Sebastian Lotzer (c. 1490 – after 1525) was born in

Horb am Neckar Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west (about away) and Tübingen to the east (about away). It has aroun ...

. He was a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

by trade. During his

journeyman years In the European apprenticeship tradition, the journeyman years (, also known in German as , , and colloquially sometimes referred to as , ) is a time of travel for several years after completing apprenticeship as a craftsman. The tradition date ...

, while in

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

, he became secretary to the '' Baltringer Haufen'', a peasant army during 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 ...

. Lotzer was heavily influenced by theologian Christoph Schappeler. In 1525, representing the 27 villages of the territory of Memmingen he drew up the Memmingen Articles, and shortly afterwards, in conjunction with the Christian Confederation, the

Twelve Articles The Twelve Articles (German ''Zwölf Artikel'') were part of the peasants' demands of the Swabian League during the German Peasants' War of 1525. They are considered the first draft of human rights and civil liberties in continental Europe afte ...

. Following the defeat of the peasants by the

Swabian League The Swabian League () was a military alliance of Imperial State, imperial estates – Free imperial city, imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early Middle Ages, medieval stem duchy of S ...

Lotzer had to flee from Memmingen in April 1525. He was last heard of in St. Gallen. His date of death is unknown.

External links

* Year of death unknown 1490s births People from Horb am Neckar Fur 16th-century writers from the Holy Roman Empire German scribes German male writers {{Germany-writer-stub