 1434. By this time, the remaining Catholic communities in Bohemia were almost exclusively German-speaking. The lack of
12728-695: The Prague authorities ran him out of town. The next twelve months were spent wandering in Saxony: he turned up in Erfurt and in Nordhausen , in each of which he spent several weeks, applying for suitable posts but failing to be appointed. He also visited his hometown in Stolberg to give sermons (Easter), and in November 1522 visited Weimar to attend a disputation. From December 1522 until March 1523, he found employment as chaplain at
12900-422: The Princes he stated quite clearly: "The fear of God must be pure, unsullied by any fear of men or creaturely things. How desperately we need a fear like this! For just as it is impossible to fear two masters and be saved, so it is impossible to fear both God and created things and be saved." Interwoven with Müntzer's mystical piety, as for many of his contemporaries, was a conviction that the whole cosmos stood at
13072-477: The Princes of Saxony about the Rebellious Spirit demanding the radical's banishment from Saxony. However, the princes simply summoned all the relevant persons of Allstedt, Müntzer included, to a hearing at Weimar where, after being interrogated separately, they were warned about their future conduct. This hearing had the desired effect upon town officials, who back-pedalled rapidly and withdrew their support for
13244-530: The Reformation - or more precisely, 'the reformations', for it was above all a time of massive dissent, and indeed dissent from dissent; in turn, the reformation of thought triggered further social and political upheavals. In this roiling pot of ideas, Müntzer quite readily respected Luther for a period and then just as readily rejected the Lutheran doctrines. Although it is clear in retrospect that Müntzer's ideas were already diverging from Luther's at least as early as
13416-544: The Reformation have always been debated. The most commonly used starting date is 31 October 1517—the day when the German theologian Martin Luther (d. 1546) allegedly nailed up a copy of his disputation paper on indulgences and papal power known as the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg in Electoral Saxony . Calvinist historians often propose that the Reformation started when
13588-467: The Renaissance Sir John Hale cautions against too direct a linkage between Renaissance humanism and modern uses of the term humanism: "Renaissance humanism must be kept free from any hint of either 'humanitarianism' or 'humanism' in its modern sense of rational, non-religious approach to life ... the word 'humanism' will mislead ... if it is seen in opposition to a Christianity its students in
13760-670: The Renaissance humanists as occupying the same kind of "characteristic angst the existentialists attributed to men who had suddenly become conscious of their radical freedom," further weaving philosophy with Renaissance humanism. Hankins summarizes the Kristeller v. Garin debate as: According to Russian historian and Stalinist assassin Iosif Grigulevich two characteristic traits of late Renaissance humanism were "its revolt against abstract, Aristotelian modes of thought and its concern with
13932-562: The Swiss priest Huldrych Zwingli (d. 1531) first preached against abuses in the Church in 1516. The end date of the Reformation is even more disputed, with 25 September 1555 (when the Peace of Augsburg was accepted), 23 May 1618, and 24 October 1648 (when the Thirty Years' War began and ended, respectively) being the most commonly mentioned terminuses. The Reformation has always been presented as one of
14104-774: The Vulgate contained the Septuagint version of the Old Testament . The systematic study of Biblical manuscripts revealed that Jerome had sometimes misinterpreted his sources of translation. A series of Latin-Greek editions of the New Testament was completed by the Dutch humanist Erasmus (d. 1536). These new Latin translations challenged the scriptural proof texts for some Catholic dogmas. After Arianism —a Christological doctrine condemned as heresy at ecumenical councils—disappeared in
14276-624: The Wise . The spread of Gutenberg's printing press provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The initial movement in Germany diversified, and nearby other reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin with different theologies arose. In general, the Reformers argued that salvation in Christianity was a completed status based on faith in Jesus alone and not
14448-432: The Zwickau weavers this movement was particularly strong, along with spiritualism. Nikolaus Storch was active here, a self-taught radical who placed every confidence in spiritual revelation through dreams. Soon he and Müntzer were acting in concert. In the following months, Müntzer found himself more and more at odds with Egranus, the local representative of the Wittenberg movement, and increasingly embroiled in riots against
14620-431: The absent priests' deputies were often poorly educated and underpaid. The clergy consisted of two major groups, the regular clergy and the secular clergy . Regular clerics lived under a monastic rule within the framework of a religious order ; secular clerics were responsible for pastoral care. The Church was a hierarchical organisation. The pope was elected by high-ranking clergymen, the cardinals , and assisted by
14792-454: The air. He was not appointed to any pulpit, but this did not stop him from preaching, agitating, and publishing pamphlets against Luther. His comrade-in-arms here was Pfeiffer; while the two men did not necessarily share the same beliefs (as in Zwickau with Storch) there was enough common-ground in their reformatory zeal and belief in the inspired spirit to allow them to work together closely. A minor civic coup took place in late September 1524, as
14964-483: The allegedly 4th-century Donation of Constantine was a medieval forgery. New religious movements promoted the deeper involvement of laity in religious practices. The Brethren of the Common Life dissuaded their members' priestly ordination and often placed their houses under the protection of urban authorities. They were closely associated with the devotio moderna , a new method of Catholic spirituality with
15136-587: The campaign, applied unusually aggressive marketing methods. A slogan attributed to him famously claimed that "As soon as the coin into the box rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs". Frederick the Wise , Prince-elector of Saxony ( r. 1486–1525 ) forbade the campaign because the Sacrosanctis suspended the sale of previous indulgences, depriving him of revenues that he had spent on his collection of relics . The campaign's vulgarity shocked many serious-minded believers, among them Martin Luther,
15308-468: The church: almost certainly a bachelor's degree in theology and/or the arts; and possibly, but less certainly, a master of the arts. Again, the university records are incomplete or missing. At some time in this rather obscure period of his life, possibly before his studies at Frankfurt, he was employed as an assistant teacher in schools in Halle and Aschersleben, at which time, according to his final confession, he
15480-479: The clerics' monopoly of public ministry, and allowed all trained members of their community, men and women alike, to preach. The Western Schism reinforced a general desire for church reform. The Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d. 1384) was one of the most radical critics. He attacked pilgrimages, the veneration of saints, and the doctrine of transubstantiation. He regarded the Church as an exclusive community of those chosen by God to salvation, and argued that
15652-470: The demolition of the ruined 4th-century St. Peter's Basilica in preparation for the building of a new Renaissance basilica . The necessity of a church reform in capite et membris ('in head and limbs') was frequently discussed at the ecumenical councils from the late 13th century . However, most stakeholders—popes, prelates and kings—preferred the status quo because they did not want to lose privileges or revenues. The system of papal dispensations
15824-520: The development of scientific method, though this remains a matter of controversy. Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age Though humanists continued to use their scholarship in the service of the church into the middle of the sixteenth century and beyond, the sharply confrontational religious atmosphere following the Reformation resulted in the Counter-Reformation that sought to silence challenges to Catholic theology , with similar efforts among
15996-520: The devil One of the principal dialectics in Müntzer's teaching is the opposition of the "Fear of Man" to the "Fear of God". Regardless of one's position in society, it was necessary for the true believer to have a fear of God and to have no fear of man. This was the thrust of his Sermon Before the Princes and it was the rallying call in his final letter to Mühlhausen in May 1525: "May the pure, upright fear of God be with you my dear brothers." In his Sermon Before
16168-600: The diverse customs of the East, and gradually permitted expression in matters of taste and dress. The writings of Dante, and particularly the doctrines of Petrarch and humanists like Machiavelli, emphasized the virtues of intellectual freedom and individual expression. In the essays of Montaigne the individualistic view of life received perhaps the most persuasive and eloquent statement in the history of literature and philosophy. Two noteworthy trends in some Renaissance humanists were Renaissance Neo-Platonism and Hermeticism , which through
16340-480: The divine offer of grace (by acquiring merit .) In contrast, Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and Gregory of Rimini (d. 1358) argued that an individual's choice could not influence God's decision; Rimini also asserted that God predestined the fate of both the saved and the damned. Justification before God and the timing of grace was also the subject of controversy. Many theologians such as Scotus, Ockham, and Gabriel Biel (d. 1495) taught that God established rules how
16512-755: The ecclesiastic leaders also functioned as local secular princes, such as the prince-bishops in Kingdom of Germany and the English County Palatine of Durham , and the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights in their Baltic Ordensstaat . Other prelates might be regents or the power behind the throne. Believers were expected to pay the tithe (one tenth of their income) to the Church. Pluralism—the practice of holding multiple Church offices (or benefices )—was not unusual. This led to non-residence, and
16684-403: The eels and snakes coupling together immorally in one great heap. The priests and all the evil clerics are the snakes...and the secular lords and rulers are the eels... My revered rulers of Saxony...seek without delay the righteousness of God and take up the cause of the gospel boldly. The immediate reaction of the princes is not documented, but Luther did not hold back: he published his Letter to
16856-416: The entire winter studying works by the mystics, the humanists, and the church historians. In May 1520, Müntzer was able to capitalize on the recommendation made by Luther a year earlier, and stood in as temporary replacement for a reformist/humanist preacher named Johann Sylvanus Egranus at St Mary's Church in the busy town of Zwickau (population at that time ca. 7,000), near the border with Bohemia. Zwickau
17028-551: The existence of a central strain of humanism, particularly in Florence and Venice, dedicated to republicanism. As argued in his chef-d'œuvre , The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance: Civic Humanism and Republican Liberty in an Age of Classicism and Tyranny , the German historian thought that civic humanism originated in around 1402, after the great struggles between Florence and Visconti-led Milan in
17200-558: The faithful could gain divine grace. Other theologians such as Rimini, and Hugolino of Orvieto (d. 1374) proposed that no one could deserve divine favour without God's direct intercession. Western Christianity displayed a remarkable unity. This was the outcome of the Gregorian Reform that established papal supremacy over the Catholic Church , and achieved the legal separation of the Catholic clergy from laity . Clerical celibacy
17372-506: The former before any copies could be distributed. Müntzer kept a low profile in Nuremberg, clearly considering that his best strategy would be to spread his teaching in print, rather than end up behind bars. He remained there until November and then left for the southwest of Germany and Switzerland, where peasants and plebeians were beginning to organize themselves for the great peasant uprising of 1525 in defiance of their feudal overlords. There
17544-507: The four, Petrarch was dubbed the "Father of Humanism," as he was the one who first encouraged the study of pagan civilizations and the teaching of classical virtues as a means of preserving Christianity. He also had a library , of which many manuscripts did not survive. Many worked for the Catholic Church and were in holy orders , like Petrarch, while others were lawyers and chancellors of Italian cities, and thus had access to book copying workshops, such as Petrarch's disciple Salutati ,
17716-417: The gospel". However, it is clear that Luther considered that Müntzer was moving ahead too fast, and correspondence (now missing) from Wittenberg seems to have contained explicit criticisms of his activities. By March 1522, Müntzer was writing to Melanchthon in Wittenberg, warning that "our most beloved Martin acts ignorantly because he does not want to offend the little ones... Dear brothers, leave your dallying,
17888-415: The history of European revolutionaries. Almost all modern studies stress the necessity of understanding his revolutionary actions as a consequence of his theology: Müntzer believed that the end of the world was imminent and that it was the task of the true believers to aid God in ushering in a new era of history. Thomas Müntzer was born in late 1489 (or possibly early 1490), in the small town of Stolberg in
18060-586: The issues that would soon come to the fore. A new intellectual movement known as Humanism emerged in the Late Middle Ages . The Humanists' slogan ad fontes ! ('back to the sources!') demonstrated their enthusiasm for Classical texts and textual criticism . The rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the mass immigration of Byzantine scholars to Western Europe, and many of them brought manuscripts previously unknown to western scholarship. This led to
18232-499: The late 7th century , no major disputes menaced the theological unity of the Western Church. Religious enthusiasts could organise their followers into nonconformist groups but they disbanded after their founder died. The Waldensians were a notable exception. Due to their efficient organisation, they survived not only the death of their founder Peter Waldo (d. c. 1205), but also a series of anti-heretic crusades . They rejected
18404-636: The lie to any suggestion that torpor and complacency were the hallmarks of religious life in the century before Martin Luther." Historians customarily refer to Wycliffe and Hus as "Forerunners of the Reformation". The two reformers' emphasis on the Bible is often regarded as an early example of one of the basic principles of the Reformation—the idea sola scriptura ('by the Scriptures alone'), although prominent scholastic theologians were also convinced that Scripture, interpreted reasonably and in accord with
18576-486: The local Catholic priests. The town council became nervous at what was going on at St Katharine's, and in April 1521 at last decided that enough was enough: Müntzer was dismissed from his post and was forced to leave Zwickau. Müntzer initially travelled over the border into Bohemia to the town of Žatec (Saaz); this town was known as one of the five "safe citadels" of the radical Taborites of Bohemia. But Müntzer only used this as
18748-455: The main wished to supplement, not contradict, through their patient excavation of the sources of ancient God-inspired wisdom." Historian Steven Kreis expresses a widespread view (derived from the 19th-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt ), when he writes that: The period from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth worked in favor of the general emancipation of the individual. The city-states of northern Italy had come into contact with
18920-512: The most crucial episodes of the early modern period, or even regarded as the event separating the modern era from the Middle Ages . The term Protestant, though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church that subscribed to the main Reformation (or anti-Catholic ) principles . Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities , who issued
19092-425: The most important member of the whole group. However, in investigating this definition in his article "The changing concept of the studia humanitatis in the early Renaissance," Benjamin G. Kohl provides an account of the various meanings the term took on over the course of the period. And so, the term studia humanitatis took on a variety of meanings over the centuries, being used differently by humanists across
19264-406: The move every Sunday. Within weeks, Luther heard of this and wrote to the Allstedt authorities, asking them to persuade Müntzer to come to Wittenberg for closer inspection. Müntzer refused to go. He was far too busy carrying through his Reformation and wanted no discussion "behind closed doors". At this time, he also married Ottilie von Gersen, a former nun; in the spring of 1524, Ottilie gave birth to
19436-959: The movement which they inspired is shown as humanism. The migration waves of Byzantine Greek scholars and émigrés in the period following the Crusader sacking of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 was a very welcome addition to the Latin texts scholars like Petrarch had found in monastic libraries for the revival of Greek literature and science via their greater familiarity with ancient Greek works. They included Gemistus Pletho , George of Trebizond , Theodorus Gaza , and John Argyropoulos . There were important centres of Renaissance humanism in Bologna , Ferrara , Florence , Genoa , Livorno , Mantua , Padua , Pisa , Naples , Rome , Siena , Venice , Vicenza , and Urbino . Italian humanism spread northward to France , Germany ,
19608-466: The nature of Renaissance humanism. During the period in which they argued over these differing views, there was a broader cultural conversation happening regarding Humanism: one revolving around Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger . While this discourse was taking place outside the realm of Renaissance Studies (for more on the evolution of the term "humanism," see Humanism ), this background debate
19780-493: The new studies, they dared to stand up and to rise to full stature. In 1417, for example, Poggio Bracciolini discovered the manuscript of Lucretius , De rerum natura , which had been lost for centuries and which contained an explanation of Epicurean doctrine , though at the time this was not commented on much by Renaissance scholars, who confined themselves to remarks about Lucretius's grammar and syntax . Only in 1564 did French commentator Denys Lambin (1519–72) announce in
19952-608: The old coat may tear. (...) I will deal with you a thousand times more drastically than Luther with the Pope." Throughout the remainder of 1523, and into 1524, Müntzer consolidated his reformed services and spread his message in the small town. He arranged for the printing of his German Church Service ; the Protestation or Proposition by Thomas Müntzer from Stolberg in the Harz Mountains, now pastor of Allstedt , about his teachings; and On
20124-712: The papacy as a precondition for salvation . A year later, French troops arrested him, and in 1309, the seat of the papacy was transferred from the chaotic Rome to Avignon . During the period of the Avignon Papacy , the popes assumed control of the appointment of all senior Catholic clerics. The appointees had to pay fees and other contributions to the Roman Curia. The idea that Rome was the legitimate center of Catholicism never ceased, with Pope Gregory XI ( r. 1370–1378 ) returning to Rome. However, conflict between his successor Urban VII ( r. 1378–1389 ) and
20296-457: The past; the words of the Bible still had to be validated by the working of the Spirit in the believer's heart. "If someone had never had sight or sound of the Bible at any time in his life, he could still hold the one true Christian faith because of the true teaching of the spirit, just like all those who composed the holy Scripture without any books at all." The insistence on written, Biblical proof by
20468-457: The patronage of Selmenitz, he was appointed as preacher at St John's Church in Allstedt in Saxony. He found himself working alongside another reformer, Simon Haferitz who preached at the church of St Wigberti. The town of Allstedt was small, barely more than a large village (population 600), with an imposing castle set on the hill above it. Elector Friedrich held the right to appoint to St John's, but
20640-523: The peasant uprisings in 1525, Müntzer organized an armed militia in Mühlhausen . He was captured after the Battle of Frankenhausen , tortured and finally executed. Few other figures of the German Reformation raised as much controversy as Müntzer, which continues to this day. A complex and unusual character, he is now regarded as a significant personality in the early years of the German Reformation and
20812-466: The people of Erfurt, in May 1525, he wrote: Help us in any way you can, with men and with cannon, so that we can carry out the commands of God himself in Ezekiel 34, where he says: "I will rescue you from those who lord it over you in a tyrannous way" [and] In Chapter 39 [...] "Come, you birds of heaven and devour the flesh of the princes; and you wild beasts drink up the blood of all the bigwigs". Daniel says
20984-443: The period in Zwickau, Müntzer himself may not have been aware of this. Luther, like Müntzer, had shown an avid interest in the mystic and theologian Johannes Tauler . Müntzer may even have looked at Luther's many admiring references to Tauler in his Theologia Germanica and assumed him to be a fellow fan of Tauler's work. In July 1520, Müntzer was still able to sign off a letter to Luther as "Thomas Müntzer, whom you brought to birth by
21156-434: The popes owed obedience to the ecumenical councils . This idea known as conciliarism was condemned by Pope Pius II ( r. 1458–1467 ) in a papal bull , but ecclesiastic and secular leaders often referred to it during their conflicts with the papacy. Relationships between the papacy and powerful Catholic rulers were regulated in special agreements known as concordats , limiting papal authority. As princes of
21328-478: The possibilities of revelation by dream matched the same belief in the sect of radicals led by Nikolaus Storch. Storch was later to confound Luther's colleague Melanchthon with plausible arguments about this. Müntzer himself clearly believed in the power of vision and dream, as evidenced by his lengthy and carefully argued Sermon Before the Princes , which discussed the dream of Nebuchadnezzar: So to expect visions and to receive them while in tribulation and suffering,
21500-480: The preface to the work that "he regarded Lucretius's Epicurean ideas as 'fanciful, absurd, and opposed to Christianity'." Lambin's preface remained standard until the nineteenth century. Epicurus's unacceptable doctrine that pleasure was the highest good "ensured the unpopularity of his philosophy". Lorenzo Valla , however, puts a defense of epicureanism in the mouth of one of the interlocutors of one of his dialogues. Charles Trinkhaus regards Valla's "epicureanism" as
21672-466: The princes’ army arrived, having already crushed the rebellion in southern Thuringia. On 15 May, battle was joined. It lasted only a few minutes, and left the streams of the hill running with blood. Six thousand rebels were killed, but only a few soldiers. Many more rebels were executed in the following days. Müntzer fled, but was captured as he hid in a house in Frankenhausen. His identity was revealed by
21844-511: The professional staff of the Roman Curia . Secular clerics were organised into territorial units known as dioceses , each ruled by a bishop or archbishop . Each diocese was divided into parishes headed by parish priests who administered most sacraments to the faithful. These were sacred rites thought to transfer divine grace to humankind. The Council of Florence declared baptism , confirmation , marriage , extreme unction , penance ,
22016-422: The publication of the Ninety-five Theses , authored by Martin Luther. Over three years later, on 3 January 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X . On 25 May 1521, at the Diet of Worms , Luther was condemned by the Holy Roman Empire , which officially banned citizens from defending or propagating Luther's ideas. Luther survived after being declared an outlaw due to the protection of Elector Frederick
22188-406: The pulpit at St Mary's Church; the town council neither gave, nor was asked for, permission to make this appointment; it would seem that a popular vote thrust Müntzer into the pulpit. Immediately, he and Pfeiffer, who had managed to return to the town some three months earlier, were at the centre of considerable activity. In early March, the citizens were called upon to elect an "Eternal Council" which
22360-731: The pure sources") to the Gospels , the New Testament and the Church Fathers , bypassing the complexities of medieval Christian theology . Very broadly, the project of the Italian Renaissance humanists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was the studia humanitatis : the study of the humanities , "a curriculum focusing on language skills." This project sought to recover the culture of ancient Greece and Rome through its literature and philosophy and to use this classical revival to imbue
22532-450: The radical preacher (by then dead) was described as "a murderous and bloodthirsty prophet". During the last two years of his life, Müntzer had come into contact with a number of other radicals; prominent amongst them were Hans Hut , Hans Denck , Melchior Rinck , Hans Römer, and Balthasar Hubmaier . All of them were leaders of the emerging Anabaptist movement, which nurtured similar reformed doctrines to those of Müntzer himself. While it
22704-404: The radicals. In the night of 7 August 1524, Müntzer slipped out of Allstedt (by necessity abandoning wife and son, who were only later able to join him), and headed for the self-ruling Imperial Free City of Mühlhausen , around 65 kilometres (40 mi) to the southwest. Mühlhausen was a city with a population of 8,500. During 1523 social tensions which had been brewing for several years came to
22876-514: The resistance of autonomous institutions such as cathedral chapters . Neither could they exercise authority over non-resident clerics who had received their benefice from the papacy. On the eve of the Reformation, the Fifth Council of the Lateran was the last occasion when efforts to introduce a far-reaching reform from above could have achieved but it was dissolved in 1517 without making decisions on
23048-437: The road of the Wittenberg reformers, and how much he believed that the reform movement was something apocalyptic in nature. "I, Thomas Müntzer, beseech the church not to worship a mute God, but a living and speaking one; none of the gods is more contemptible to the nations than this living one to Christians who have no part of him." In November or December 1521, having discovered that Müntzer was not at all what they had supposed,
23220-464: The ruling classes with the moral attitudes of said ancients—a project James Hankins calls one of "virtue politics." But what this studia humanitatis actually constituted is a subject of much debate. According to one scholar of the movement, Early Italian humanism, which in many respects continued the grammatical and rhetorical traditions of the Middle Ages, not merely provided the old Trivium with
23392-405: The sale of certificates of indulgences had been a well-established method of papal fund raising, he announced new indulgences in the papal bull Sacrosanctis in 1515. On the advice of the banker Jakob Fugger (d. 1525), he appointed the pluralist prelate Albert of Brandenburg (d. 1545) to supervise the sale campaign in Germany. The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel (d. 1519), a leading figure in
23564-496: The same thing in chapter 7: that power should be given to the common man". In his final confession under torture of May 1525, Müntzer stated that one of the primary aims of himself and his comrades was " omnia sunt communia " – "all things are to be held in common and distribution should be to each according to his need". This statement has often been cited as evidence of Müntzer's " early communism ", but it stands quite alone in all of his writings and letters. It may have been
23736-442: The sharp edge of the plough-share On the very eve of Battle at Frankenhausen, he had this to say to the people of Allstedt: May the pure fear of God be with you, dear brothers. You must remain unperturbed. If you fail to do so, then your sacrifice is in vain, your heart-sad, heart-felt suffering. You would then have to start suffering all over again... If you are unwilling to suffer for the sake of God, then you will to be martyrs for
23908-559: The side of the princes; he made a tour of southern Saxony – Stolberg, Nordhausen, and the Mansfeld district – in an attempt to dissuade the rebels from action, although in some of these places he was roundly heckled. He followed this up with his pamphlet Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants , calling for the ruthless suppression of the revolt. This had a title and a timing that could not have been more ill-considered since it
24080-489: The state could seize the corrupt clerics' endowments. Known as Lollards , Wycliffe's followers rejected clerical celibacy and the grant of indulgences. The Parliament of England passed a law against heretics , but Lollard communities survived the purges. Wycliffe's theology had a marked impact on the Prague academic Jan Hus (d. 1415). He delivered popular sermons against the clerics' wealth and temporal powers, for which he
24252-529: The supranational character of the Catholic Church. In 1409, cardinals from both sides elected a new pope at the Council of Pisa but his two rivals refused to resign. More prudent preparations paved the way for the Council of Constance . Here, one of the three popes resigned, his two rivals were deposed, and the newly elected Martin V ( r. 1417–1431 ) was acknowledged as the legitimate pope throughout Catholic Europe. The Council of Constance declared that
24424-417: The term Reformation for "wrongly implying that bad religion was giving way to good," but also because it has "little application to actual social behaviour and little or no sensitivity to thought, feeling or culture." Some historians have also suggested a persisting Erasmian Reformation . Anglican theologian Alister McGrath explains the term "Reformation" as "an interpretative category—a way of mapping out
24596-459: The time has come! Do not delay, summer is at the door. ... Do not flatter your princes, otherwise you will live to see your undoing." An attempt at reconciliation with Luther, in a letter written by Müntzer from Allstedt in July 1523, went without reply. In June 1524, however, Luther published his pamphlet A Letter to the Princes of Saxony concerning the Rebellious Spirit , which essentially called on Prince Friedrich and Duke Johann to deal firmly with
24768-491: The town council either forgot to advise him, or did not feel that his approval was necessary. Almost immediately on arrival, Müntzer was preaching his version of the reformed doctrines, and delivering the standard church services and masses in German. Such was the popularity of his preaching and the novelty of hearing services in German that people from the surrounding countryside and towns were soon flocking to Allstedt. Some reports suggest that upwards of two thousand people were on
24940-497: The town council, so much so that when Egranus returned to post in late September 1520, the town council appointed Müntzer to a permanent post at St Katharine's Church. St Katharine's was the church of the weavers. Even before the arrival of Lutheran doctrines, there was already in Zwickau a reform movement inspired by the Hussite Reformation of the 15th century, especially in its radical, apocalyptic Taborite flavour. Amongst
25112-536: The town of Jüterbog , north-east of Wittenberg, where he had been asked to stand in for the preacher Franz Günther. Günther had already been preaching the reformed gospel, but had found himself attacked by the local Franciscans; requesting leave of absence, he left the scene and Müntzer was sent in. The latter picked up where Günther had left off. Before long, the local ecclesiastics were complaining bitterly about Müntzer's heretical "articles" which challenged both church teaching and church institutions. By this time, Müntzer
25284-526: The towns where Müntzer had been active, his reformed liturgies were still being used some ten years after his death. Reformation Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Reformation , also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation , was
25456-496: The various Italian city-states as one definition got adopted and spread across the country. Still, it has referred consistently to a mode of learning—formal or not—that results in one's moral edification. Under the influence and inspiration of the classics , Renaissance humanists developed a new rhetoric and new learning. Some scholars also argue that humanism articulated new moral and civic perspectives, and values offering guidance in life to all citizens . Renaissance humanism
25628-683: The works of figures like Nicholas of Kues , Giordano Bruno , Cornelius Agrippa , Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola sometimes came close to constituting a new religion itself. Of these two, Hermeticism has had great continuing influence in Western thought, while the former mostly dissipated as an intellectual trend, leading to movements in Western esotericism such as Theosophy and New Age thinking. The "Yates thesis" of Frances Yates holds that before falling out of favour, esoteric Renaissance thought introduced several concepts that were useful for
25800-552: The years. Even in the 1960s, historians Philip Jones and Peter Herde found Baron's praise of "republican" humanists naive, arguing that republics were far less liberty-driven than Baron had believed, and were practically as undemocratic as monarchies. James Hankins adds that the disparity in political values between the humanists employed by oligarchies and those employed by princes was not particularly notable, as all of Baron's civic ideals were exemplified by humanists serving various types of government. In so arguing, he asserts that
25972-652: Was a leader of the German peasant and plebeian uprising of 1525 commonly known as the German Peasants' War . In 1514, Müntzer became a priest in Braunschweig , where he began to question the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church . He then became a follower and acquaintance of Martin Luther, who recommended him for a post in Zwickau . His beliefs became increasingly spiritual and apocalyptic; by his arrival at Allstedt in 1523 he had completely broken with Luther. Amidst
26144-523: Was a principal obstacle to the implementation of reform measures, as the Holy See regularly granted immunities to those who did not want to execute them. Within regular clergy, the so-called " congregations of strict observance" spread. These were monastic communities that returned to the strict interpretation of their order's rule. Reformist bishops tried to discipline their clergy through regular canonical visitations but their attempts mainly failed due to
26316-426: Was a response to what came to be depicted by later whig historians as the "narrow pedantry" associated with medieval scholasticism . In the last years of the 13th century and in the first decades of the 14th century , the cultural climate was changing in some European regions. The rediscovery, study, and renewed interest in authors who had been forgotten, and in the classical world that they represented, inspired
26488-450: Was a town which, although exceptional for the times, nurtured conditions which presaged the trajectory of many towns over the following two centuries. At St Mary's, Müntzer carried on as he had started in Jüterbog. This brought him into conflict with the representatives of the established church. He still regarded himself as a follower of Luther, however, and as such he retained the support of
26660-593: Was also celebrated in Latin. Catholics regarded the Vulgate as the Bible's authentic Latin translation. Commentators applied several methods of interpretations to resolve contradictions between Bible texts. In the universities, scholastic theology held sway. Legitimate debates among scholastic theologians were not uncommon. Predestination —God's decision about an individual's fate in afterlife—was frequently discussed. Ockhamist theologians taught that God destined to salvation those about whom foreknew that they would accept
26832-458: Was also growing, and witch-hunts intensified. From the end of the 15th century , a new, sexually transmitted infection spread in Europe. This was syphilis that destroyed its victims' looks with ulcers and scabs before killing them. Along with the French invasion of Italy , the syphilis gave the background to the success of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) who called for
27004-484: Was as "Thomas Munczer de Quedlinburgk" that he enrolled at the University of Leipzig in 1506. Here he may have studied the arts or even theology: relevant records are missing, and it is uncertain whether Müntzer actually graduated from Leipzig. He later enrolled in late 1512 at the Viadriana University of Frankfurt an der Oder . It is not known what degrees he had obtained by 1514, when he found employment within
27176-453: Was by no means inevitable that Müntzer would take the road of social revolution. However, it was precisely on this same theological foundation that Müntzer's ideas briefly coincided with the aspirations of the peasants and plebeians of 1525. Viewing the uprising as an apocalyptic act of God, he stepped up as "God's Servant against the Godless" and took his position as leader of the rebels. Müntzer
27348-454: Was exposed to Luther's ideas as well as other ideas originating with the humanists , among whom was Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt , who later became a radical opponent of Luther. Müntzer did not remain in Wittenberg for long, and was reported in various other locations in Thuringia and Franconia . He continued to be paid for his position at Braunschweig until early 1519, when he turned up in
27520-413: Was forced to abandon wife and child once more and escape with Pfeiffer to a safer haven. He travelled first to Nuremberg in the south, where he arranged for the publication of his anti-Lutheran pamphlet A Highly Provoked Vindication and Refutation of the unspiritual soft-living flesh in Wittenberg , as well as one entitled A Manifest Exposé of False Faith . Both were confiscated by the city authorities,
27692-501: Was in the middle of the important iron- and silver-mining area of the Erzgebirge , and was also home to a significant number of plebeians, primarily weavers. Money from the mining operations, and from the commercial boom which mining generated, had infiltrated the town. This led to an increasing division between rich and poor citizens, and a parallel consolidation of larger manufacturers over small-scale craftsmen. Social tensions ran high. It
27864-408: Was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of danse macabre ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of Masses for the dead . Already detectable among early Christians , these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in purgatory —a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering heaven . Fear of malevolent magical practice
28036-442: Was not irrelevant to Kristeller and Garin's ongoing disagreement. Kristeller—who had at one point studied under Heidegger —also discounted (Renaissance) humanism as philosophy, and Garin's Der italienische Humanismus was published alongside Heidegger's response to Sartre—a move that Rubini describes as an attempt "to stage a pre-emptive confrontation between historical humanism and philosophical neo-humanisms." Garin also conceived of
28208-400: Was not simply following Luther's teachings; he had already begun to study the works of the mystics Henry Suso and Johannes Tauler , was seriously wondering about the possibility of enlightenment through dreams and visions, had thoroughly explored the early history of the Christian church, and was in correspondence with other radical reformers such as Karlstadt. In June 1519, Müntzer attended
28380-410: Was not until the 19th century that this began to be called humanism instead of the original humanities , and later by the retronym Renaissance humanism to distinguish it from later humanist developments. During the Renaissance period most humanists were Christians , so their concern was to "purify and renew Christianity ", not to do away with it. Their vision was to return ad fontes ("to
28552-472: Was often patronage of humanists by senior church figures. Much humanist effort went into improving the understanding and translations of Biblical and early Christian texts, both before and after the Reformation, which was greatly influenced by the work of non-Italian, Northern European figures such as Erasmus , Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples , William Grocyn , and Swedish Catholic Archbishop in exile Olaus Magnus . The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy describes
28724-426: Was one of many preachers and theologians caught up in the extraordinary atmosphere of the early Reformation. In this period, from around 1517 to 1525, Martin Luther had no monopoly of the reforms. This was the time not only of Luther, but also of Erasmus of Rotterdam and fellow-Humanists, of the alchemists Paracelsus and Cornelius Agrippa , of localized urban and rural acts of defiance. The social upheavals triggered
28896-487: Was reinforced through the prohibition of clerical marriage ; ecclesiastical courts were granted exclusive jurisdiction over clerics, and also over matrimonial causes. Priests were ordained by bishops in accordance with the principle of apostolic succession —a claim to the uninterrupted transmission of their consecrating power from Christ's Apostles through generations of bishops. Bishops, abbots , abbesses , and other prelates might possess remarkable wealth. Some of
29068-584: Was summoned to the Council of Constance. Although the German king Sigismund of Luxemburg ( r. 1410–1437 ) had granted him safe conduct, Hus was sentenced to death for heresy and burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. His execution led to a nationwide religious movement in Bohemia , and the papacy called for a series of crusades against Hus's followers. The moderate Hussites , mainly Czech aristocrats and academics, were known as Utraquists for they taught that
29240-407: Was the German peasantry who at that time died in their thousands at the hands of the princely armies. Estimates put the figure at 70,000–75,000, possibly even as high as 100,000. At length, on 11 May, Müntzer and what remained of his troops arrived outside the town of Frankenhausen , meeting up with rebels there who had been asking for help for some time. No sooner had they set up camp on a hill than
29412-420: Was to replace the existing town council, but whose duties went far beyond the merely municipal. Surprisingly, neither Pfeiffer nor Müntzer were admitted to the new council, nor to its meetings. Possibly because of this, Müntzer then founded the "Eternal League of God" in late March (but some researchers date this League to September 1524). This was an armed militia, designed not just as a defence league, but also as
29584-477: Was up in arms, with peasant and plebeian troops from various districts mobilized. However, the princes were laying their own plans for the suppression of the revolt. The feudal authorities had far better weapons and more disciplined armies than their subjects. At the beginning of May, the Mühlhausen troop marched around the countryside in north Thuringia, but failed to meet up with other troops, being content to loot and pillage locally. Luther pitched in very firmly on
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