Michael Gaismair (1490,

Sterzing Sterzing (; ) is a comune in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is the main town of the southern Wipptal, and the Eisack River flows through the medieval town. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Hi ...

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

– 15 April 1532,

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

) was a leader 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) in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

and the Salzburg region.

Life

Michael Gaismair was the son of a mining entrepreneur,Aldo Stella, ''Il Bauernführer, Michael Gaismair e l'utopia di un repubblicanesimo popolare'', il Mulino, 1999 () who became secretary of the powerful bishop of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

. In 1525 he came in contact with the ideas of the

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

Felix Manz Felix Manz (also Mantz; c. 1498 – 5 January 1527) was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and an early martyr of the Radical Reformation. Birth and life Manz was given birth to ...

and Jörg Blaurock, who worked in the

Eisacktal Eisack Valley ( ; ) is a district (; ) in South Tyrol, Italy. It comprises the middle part of the valley of the Eisack, from Franzensfeste in the north to Waidbruck in the south. Overview The valley of the Eisack river stretches from Brenner Pass ...

and Graubünden and soon afterwards, in May, he received news of the

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and the activities in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

of the radical preacher

Thomas Müntzer Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...

, who shared some ideas with the Anabaptists. Shortly thereafter, Tyrol—which was under

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rule—became a powder keg of popular uprisings, especially in the Eisacktal and

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( ; , ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of th ...

. These peasant revolts were captained by a certain Peter Passler and Gaismair: Brixen and Neustift were occupied and looted. The rebels, reinforced by local miners and survivors of the

Battle of Frankenhausen The Battle of Frankenhausen was fought on 14 and 15 May 1525. It was an important battle in the German Peasants' War and the final act of the war in Thuringia: joint troops of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse and Duke George of Saxony defeated th ...

, resisted the

army counterattacks. Gaismair dreamed of founding a democratic republic in the area, he envisaged the abolition of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and its rituals, replaced by a faith based on direct contact with God, through the personal interpretation of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

. He also envisioned a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

elimination of

titles of nobility Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anothe ...

, the nationalization of land and mines, the establishment of schools, hospitals, old people’s homes etc. To overcome the differences, the leaders of the revolt were invited to the regional diet of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

(June 1525) by Crown Prince Ferdinand of Habsburg (b. 1503, Emperor 1558–1564). Gaismair also went there, but in August he was jailed for treason. After two months, he managed to escape, travelling to Graubünden,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Gaismair established contact with the Swiss reformer

Ulrich Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

, with the plan of a new democratic order in Tyrol and

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

by the example of

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Among other things, by the disappointing experience of the parliamentary debates Gaismair evolved from reformer (Summer 1525) to revolutionary social rebel (1526). In his draft of a new order of Tyrol in May 1526, Gaismair designed an

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

, democratic, Christian state. Gaismair again gained followers, and in the spring of 1526 assisted the revolt of the peasants in Salzburg. Despite the victories on the field, Gaismair and his army were forced to retreat through the territory of the

, then at war with the Habsburgs. The ''Bauernführer'' (head of the farmers), as Gaismair was called, then turned to the

Doge Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to: Internet culture * Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed ** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme ** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...

Andrea Gritti Andrea Gritti (17 April 1455 – 28 December 1538) was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into ...

(1523–1538) to convince him to support a military revolt in Tyrol, but he failed in his intent. He died in 1532 in

, in Prato della Valle (where there is a plaque in his memory) murdered at the hands of two soldiers who wanted to collect the bounty placed on his head by Ferdinand I. The movement of Gaismair was then done, but not the religious turmoil of Tyrol, which in the same years saw the development of Anabaptist preaching by

Jakob Hutter Jakob Hutter (; ; also spelled Huter or Hueter; c. 1500 – 25 February 1536) was a Tyrolean Anabaptist leader and founder of the Hutterites. Biography Hutter was born in the small hamlet of Moos near St. Lorenzen in the Puster Valley, i ...

Historiography

Because of his struggle against Church and Monarchy, Gaismair was ignored by historians of his time. In the twentieth century, his figure got more purchasing reputation, coming in first by the Communist (Community dell'afflato by inspiring his statutes, and that was pointed out by none other than

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Felix Mitterer.

Notes

* * * Jürgen Bücking, ''Michael Gaismair, reformers, social rebel, revolutionary. His role in the Tyrolean "Peasants' War" (1525/32).'' Stuttgart 1978. * Josef Macek, ''The Tyrolean peasant war and Michael Gaismair.'' Berlin 1965. * Hans Benedikter, ''Rebell im Land Tirol.'' Wien 1970. * Fridolin Dörrer (Hg.), ''Die Bauernkriege und Michael Gaismair''. Protokoll des internationalen Symposions vom 15. – 19. November 1976 in Innsbruck-Vill, Innsbruck 1982. * Walter Klaassen, ''Michael Gaismair: Revolutionary and Reformer.'' Leiden 1978. * Karl Springenschmid, ''Die Gaismair Saga - Lebensbild eines Revolutionärs''. Graz 1980 * Angelika Bischoff-Urack, ''Michael Gaismair. Ein Beitrag zur Sozialgeschichte des Bauernkrieges.'' Innsbruck 1983. * Werner Legère, ''The dreaded Gaismair.'' Berlin 1981 * Ralf Höller, ''Eine Leiche in Habsburgs Keller - Der Rebell Michael Gaismair und sein Kampf für eine gerechtere Welt''. Otto-Müller-Verlag, Salzburg-Wien 2011.

References

* *

External links

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Michael Gaismairs Tiroler Landesordnung Februar / März 1526

Michael-Gaismair-Gesellschaft

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaismair, Michael 1490s births 1532 deaths Protestant Reformers Christian radicals People from Sterzing