The Swabian League and Peasant Disobedience before the German Peasants' War of 1525
The response of the Swabian League to the early stages of the Peasants' War of 1525 can only be properly interpreted in the context of the League's previous experiences with peasant disobedience. Policies and procedures developed in these earlier, highly controversial and divisive, encount...
| Veröffentlicht in: | The Sixteenth Century Journal. - Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers Inc.. - 30(1999), 1, Seite 89-111 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
1999
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | The Sixteenth Century Journal |
| Schlagworte: | Behavioral sciences Religion Law Political science Biological sciences |
| Zusammenfassung: | The response of the Swabian League to the early stages of the Peasants' War of 1525 can only be properly interpreted in the context of the League's previous experiences with peasant disobedience. Policies and procedures developed in these earlier, highly controversial and divisive, encounters used force, or the threat of force, but also emphasized the need to reach mediated settlements that returned the peasants to lasting obedience, often by granting some of their demands. This study examines some cases of the League's previous handling of peasant disobedience and shows how and why these methods developed. There was no reason to expect that such procedures would not work once again when the Swabian League was confronted with peasant unrest in late 1524 and early 1525. Thus the Swabian League's negotiations with the rebellious peasants during this period should not be dismissed as merely delaying tactics. In fact, the League's policies anticipated the methods of dispute settlement developed after the Peasants' War to prevent further rebellion. |
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| ISSN: | 23260726 |
| DOI: | 10.2307/2544901 |