Title: What was the impact of the German Peasant War (1524-1527) on the Reformation? - DailyHistory.org
Headings: What was the impact of the German Peasant War (1524-1527) on the Reformation?
What was the impact of the German Peasant War (1524-1527) on the Reformation?
The Peasant Wars Origins
The Peasant War
Martin Luther and the Peasants War
Prince’s Reformation
Popular Reformation
Conclusion
References

Content: Luther and others sought to distance themselves from the War and supported the nobility and the Swabian League unequivocally. This was no doubt done out of expediency as Luther knew that his reform movement could only survive with the elite's support. He could not be seen to be siding with the peasants, or he would risk losing the support of the nobility, including the Saxon Dukes, his own protectors. Luther was also genuinely appalled by the behavior of the peasants. He was particular appalled by the massacre at the castle of Weinsberg when peasant rebels had massacred some nobles and the garrison of a castle. This prompted him to write the polemic ‘Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants’. In this work, he used strong language to call for the extermination of the rebels who had ‘’become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name.” Luther, under the influence of St Augustine, believed that humanity would be deprived and prone to evil. Only a strong monarch or government could control the evil nature, especially of the lower orders. As a result of the Peasants War, existing trends in the Reformation were confirmed and even became entrenched in Lutheranism.