Hans Kohlhase (c. 1500 – 1540), according to early modern German accounts, was a merchant whose grievance against a Saxon nobleman developed into a full-blown feud against the state of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, thus infringing the Eternal Peace of 1495. The campaign culminated in Kohlhase's execution in March 1540.

Background

In October 1532, according to the story, Kohlhase was proceeding from his hometown of Cölln to the fair at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, when he was attacked and his horses were taken from him by the servants of a Saxon nobleman, one Günter von Zaschwitz. In consequence of the delay the merchant suffered some loss of business at the fair and on his return he refused to pay the rather large sum which Zaschwitz demanded as a condition of returning the horses. In return Kohlhase asked for a substantial amount of money as compensation for his loss, and failing to secure this he invoked the aid of his sovereign, the

Elector of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Hol ...

Joachim I Nestor Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

. Finding however that it was impossible to recover his horses, he paid Zaschwitz the sum required for them, but reserved to himself the right to take further action.

Revenge campaign

Unable to obtain redress in the courts of law, Kohlhase in a

feud letter A feud letter (german: Fehdebrief or ''Absagebrief'') was a document in which a feud was announced, usually with few words, in medieval Europe. The letter had to be issued three days in advance to be legally valid. To prevent the feud from becomin ...

threw down a challenge to his aggressor and to the whole of

. Acts of lawlessness were attributed to him, and after an attempt to settle the feud had failed, the elector of Saxony,

John Frederick I John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...

, set a price upon the head of the angry merchant. Kohlhase now sought revenge in earnest. Gathering around him a band of criminals and desperados, he spread terror throughout the whole of Saxony; travellers were robbed, villages were burned, and towns were plundered. For some time, the authorities were powerless to stop these outrages, but in March 1540, Kohlhase and his principal associate, Georg Nagelschmidt, were seized, and on March 22, they were broken on the wheel in Berlin.

Reception

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...

's novel, '' Michael Kohlhaas'', is loosely based on Kohlhase's life. The novel was made into three films: ''

Michael Kohlhaas – der Rebell ''Man on Horseback'' (german: Michael Kohlhaas – der Rebell, link=no) is a 1969 West German drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff based on the novel ''Michael Kohlhaas'' by Heinrich von Kleist. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film F ...

'' in 1969, ''

The Jack Bull ''The Jack Bull'' is a 1999 American Western television film directed by John Badham and written by Dick Cusack, loosely inspired by Heinrich von Kleist's 1810 novel ''Michael Kohlhaas''. It stars John Cusack, John Goodman, L. Q. Jones, Mir ...

'' in 1999 and '' Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas'' in 2013. Further, it was the inspiration for the character Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in

E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...

's novel ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

''.

References

* * Peter Hafftiz, ''Microchronicon Marchium'' (c. 1600) s.a. 1540; edited in: Christian Schöttgen, Georg Christoph Kreysig, ''Diplomatische und curieuse Nachlese der Geschichte von Chur-Sachsen'' (part 3), Dresden, Leipzig 1731, 528–541; A. F. J. Riedel, ''Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis'' IV.1 (1862)
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ndash;104. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohlhase, Hans 1500s births 1540 deaths Businesspeople from Berlin Criminals from Berlin German outlaws People executed by breaking wheel Executed people from Brandenburg People from Oder-Spree People executed by Saxony 16th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire