Evaluate the reasons for the Peasants’ War in Germany.

Candidates will make an appraisal of the reasons why the Peasants’ War broke out in Germany in 1525. There were several reasons for the war that could include economic and/or social factors, the peasants’ interpretation of the religious ideas of Luther, and the condition of the Church, especially over the issue of tithes and the power of the clerical hierarchy. The Peasants’ War lacked unity and central control and therefore it might be argued that the reasons for peasant involvement varied considerably from area to area. It could be seen as a spontaneous, not centrally organized revolt. There has been some focus on the social and economic motives of the peasants, with some suggesting that it was due to class conflict, with a clash between the old feudal aristocracy and an emerging bourgeois class.