Martin Luther and the peasants' revolt
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[INTRODUCTION] The student of the Middle Ages, particularly the time of the Peasants' Revolt (1525), is likely to come from his study with a considerable number of
questiohs in his mind. That was a time of intense rivalry, open bitterness, and rank partisanship. Seemingly
much of the same spirit and practice has descended upon the. shoulders of those who have since acted as historians of that period, and much, if not all what has been written bears the mark of bias and is open to the charge of partizanship. The facts,with a
right estimate as to their value, and the correct inference to be drawn,- these are difficult to determine.
One needs to remember also, that the very character of the period with its state of wide, spread unrest,
its religious, social and political uncertainties, was reflected in the lives and actions of the individual
men of the time. They thought, spoke and acted, usually with much vigor, and (as men usually do) from mixed
motives. If we sieze upon certain of their conceptions and deeds it would be to condemn them unmercifully in the judgment of today, but upon closer and fuller study there come to light the complex reasons and explanations which raise the question: Should they, products of their age and living by its standards, be subjected too searchingly to the more rigid tests of the modern conscience?]
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