Gemeiner Mann und Gemeines Recht

The Peasants' War of 1525 has rarely been perceived as a problem of legal history. The conflict between the peasants and their masters is interpreted as a political dispute, the peasants' demands, expressed in their 12 articles, are considered religious utopia. The book challenges this view and examines the role of law in the context of the Peasants' War from different points of view: Can the conflict be described as a dispute about legal positions? How did the peasants perceive the law and how did the law perceive the peasants? What opportunities and risks did the law hold for the pursuit of lasting conflict resolution? An exemplary consideration of the dispute over the drudgery services proves the central importance of the law for the history of the Peasants' War.