THE DEVIL'S WORK

In the autumn of 1524, Helen, Countess of Lupfen, instructed her peasants, then busy bringing in the harvests in Stühlingen (modern day Alsace and Baden-Württemberg), to also collect snail shells for her to use as thread spools. She had… misunderstood the mood of her serfs and within a few days their dissatisfaction began to manifest itself when 1,200 gathered to protest this extra work. They formed an army, appointed officers and presented a list of their complaints.

Eoghan Kelly

The revolt spread quickly through the southern Holy Roman Empire. By February 1525, 25 villages near Memmingen (in the Swabian part of Bavaria) had joined. The rebels presented their grievances in to the local town leaders, properly written down. In March 1525, the Upper Swabian Peasants Confederation published their Twelve Articles. These were a series of demands about personal freedoms and payment for work, and were in effect a Constitution for the Peasantry. Reflecting Martin Luther's recent Theses, they also demanded changes to how the Church operated, and how taxes and tithes were raised and used, but while Luther had sympathy with the peasants, he distanced himself from the uprisings. The revolt did not spare monasteries, convents and libraries. The formation of the Upper Swabian Peasants Confederation meant this revolt…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 134

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