The economic, social and political background of the twelve articles of the Swabian peasants of 1525

Abstract

A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the local and regional documents of complaints, which served as the basis for the formulation of the influential Twelve Articles (see above, 14–18) permits the author to refine the assessment of the peasants’ programme in 1525. Treating the main demands in three groups, he is able to show the nodes of conflict in the re‐introduction of serfdom, the economic pressure on the peasant households and the burdens placed on them by the new territorial princes. Combining the textual evidence with demographic and economic analysis, he reveals the social conflicts within and around the South German peasant communities of the early sixteenth century. The plight of the peasants can thus be seen and the main lines of protest and resistance distinguished.

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