German history The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...

, the Bundschuh movement () 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 peasan ...

rebellions in the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...

's southwest 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 () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

(1524–1525). The Bundschuh movement was not a movement in the proper sense, but a number of loosely linked local conspiracies and planned uprisings. It was so called because of the tied peasant shoe () 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 d'Armagnac, House of Armagnac *William of Fesenzac, William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?–960 *Bernard the Suspicious, first count privative of Armagnac 960–? *Gerald ...

along the

Upper Rhine Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...

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. It developed du ...

dom, prohibitions on hunting and fishing, and the like – occurred in 1476 in Niklashausen ( Tauber valley), 1493 in Schlettstadt (now Sélestat)/

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, for the first time under the Bundschuh banner), 1502 in Bruchsal and Untergrombach, 1513 in Lehen ( Breisgau), and 1517 along the Upper Rhine. 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 a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a 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: ''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:) {{Authority control 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