Changes

Many Protestant pastors, such as Thomas Muntzer and they believed that feudalism and the existing social order could be changed and that God did not ordain it but only designed by the elite for their own advantage and gain.<ref>Scott, Tom. <i>Thomas Müntzer: Theology and Revolution in the German Reformation</i>. London: Macmillan, 1989), p. 45</ref> Many educated peasants had also been disappointed with the course of the Reformation and they believed that it did not go far enough and they wanted a more radical church, one that was not hierarchical and dominated by the local notable.

[[File: Muntzer Two.jpg |thumbnail|left|300px|Battle of Frankenhausen]]

The revolt covered large areas of Europe, and it began in Alsace-Lorraine (now in France) and spread as far west as Austria. It was often led by members of the minor nobility and leading peasants in their communities. The revolts usually began with a symbolic act of defiances, such as refusing to carry out some order or custom. Soon the peasants would begin to arm themselves and formed companies based on local, territorial units.<ref> Scott, p. 117</ref>

The peasants resisted at times fiercely and circled wagons to defend themselves, but the army of the nobles prevailed</ref> Miller, p. 117</ref>. The professional army of the Swabian League and similar military alliances throughout Germany soon had the upper hand. They killed thousands of peasants in battle and executed many others. Those who surrendered had to pay hefty fines.

==Martin Luther and the Peasants War==