Georg III Truchsess von Waldburg-Zeil ( Waldsee, 25 January 1488 – Bad Waldsee, 29 May 1531), also known as Bauernjörg, was a Swabian League Army Commander in 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 ...

Life

He was a member of the

House of Waldburg The House of Waldburg is a princely family of Upper Swabia, founded some time previous to the 12th century; some cadet lineages are comital families. Eberhard von Tanne-Waldburg (? - 1234) was the steward, or ''seneschal'', and adviser of the St ...

, which received through him in 1525 the hereditary title of '' Truchsess'' (''

Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

'', or ''Steward'', in English) of the Holy Roman Empire and the right to put it in their family name. He served since 1508 Duke Ulrich von Württemberg and helped him crush the Poor Conrad rebellion. In 1516 he fought for Bavaria alongside Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in Italy against France and their allies. In the next years he was in the service of the Swabian League and chased his former employer, Ulrich von Württemberg out of Württemberg. In 1525 he succeeded his cousin Wilhelm as governor of Württemberg. Both received the hereditary title of Imperial Steward (''Reichserbtruchsess'') from the hands of

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

on 27 July 1526 in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

''Bauernjörg''

Georg became famous as ''Bauernjörg'' for his harsh and pitiless actions against the rebellious peasants in the

. When the German peasants revolted in 1525, most Imperial troops were fighting in Italy. Georg von Waldburg could only recruit 4,000 unreliable Landsknechts and could do nothing more than to negotiate with the peasants. But after the victory against France in the Battle of Pavia, many war veterans returned to Southern Germany and were enlisted by Waldburg. Under his command, army after army of peasants was defeated and pursued into their villages to be tortured and executed. Sources speak of between 70,000 and 130,000 peasants killed. After the rebellion was crushed, Georg Truchsess von Waldburg-Zeil ruled large parts of the territories he had conquered, and collected ransoms from the remaining population.Peter Blickle: Der Bauernjörg. Feldherr im Bauernkrieg. München 2015. (in german)

In literature

The Truchsess von Waldburg-Zeil is a character in the historical novel '' Lichtenstein'' by Wilhelm Hauff. He is also a character in the historical novel The Adventurer, AKA Michael The Finn (Mikael Karvajalka) by Mika Waltari.

References

{{Authority control 1488 births 1531 deaths People from Bad Waldsee House of Waldburg German Peasants' War Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire