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Thomas Müntzer

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Thomas Müntzer

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Also known as Thomas Münzer

early Reformation-era German pastor who was a rebel leader during the German Peasants' War

OverviewAI-generated

Thomas Müntzer (1489–1525) was a male priest, theologian, and Protestant reformer within the Holy Roman Empire. Born in Stolberg (Harz), he received education at Leipzig University and the University of Frankfurt an der Oder. His religious worldview was characterized by Christian mysticism, and he worked in Frankfurt (Oder). Müntzer wrote in German and also spoke Latin.

He is identified as a revolutionary and is associated with the Reformation. His literary output includes five works, such as *The collected works of Thomas Müntzer*, *Historien von Thomas Müntzer*, and *Politische Schriften*. He is quoted as saying, "Das Volk wird frei werden, und Gott will allein der Herr darüber sein!"

Müntzer died on May 27, 1525, in Mühlhausen/Thuringia. His manner of death was capital punishment, specifically by decapitation.

Synthesized by Vinony from 38 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Wikiquote, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1490
Died
1525
Works
5

Top works

  • The collected works of Thomas Müntzer
  • Historien von Thomas Müntzer
  • Politische Schriften
  • Thomas Müntzers Briefwechsel
  • Politische Schriften Manifeste Briefe 1524-25

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
Sachsen-Anhalt
Active from
1490
Active to
1525

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
76
Total plays
569

Tags

early musicrenaissancereformation

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Thomas+M%C3%BCntzer">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Thomas Müntzer

Quotes

  • The league at Allstedt wanted to establish this principle, Omnia sunt communia, ‘All property should be held in common’ and should be distributed to each according to his needs, as the occasion required. Any prince, count, or lord who did not want to do this, after first being warned about it, should be beheaded or hanged.
  • Das Volk wird frei werden, und Gott will allein der Herr darüber sein!
  • Sieh zu, die Grundsuppe des Wuchers, der Dieberei und Räuberei sein unser Herrn und Fürsten, nehmen alle Kreaturen zum Eigentum: die Fisch im Wasser, die Vögel in der Luft, das Gewächs auf Erden muß alles ihr sein (Jes. 5). Darüber lassen sie dann Gottes Gebot ausgehen unter die Armen und sprechen: »Gott hat geboten: Du sollst nicht stehlen.«
  • Es ist der Natur ein unleidlichs Werk, die Furcht Gottes zum Anfang des Glaubens zu machen.
  • God speaks only in the suffering of creatures, a suffering that the hearts of the unbelievers do not have because they become more and more hardened.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Thomas Müntzer (c. 1489 – 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 Catholic priest in Brunswick, 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Thomas Müntzer” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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