German Peasants’ War of 1525 : A Conflict Powered by Print

An exploration of the 1525 German Peasants'' War which emphasises the crucial role of media and the printing press in the conflict and its legacy.

Why did German agrarian protests, normally very local or regional, all meld together into one vast uprising that became the 1525 ‘Peasants’ War’? Thomas Kaufmann emphatically argues that the recent availability of printing, which created links between the various regions of revolt, led to the conflict distinguishing itself as the largest of all uprisings in German medieval and early modern history. He reveals the Peasants’ War to be a media event driven by its major document, the Twelve Articles, which became the universal programme, printed in numbers to rival even Martin Luther’s key texts of the time.

The book offers an overview of the historiography of the war since the 16th century, starting with Luther and his printed interventions through to the competing interpretations of the Peasants'' War which developed and lived on in the history of the two German states. It goes on to deal with print before the war, setting out the tropes and images which would be utilised in the struggle. Kaufmann examines the literature of the Peasants’ War itself, through the analysis of around 250 printed publications, and lastly explores the historical significance of the war and its legacy in art, literature, political theory and theology.

The German Peasants’ War of 1525 thus provides both an overall history of the conflict and a compelling new interpretation of it: print powered the spread of ideas, radicalised positions and ultimately made a senseless war bigger than it otherwise would have been.