Hist  90-11; CRN 4318
3 Credits
MW 12:45-14:00 
Professor Michael Baylor

The German Reformation and the Peasants’ War

In the opening decades of the sixteenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was the scene of both a religious upheaval that shattered permanently the unity of Europe’s Christian civilization and a violent social upheaval that rocked the structure of political authority and the organization of society.  This seminar examines the intensely debated relationship between the Protestant Reformation that Martin Luther began and the German Peasants’ War of 1524-26.  In addition to viewing recent televised representations of Luther’s protest, we will read and discuss a variety of materials dealing with religious change and rebellion in Germany.  The focal point of the seminar will be the analysis and interpretation of original sources, both texts and illustrations.

Michael G. Baylor hails from the mystical Midwest, teaches European history, and his research focuses on early modern Germany.  He is especially interested in the political and social significance of religious beliefs and practices, a topic not without relevance to the twenty-first century.