Thomas Müntzer

Müntzer became a Catholic priest in Brunswick in 1514 and soon began doubting the Church's teachings. He joined Luther's circle and took a post in Zwickau on Luther's recommendation, but his theology grew increasingly apocalyptic and spiritual. By 1523, when he arrived at Allstedt, he had broken completely with Luther over the older reformer's compromises with feudal power. Müntzer believed the end of the world was imminent and that true believers must help God force a new era into being. When peasant uprisings ignited across central Germany in 1525, he organized an armed militia in Mühlhausen…