The Bundschuh movement (German: ''Bundschuh-Bewegung'') refers to a series of localized
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
rebellions in southwestern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
from 1493 to 1517. They were one of the causes of the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...
(1524–1526). The Bundschuh movement was not a
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
in the proper sense, but a number of loosely linked local conspiracies and planned uprisings. It was so called because of the peasant shoe (''Bundschuh'') the peasants displayed on their flag. Under this flag, peasants and city dwellers had defeated the troops of the French
count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:
House of Armagnac
*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960
* Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?
* Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020
* Bernard ...
along the upper Rhine in 1439, 1443, and 1444.
Individual uprisings – seeking relief from oppressive taxes, arbitrary justice systems, high debts, costly ecclesiastic privileges,
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
dom, prohibitions on hunting and fishing, and the like – occurred in 1476 in Niklashausen (
Tauber
The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover).
It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber, C ...
valley), 1493 in Schlettstadt (now
Sélestat
Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department, the tow ...
)/
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
(for the first time under the Bundschuh banner), 1502 in
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
and Untergrombach, 1513 in Lehen (
Breisgau
The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...
), and 1517 along the upper
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
. Each of these was defeated very quickly, and the leaders, such as
Joß Fritz, were generally executed.
''Bundschuh''
As a sign displayed on their flag the peasants chose the ''Bundschuh'' (= tied shoe), a leather shoe typical of peasants. It was to symbolise the joint rising and advance of the peasants against their lords. It also contrasted the boots worn by
knights
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
with their
spurs.
References
* Thomas Adam: ''Joß Fritz – das verborgene Feuer der Revolution. Bundschuhbewegung und Bauernkrieg am Oberrhein im frühen 16. Jahrhundert''. Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 2002, (''Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission der Stadt Bruchsal''. Band 20)
* Friedrich Engels: ''Der deutsche Bauernkrieg''. 15. Auflage. Dietz, Berlin 1987,
* Albert Rosenkranz: ''Der Bundschuh. Die Erhebungen des südwestdeutschen Bauernstandes in den Jahren 1493–1517''. Winter, Heidelberg 1927 (''Schriften des wissenschaftlichen Instituts der Elsaß-Lothringer im Reich'')
*
Wilhelm Zimmermann
Wilhelm Zimmermann (2 January 1807 in Stuttgart – 22 September 1878 in Mergentheim) was a German theologian and historian. : ''Allgemeine Geschichte des großen Bauernkrieges''. 3 Bände, Stuttgart 1841-1843; 2. Auflage in 2 Bänden unter dem Titel ''Geschichte des großen Bauernkrieges'', Stuttgart 1856; viele weitere Ausgaben
Allgemeine Geschichte des grossen Bauernkrieges Erster Theil Von Wilhelm Zimmermann, Stuttgart, Franz Heinrich Köhler, 1841
Allgemeine Geschichte des grossen Bauernkrieges Zweiter Theil Von Wilhelm Zimmermann, Stuttgart, Franz Heinrich Köhler, 1842
Geschichte des grossen Bauernkriegs 1.Band: Nach den Urkunden und Augenzeugen Von Wilhelm Zimmermann, Veröffentlicht von Rieger'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (A. Benedict), 1856
Geschichte des grossen Bauernkriegs 2 Band: Nach den Urkunden und Augenzeugen Von Wilhelm Zimmermann, Veröffentlicht von Rieger'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (A. Benedict), 1856:)
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Rebellions in Germany
Peasant revolts
Rural community development
1524 in Europe
1525 in Europe
16th century in the Holy Roman Empire
16th-century rebellions
Conflicts in 1524
Conflicts in 1525
German Peasants' War