Twelve Articles of the Black Forest
Encyclopedia
The Twelve Articles are part of the peasants' demands raised towards the Swabian League
in the German Peasants' War
in Germany
of 1525.
, the Allgäuer Mob, and the Lake Constance Mob), met in Memmingen
to deliberate upon their common stance against the Swabian League
. One day later and after difficult negotiations, they proclaimed the Christian Association, an Upper Swabian Peasants' Confederation
. The peasants met again on 15 and 20 March 1525 in Memmingen
and, after some additional deliberation, adopted the Twelve Articles and the Federal Order (Bundesordnung).
These are the only programmes of many printed in the German Peasants' War. The Twelve Articles in particular were printed over 25,000 times within the next two months, a tremendous amount for those times and quickly spread throughout Germany
. Since the two texts were not developed any further in the course of the German Peasants' War, some sources speak of a constituent peasants' assembly in Memmingen
.
from Memmingen, who had possibly broadened already existing texts together with Christoph Schappeler
.
On 16 February 1525 about 25 villages pertaining to the city of Memmingen rebelled, and in view of their economic condition and the general political situation, demanded considerable improvements with the city council. The complaints touched subjects like peonage, land regime, easements on the woods and the commons as well as ecclesiastical requirements.
The peasants wanted reforms on a broad front. The city had set up a committee of villagers and expected to see a long checklist of specific demands. Very unexpectedly though, the peasants delivered a uniform, fundamental declaration made up of twelve articles. Many of those demands did subsequently not prevail in the city council, but one can assume, that the articles of the ordines provinciales una congregati (the representatives of the territory) of Memmingen had become the basis of discussion for the Twelve Articles agreed on by the Upper Swabian Peasants Confederation of 20 March 1525.
It is well possible that Joß Fritz
’s demands, which he had raised during the so-called Bundschuh movement
in 1513 influenced the articles of the representatives of the territory of Memmingen and thereby also had their influence on the Twelve Articles.
But Luther was not happy with the peasants’ revolts and their invoking him. Possibly he also saw their negative effect on the Reformation as a whole. He called upon the peasants and urged them to keep peace. He also wrote to the gents:
“They set up twelve articles which of some are so just, that they do shame to you before God and world. But almost all of them are in their favour and not drawn up to the best. […] But it is unbearable to tax and slave-drive people like this forever.”
In May 1525 Luther’s script "Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
" appeared, in which he took sides for the authorities and, fearing for the godly order, called for the peasants’ destruction. It was specifically caused by the so-called “Weinsberger Bluttat”, the peasants under Jäcklein Rohrbach killing the High Governor, count Ludwig Helferich of Helfenstein and his followers after having seized the city and the castle.
A direct comparison with the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 yields some equivalence in the motives and the implementation into the text. The results of the French Revolution
starting in 1789 in the form of a modern state, that is a republic, sees quite some of the peasants’ points implemented.
In the following 300 years the peasants rarely rebelled. Only with the Revolution of March 1848/49
(Märzrevolution), the peasants’ objectives as formulated in the Twelve Articles of 1525 were finally implemented.
The second Vatican Council
of 1965 defined the “supreme principle” of the reform on the liturgy to allow for the “conscious, active and comprehensive participation of the believers” in the liturgy of the church. In this context the respective popular language was added to the thitherto authoritative Latin as the language of the liturgy.
Swabian League
The Swabian League was an association of Imperial States - cities, prelates, principalities and knights - principally in the territory of the Early medieval stem duchy of Swabia, established in 1488 at the behest of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and supported as well by Bertold von...
in the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
of 1525.
Incidents
On 6 March 1525 about 50 representatives of the Upper Swabian Peasants Groups (of the Baltringer MobBaltringer Haufen
The Baltringer Haufen was prominent among several armed groups of peasants and craftsmen during the German Peasants' War of 1524-1525. The name derived from the small Upper Swabian village of Baltringen, which lies approximately south of Ulm in the district of Biberach, Germany...
, the Allgäuer Mob, and the Lake Constance Mob), met in Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...
to deliberate upon their common stance against the Swabian League
Swabian League
The Swabian League was an association of Imperial States - cities, prelates, principalities and knights - principally in the territory of the Early medieval stem duchy of Swabia, established in 1488 at the behest of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and supported as well by Bertold von...
. One day later and after difficult negotiations, they proclaimed the Christian Association, an Upper Swabian Peasants' Confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
. The peasants met again on 15 and 20 March 1525 in Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...
and, after some additional deliberation, adopted the Twelve Articles and the Federal Order (Bundesordnung).
These are the only programmes of many printed in the German Peasants' War. The Twelve Articles in particular were printed over 25,000 times within the next two months, a tremendous amount for those times and quickly spread throughout Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Since the two texts were not developed any further in the course of the German Peasants' War, some sources speak of a constituent peasants' assembly in Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...
.
Summary of The Twelve Articles
- Every municipalityMunicipalityA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
shall have the right to elect and remove a preacher if he behaves improperly. The preacher shall preach the gospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
simply, straight and clearly without any humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
amendment, for, it is written, that we can only come to GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
by true beliefBeliefBelief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
. - The preachers shall be paid from the great titheTitheA tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
. A potential surplus shall be used to pay for the poor and the war tax. The small tithe shall be dismissed, for it has been trumped-up by humans, for the Lord, our master, has created the cattle free for mankind. - It has been practice so far, that we have been held as villain, which is pitiful, given that Christ redeemed all of us with his precious bloodshed, the shepherd as well as the highest, no one excluded. Therefore, it is devised by the scripture, that we are and that we want to be free.
- It is unfraternal and not in accordance with the word of God that the simple man does not have the right to catch game, fowls, and fish. For, when God our master created man, he gave him power over all animals, the bird in the air and the fish in the water.
- The high gentlemen have taken sole possession of the woods. If the poor man needs something, he has to buy it for double money. Therefore, all the woods that were not bought (relates to former community woods, which many rulers had simply appropriated) shall be given back to the municipality so that anybody can satisfy his needs for timber and firewood thereof.
- One shall have understanding (pretty much reduce) with regard to the corvee which keeps increasing from day to day to how our parents served in accordance with exclusively the word of God.
- The nobility shall not raise the peasant's corvee in excess of what was established at bestowal. (Raising corvee without any agreement was not unusual.)
- Many properties can not support the levies (lease fees). Honest men shall inspect these properties and shall determine the levy upon their discretion so that the peasant shall not do his work in vain, for every person is worth his pay.
- New rules are ever made for the great outcry “große Frevel” (a fine that had to be paid to the court). One does not punish with regards to the subject but at discretion (raising fines and arbitrary punishment was common). It is our opinion that we shall be punished by old, written penalty with regards to what was done and not to favour.
- Several have appropriated meadows and acres (community land that was at the disposition of all members), that belong to the municipality. Those we want back to our common hands.
- The “Todfall” (a sort of inheritance tax) shall be abolished altogether and never again shall widows and orphans be robbed contrary to God and honour.
- It is our decision and final opinion that if one or several of the articles mentioned herein were not in accordance with the word of God, those we shall refrain from if it is explained to us on the basis of the scripture. If several articles were already granted to us and it emerged afterwards that they were ill, they shall be dead and null. Likewise, we want to have reserved that if even more articles are found in the writ that were against God and a grievance to though neighbour.
The Federal Order (Bundesordnung)
The Federal Order reached high print run as well and was probably particularly popular with the peasants, since it provided a model for a federal social order based on the municipality. Peasants’ communities were found to have been organised pursuant to this in the Black Forest, the Alsace and in Franconia.Roots of the Twelve Articles
The roots of the Twelve Articles are disputed. Some sources attribute them to the Peasants Leader (Bauernkanzler) Wendel Hipler. Normally they are attributed to the reformer Sebastian LotzerSebastian Lotzer
Sebastian Lotzer was a Memmingen journeyman furrier and scribe to the Baltringer Haufen, a peasant army during the German Peasants' War...
from Memmingen, who had possibly broadened already existing texts together with Christoph Schappeler
Christoph Schappeler
Christoph Schappeler was a German religious figure, the preacher at St. Martin's in Memmingen during the early 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation and the German Peasants' War. He tended to side with the poor, causing the senate to regulate his sermons in 1516. However, by 1521 the...
.
On 16 February 1525 about 25 villages pertaining to the city of Memmingen rebelled, and in view of their economic condition and the general political situation, demanded considerable improvements with the city council. The complaints touched subjects like peonage, land regime, easements on the woods and the commons as well as ecclesiastical requirements.
The peasants wanted reforms on a broad front. The city had set up a committee of villagers and expected to see a long checklist of specific demands. Very unexpectedly though, the peasants delivered a uniform, fundamental declaration made up of twelve articles. Many of those demands did subsequently not prevail in the city council, but one can assume, that the articles of the ordines provinciales una congregati (the representatives of the territory) of Memmingen had become the basis of discussion for the Twelve Articles agreed on by the Upper Swabian Peasants Confederation of 20 March 1525.
It is well possible that Joß Fritz
Joss Fritz
Joss Fritz was a late fifteenth and early sixteenth century insurgent who lived in Germany. He was particularly active in the Upper Rhine area, organizing at least three major Bundschuh revolts, in 1502, 1512 and 1519. These revolts were all suppressed before they could take form, however, as he...
’s demands, which he had raised during the so-called Bundschuh movement
Bundschuh movement
The Bundschuh movement was a loosely linked series of localized peasant rebellions in southwestern Germany. It played an important part in the German Peasants' War of the early 15th and 16th centuries. It was so called because of the peasant shoe the peasants displayed on their flag – symbolizing...
in 1513 influenced the articles of the representatives of the territory of Memmingen and thereby also had their influence on the Twelve Articles.
Luther and the Twelve Articles
The peasants had to burden the many encumbrances they were charged with and in Luther’s and the reformation’s stance they saw the affirmation that most of those were not provided for by the will of God.But Luther was not happy with the peasants’ revolts and their invoking him. Possibly he also saw their negative effect on the Reformation as a whole. He called upon the peasants and urged them to keep peace. He also wrote to the gents:
“They set up twelve articles which of some are so just, that they do shame to you before God and world. But almost all of them are in their favour and not drawn up to the best. […] But it is unbearable to tax and slave-drive people like this forever.”
In May 1525 Luther’s script "Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants is a piece written by Martin Luther, related to The German Peasants' War. The Peasants' War took place between 1524 and 1526, as a result of a tumultuous collection of grievances in many different spheres: political, economic, social, and...
" appeared, in which he took sides for the authorities and, fearing for the godly order, called for the peasants’ destruction. It was specifically caused by the so-called “Weinsberger Bluttat”, the peasants under Jäcklein Rohrbach killing the High Governor, count Ludwig Helferich of Helfenstein and his followers after having seized the city and the castle.
Continued effect
The fundamental ideas laid down in these demands seems to have lasted longer than their main fighters and representatives.A direct comparison with the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 yields some equivalence in the motives and the implementation into the text. The results of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
starting in 1789 in the form of a modern state, that is a republic, sees quite some of the peasants’ points implemented.
In the following 300 years the peasants rarely rebelled. Only with the Revolution of March 1848/49
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
(Märzrevolution), the peasants’ objectives as formulated in the Twelve Articles of 1525 were finally implemented.
The second Vatican Council
Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council took place in 1869 - 1870 and was the 20th of ecumenical councils recognized by Roman Catholicism.The Second Vatican Council took place in the 1962 - 1965 and was the 21st....
of 1965 defined the “supreme principle” of the reform on the liturgy to allow for the “conscious, active and comprehensive participation of the believers” in the liturgy of the church. In this context the respective popular language was added to the thitherto authoritative Latin as the language of the liturgy.
Literature
- Günther Franz: Die Entstehung der "Zwölf Artikel" der deutschen Bauernschaft, in: Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte 36 (1939), S. 195-213.
- Peter Blickle: Nochmals zur Entstehung der Zwölf Artikel, in: Ders. (Hrsg.), Bauer, Reich, Reformation. Festschrift für Günther Franz zum 80. Geburtstag, Stuttgart 1982, S. 286-308.
- Ders.: Die Revolution von 1525, München 31993. ISBN 3-486-44263-5
- Ders.: Die Geschichte der Stadt Memmingen. Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende der Reichsstadt, Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-8062-1315-1
- Martin Brecht: Der theologische Hintergrund der Zwölf Artikel der Bauernschaft in Schwaben von 1525. Christoph Schappelers und Sebastian Lotzers Beitrag zum Bauernkrieg, in: Heiko A. Obermann (Hrsg.), Deutscher Bauernkrieg 1525 (Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 85, 1974, Heft 2) 1974, S. 30-64 (178-208).
- Günter Vogler: Der revolutionäre Gehalt und die räumliche Verbreitung der oberschwäbischen Zwölf Artikel, in: Peter Blickle (Hrsg.), Revolte und Revolution in Europa )Historische Zeitschrift, Beiheft 4 NF), München 1975, S. 206-231.
- Ernst Walder: Der politische Gehalt der Zwölf Artikel der deutschen Bauernschaft von 1525, in: Schweizer Beiträge zur Allgemeinen Geschichte 12 (1954), S. 5-22.