Knights' Revolt
Encyclopedia
The Knights' Revolt of 1522 was a revolt
by a number of Protestant
and humanist
German
knight
s led by Franz von Sickingen
, against the Roman Catholic Church
and the Holy Roman Emperor
. It has also been called the "Poor Barons' Rebellion." The revolt was short-lived but would inspire the bloody German Peasants' War
of 1524-26.
, the Imperial Knights were in a period of constant decline caused by several factors. The encroachment of urban-dominated trade and industry against traditional agriculture harmed the knights, as did the growing confederations of cities that now had the power to resist attacks. The steadily growing inflation contrasting with the reduction in value of agricultural land hurt the knights financially. The growing power of the higher nobility, or the princes, helped by the introduction of Roman law
which was sweeping away previous Common law
, hurt the knights politically. On top of this, their importance in combat was declining with advance of military technology and tactics. Mercenary Landsknecht
s were now the staple of warfare, and the importance of personal ability and bravery in warfare was much reduced.
The Knights refused to co-operate with either the higher nobility to gain power from the cities, or with the cities against the Princes. Even had the knights attempted to work with the cities or the higher nobility to bring about reform it is extremely unlikely that the higher nobility would have responded favourably.
Conditions in Germany were not like conditions in England. In England, the War of the Roses (1455-1485), brought Henry VII to the throne had spelled the end of the feudal aristocracy. Prior to the reign of Henry VII the feudal aristocracy had free hand in ruling England. On the throne, Henry VII sought to strengthen and centralize his government. To do that he needed funds. When his predecessors on the English throne had attempted to raise additional funds, they sought to obtain additional lands for the crown. Under the feudal system, more land would result in more income. However, Henry VII realized that a more efficient way of raising money for his government, was to tax the income of the rising class of merchants--especially those in the trade in wool and woolen cloth. Indeed, as a "good businessman" and as a politician, Henry VII was aware that "to enrich the merchants was to enrich himself through increased customs duties" At the same time, Henry VII would "win the gratitude of the business classes. It was this mechanism that weakened and finally ruined the feudal system in England.
In Germany, however, the same conditions did not exist. There was no strong central government in Germany to collect custom duties on trade. Instead, income from trade flowed directly back to the feudal lords located in the various principalities and fiefdoms throughout Germany. With Germany divided into a patchwork of small kingdoms and fiefdoms, governmental power lay securely under the control of local feudal lords. In order to bring about the reforms they wanted, the knights needed the united support of both the cities and the peasantry. However, this united support proved to be illusive. The peasantry distrusted the knights almost as much as the higher nobility. Only a program that included a total abolition of serfdom, bondage and the privileges of the nobility could induce the peasantry to join the knights in the struggle for reform.
In the 1495 Reichstag
, the Imperial Cities presented an Act of Protest, containing several points, ed to their lack of effective representation in the Reichstag. However, the only part of the Act which was actually passed was the ban on private warfare. Even then, the Princes made sure that the ban applied only to the Knights and specifially exempted any private wars in which the Princes might engage. This took from the Knights a major source of income and pride. Capturing and holding cities and Princes for ransom had been the main income of the Knights.
, often called the ‘Last Knight’, lived most of his life along the Rhine. After spending some time in the service of the Emperor Maximillian
against Venice
, he spent many years terrorizing cities and Princes up and down the Rhine, which made him a very rich man. When the election of 1519 took place, he had accepted heavy bribes from Francis I of France
, but had eventually led his troops to Frankfurt
where their presence helped to ensure the victory of Charles V
. After this, Von Sickingen had mounted an invasion of French Picardy
for Charles.
Sickingen became acquainted with Ulrich von Hutten
, a humanist Knight. Together, Hutten and Sickingen formulated a series of suggested reforms calling for the abolition of all independent principalities, for the unification of all German-speaking lands under one national government, the secularization of all church principalities and estates and establishment of a "noblemens democracy headed by a monarch." Hutten and Sickingen hoped that this program would be sufficient to encourage the peasantry to enthusiatically join the knights in bringing about reform.
Under Hutten's influence, Sickingen's castle of Ebernburg became a centre of Humanist and later Lutheran thinking, with many pamphlets emanating from the castle. Sickingen helped Johann Reuchlin
escape from the Dominicans
of Cologne
, and sheltered other reformers such as Martin Bucer
and Johannes Oecolampadius
. He had even offered shelter to Martin Luther
after the diet of Worms
, but he had chosen to stay with Frederick of Saxony
instead.
In 1522, while the Emperor was in Spain, Sickingen convened a ‘Brotherly Convention’ of Knights. The Convention elected him as their leader, and resolved to take by force that which the Knights had been unable to obtain through their poor representation in the Reichstag. The target chosen by the Knights to start their revolt was Richard Greiffenklau, Archbishop of Trier, a staunch opponent of Luther and his supporters. The excuse used for the attack was an unpaid ransom by two city councillors to another knight who had captured them some years ago. Sickingen’s declaration of war was full of religious rhetoric designed to encourage the people of the city to surrender and overthrow their Archbishop, and so save the Knights the trouble of a siege.
which was acting as regent during his absence, did not agree, and ordered Sickingen to stop his campaign under threat of an imperial ban. The campaign was launched in the autumn, which indicates that Von Sickingen did not intend to press on further that year.
Sickingen ignored the Diet, however, and pressed on to Trier. Unfortunately for him, the people of the city did not revolt against Richard, and Richard proved to be an able soldier. In addition, the Count palatine
and the Landgrave of Hesse
came to Richard’s aid. After seven days siege, including five assault attempts, Von Sickingen ran out of gunpowder, and retreated to Ebernberg. Meanwhile, the Imperial Regency Council laid on him the Ban of the Empire.
During his retreat, his detractors alleged that he plundered the entire countryside, including the town of Kaiserslautern
. However, his supporters maintained that they only plundered the hated catholic churches and monasteries.
, his strongest castle, which had recently had extensive repairs, where he hoped to carry on the struggle. Sickingen's castle at Landstuhl was reckoned to be one of the strongest castles in Germany. Sickingen felt safe in Landstuhl. Hutten fled to Switzerland, and with other emissaries began looking for support for a new military campaign for the following year.
When Ludwig of Palatine, Philip of Hesse and Richard of Trier laid siege to his castle in Landstuhl, Sickingen fully expected to last at least four months, by which time reinforcements would arrive to rescue him. However, he had underestimated the power of the new artillery weapons, and within one week his defences were in ruins and he had received a very serious wound himself. When he surrendered to the three princes on the 7th of May, he died the same day.
With his death, Knighthood as a significant force in Central Europe died too. Hutten only outlived Sickingen by a few months, first meeting the reformer Huldrych Zwingli
in Zürich
, before dying alone of syphilis in a Swiss
monastery.
Most Knights therefore lived as petty feudal masters, making a living by taxing their peasants hard. They had no real independence now, and those that did rise above their status did so by acting as competent managers, priests and generals for the Princes. A few, such as Florian Geyer
, refused to give in, and assisted the peasants in their own rebellion a few years later.
The widespread refusal to pay church tithe
s during the Revolt spread to the peasant classes subsequently, and inspired them to refuse to pay the tithe which was one of the factors leading to the peasants' revolt. Thus either the government of the province would have to deal with the corrupt institutions, or the peasants would take this into their own hands and plunder them.
Popular revolt in late medieval Europe
Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and rebellions by peasants in the countryside, or the bourgeois in towns, against nobles, abbots and kings during the upheavals of the 14th through early 16th centuries, part of a larger "Crisis of the Late Middle Ages"...
by a number of Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
and humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
German
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...
knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s led by Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen was a German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation.-Biography:He was born at Ebernburg near Bad Kreuznach...
, against the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. It has also been called the "Poor Barons' Rebellion." The revolt was short-lived but would inspire the bloody 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...
of 1524-26.
Context
In the late Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Imperial Knights were in a period of constant decline caused by several factors. The encroachment of urban-dominated trade and industry against traditional agriculture harmed the knights, as did the growing confederations of cities that now had the power to resist attacks. The steadily growing inflation contrasting with the reduction in value of agricultural land hurt the knights financially. The growing power of the higher nobility, or the princes, helped by the introduction of Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
which was sweeping away previous Common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, hurt the knights politically. On top of this, their importance in combat was declining with advance of military technology and tactics. Mercenary Landsknecht
Landsknecht
Landsknechte were European, predominantly German mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of Early modern Europe.-Etymology:The term is from German, Land "land, country" + Knecht...
s were now the staple of warfare, and the importance of personal ability and bravery in warfare was much reduced.
The Knights refused to co-operate with either the higher nobility to gain power from the cities, or with the cities against the Princes. Even had the knights attempted to work with the cities or the higher nobility to bring about reform it is extremely unlikely that the higher nobility would have responded favourably.
Conditions in Germany were not like conditions in England. In England, the War of the Roses (1455-1485), brought Henry VII to the throne had spelled the end of the feudal aristocracy. Prior to the reign of Henry VII the feudal aristocracy had free hand in ruling England. On the throne, Henry VII sought to strengthen and centralize his government. To do that he needed funds. When his predecessors on the English throne had attempted to raise additional funds, they sought to obtain additional lands for the crown. Under the feudal system, more land would result in more income. However, Henry VII realized that a more efficient way of raising money for his government, was to tax the income of the rising class of merchants--especially those in the trade in wool and woolen cloth. Indeed, as a "good businessman" and as a politician, Henry VII was aware that "to enrich the merchants was to enrich himself through increased customs duties" At the same time, Henry VII would "win the gratitude of the business classes. It was this mechanism that weakened and finally ruined the feudal system in England.
In Germany, however, the same conditions did not exist. There was no strong central government in Germany to collect custom duties on trade. Instead, income from trade flowed directly back to the feudal lords located in the various principalities and fiefdoms throughout Germany. With Germany divided into a patchwork of small kingdoms and fiefdoms, governmental power lay securely under the control of local feudal lords. In order to bring about the reforms they wanted, the knights needed the united support of both the cities and the peasantry. However, this united support proved to be illusive. The peasantry distrusted the knights almost as much as the higher nobility. Only a program that included a total abolition of serfdom, bondage and the privileges of the nobility could induce the peasantry to join the knights in the struggle for reform.
In the 1495 Reichstag
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
, the Imperial Cities presented an Act of Protest, containing several points, ed to their lack of effective representation in the Reichstag. However, the only part of the Act which was actually passed was the ban on private warfare. Even then, the Princes made sure that the ban applied only to the Knights and specifially exempted any private wars in which the Princes might engage. This took from the Knights a major source of income and pride. Capturing and holding cities and Princes for ransom had been the main income of the Knights.
Brotherly Convention of Knights
Franz von SickingenFranz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen was a German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation.-Biography:He was born at Ebernburg near Bad Kreuznach...
, often called the ‘Last Knight’, lived most of his life along the Rhine. After spending some time in the service of the Emperor Maximillian
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
against Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, he spent many years terrorizing cities and Princes up and down the Rhine, which made him a very rich man. When the election of 1519 took place, he had accepted heavy bribes from Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, but had eventually led his troops to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
where their presence helped to ensure the victory of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. After this, Von Sickingen had mounted an invasion of French Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
for Charles.
Sickingen became acquainted with Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten was a German scholar, poet and reformer. He was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church and a bridge between the humanists and the Lutheran Reformation...
, a humanist Knight. Together, Hutten and Sickingen formulated a series of suggested reforms calling for the abolition of all independent principalities, for the unification of all German-speaking lands under one national government, the secularization of all church principalities and estates and establishment of a "noblemens democracy headed by a monarch." Hutten and Sickingen hoped that this program would be sufficient to encourage the peasantry to enthusiatically join the knights in bringing about reform.
Under Hutten's influence, Sickingen's castle of Ebernburg became a centre of Humanist and later Lutheran thinking, with many pamphlets emanating from the castle. Sickingen helped Johann Reuchlin
Johann Reuchlin
Johann Reuchlin was a German humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew. For much of his life, he was the real centre of all Greek and Hebrew teaching in Germany.-Early life:...
escape from the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and sheltered other reformers such as Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a member of the Dominican Order, but after meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged for his monastic vows to be annulled...
and Johannes Oecolampadius
Johannes Oecolampadius
Johannes Œcolampadius was a German religious reformer. His real name was Hussgen or Heussgen .-Life:He was born in Weinsberg, then part of the Electoral Palatinate...
. He had even offered shelter to Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
after the diet of Worms
Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms 1521 was a diet that took place in Worms, Germany, and is most memorable for the Edict of Worms , which addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding.Other Imperial diets at...
, but he had chosen to stay with Frederick of Saxony
Frederick III, Elector of Saxony
Frederick III of Saxony , also known as Frederick the Wise , was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to his death. Frederick was the son of Ernest, Elector of Saxony and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria...
instead.
In 1522, while the Emperor was in Spain, Sickingen convened a ‘Brotherly Convention’ of Knights. The Convention elected him as their leader, and resolved to take by force that which the Knights had been unable to obtain through their poor representation in the Reichstag. The target chosen by the Knights to start their revolt was Richard Greiffenklau, Archbishop of Trier, a staunch opponent of Luther and his supporters. The excuse used for the attack was an unpaid ransom by two city councillors to another knight who had captured them some years ago. Sickingen’s declaration of war was full of religious rhetoric designed to encourage the people of the city to surrender and overthrow their Archbishop, and so save the Knights the trouble of a siege.
Campaign against Trier
Sickingen assembled an army partly on his own and partly with the help of neighboring knights. Sickingen had his soldiers fly the imperial flag, and he claimed he was acting on behalf of the Emperor. However, the Imperial Diet in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
which was acting as regent during his absence, did not agree, and ordered Sickingen to stop his campaign under threat of an imperial ban. The campaign was launched in the autumn, which indicates that Von Sickingen did not intend to press on further that year.
Sickingen ignored the Diet, however, and pressed on to Trier. Unfortunately for him, the people of the city did not revolt against Richard, and Richard proved to be an able soldier. In addition, the Count palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
and the Landgrave of Hesse
Rulers of Hesse
This is a list of rulers of Hesse during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant, originally the Reginar...
came to Richard’s aid. After seven days siege, including five assault attempts, Von Sickingen ran out of gunpowder, and retreated to Ebernberg. Meanwhile, the Imperial Regency Council laid on him the Ban of the Empire.
During his retreat, his detractors alleged that he plundered the entire countryside, including the town of Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
. However, his supporters maintained that they only plundered the hated catholic churches and monasteries.
Defeat
Sickingen left Ebernberg to spend the winter in his castle in LandstuhlLandstuhl
Landstuhl , literally translating as "country-throne", is a municipality of over 9,000 people in southwestern Germany. It is part of the district of Kaiserslautern, in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and is home to the Sickinger Schloss, a small castle. It is situated on the north-western edge...
, his strongest castle, which had recently had extensive repairs, where he hoped to carry on the struggle. Sickingen's castle at Landstuhl was reckoned to be one of the strongest castles in Germany. Sickingen felt safe in Landstuhl. Hutten fled to Switzerland, and with other emissaries began looking for support for a new military campaign for the following year.
When Ludwig of Palatine, Philip of Hesse and Richard of Trier laid siege to his castle in Landstuhl, Sickingen fully expected to last at least four months, by which time reinforcements would arrive to rescue him. However, he had underestimated the power of the new artillery weapons, and within one week his defences were in ruins and he had received a very serious wound himself. When he surrendered to the three princes on the 7th of May, he died the same day.
With his death, Knighthood as a significant force in Central Europe died too. Hutten only outlived Sickingen by a few months, first meeting the reformer Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych Zwingli
Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...
in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, before dying alone of syphilis in a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
monastery.
Further evolutions
Most of the Revolt's significant supporters had their castles confiscated. The Archbishop of Mainz was even fined for his suspected complicity in the plot. The Knights were now generally bankrupt as a result of the Revolt's inability to change their situation in the face of increasing inflation, declining agriculture, increased demands by the princes and the inability to live by legal ‘highway robbery’.Most Knights therefore lived as petty feudal masters, making a living by taxing their peasants hard. They had no real independence now, and those that did rise above their status did so by acting as competent managers, priests and generals for the Princes. A few, such as Florian Geyer
Florian Geyer
Florian Geyer , also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", was a Franconian nobleman, diplomat and knight...
, refused to give in, and assisted the peasants in their own rebellion a few years later.
The widespread refusal to pay church tithe
Tithe
A 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...
s during the Revolt spread to the peasant classes subsequently, and inspired them to refuse to pay the tithe which was one of the factors leading to the peasants' revolt. Thus either the government of the province would have to deal with the corrupt institutions, or the peasants would take this into their own hands and plunder them.
See also
- Frisian peasant rebellionArumer Zwarte HoopThe Arumer Zwarte Hoop was an army of peasant rebels in Friesland fighting the Dutch authorities from 1515 to 1523....
(1515–1523) - Revolt of the Brotherhoods (1519–1523)
- Revolt of the Comuneros (1520–1521)
- German Peasants' WarGerman Peasants' WarThe 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...
(1524–1525)