The dreadful history and judgement of God on Thomas Müntzer
the life and times of an early German revolutionary
- ISBN: 9781839768941
- Editorial: Verso Books
- Fecha de la edición: 2024
- Lugar de la edición: London. Reino Unido
- Encuadernación: Cartoné
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 384
- Idiomas: Inglés
These were the words of Thomas Müntzer at the head of the massed ranks of a peasant army in the year 1525. Ranged against him were the might of the princes of the German Nation. How did Müntzer, the son of a coin maker from central Germany, rise in just a few short years to become one of the most feared revolutionaries in early modern Europe?
In this brilliant work of historical excavation, Andrew Drummond charts the life and times of the man Martin Luther denounced as a 'Ravening Wolf' and 'False Prophet'. Drummond shows us Müntzer as a human being. Far from the bloodthirsty devil of legend, he was a man of considerable learning and principle, deeply sympathetic to the misery of the peasantry and the poor. In his short life - he was beheaded at thirty-five - Müntzer promised to fundamentally upend German society.
Seeking to save Müntzer from the condescension of history, Drummond guides us through the religious and political disputes of the Reformation, placing his life and thought in the context of those turbulent years. The result is a portrait of an often contradictory but always radical figure, one who continues to inspire movements of the poor across the globe.
Wettin Family Tree
Map
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Text and Some Helpful Remarks
1. A Most Useful Lesson An introduction
2. The End of the World Historical and religious background to the German Reformation
3. The Devil Sowed His Seed Müntzer's early years
4. Murder and Riot and Bloodshed Preacher in Zwickau (1520-1521)
5. He Ran Away like an Arch-Villain A visit to Prague (1521)
6. Satan Wandered in the Wilderness Erfurt, Nordhausen and Halle (1522-1523)
7. Satan Made Himself a Nest in Allstedt A fruitful year of activity in Allstedt (1523-1524)
8. His Face Was as Yellow as a Corpse's Rebellion in Allstedt (1524)
9. Using God's Name, He Spoke and Acted for the Devil Müntzer's theology
10. The Devil Never Let Him Rest Mühlhausen and Nürnberg (1524)
11. His Poisonous Seed In south-west Germany at the time of the peasant uprising (1524-1525)
12. The Time Was Come The Thuringian uprising (1525)
13. Thomas Would Catch All the Bullets in His Sleeves The Battle of Frankenhausen (May 1525)
14. How God Punishes Disobedience The aftermath of defeat at Frankenhausen
15. Rebellious Violent Preachers The early Anabaptists
16. The Devil in Person Historiography
Conclusion
Chronology
Bibliography
Notes
Index
