Thomas Müntzer

Thomas Müntzer.}} ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was foremost amongst those reformers who took issue with Luther's compromises with feudal authority. He was a leader of the German peasant and plebeian uprising of 1525 commonly known as the German Peasants' War.

In 1514, Müntzer became a priest in Braunschweig, where he began to question the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. He then became a follower and acquaintance of Martin Luther, who recommended him for a post in Zwickau. His beliefs became increasingly spiritual and apocalyptic; by his arrival at Allstedt in 1523 he had completely broken with Luther. Amidst the peasant uprisings in 1525, Müntzer organized an armed militia in Mühlhausen. He was captured after the Battle of Frankenhausen, tortured and finally executed.

Few other figures of the German Reformation raised as much controversy as Müntzer, which continues to this day. A complex and unusual character, he is now regarded as a significant personality in the early years of the German Reformation and the history of European revolutionaries. Almost all modern studies stress the necessity of understanding his revolutionary actions as a consequence of his theology: Müntzer believed that the end of the world was imminent and that it was the task of the true believers to aid God in ushering in a new era of history. Provided by Wikipedia