Knights' Revolt - Context

Context

In the late Middle Ages, the Imperial Knights were in a period of constant decline caused by several factors. The encroachment of urban-dominated trade and industry against traditional agriculture harmed the knights, as did the growing confederations of cities that now had the power to resist attacks. The steadily growing inflation contrasting with the reduction in value of agricultural land hurt the knights financially. The growing power of the higher nobility, or the princes, helped by the introduction of Roman law which was sweeping away previous Common law, hurt the knights politically. On top of this, their importance in combat was declining with advance of military technology and tactics. Mercenary Landsknechts were now the staple of warfare, and the importance of personal ability and bravery in warfare was much reduced.

The Knights refused to co-operate with either the higher nobility to gain power from the cities, or with the cities against the Princes. Even had the knights attempted to work with the cities or the higher nobility to bring about reform it is extremely unlikely that the higher nobility would have responded favourably.

Conditions in Germany were not like conditions in England. In England, the War of the Roses (1455-1485), brought Henry VII to the throne had spelled the end of the feudal aristocracy. Prior to the reign of Henry VII the feudal aristocracy had free hand in ruling England. On the throne, Henry VII sought to strengthen and centralize his government. To do that he needed funds. When his predecessors on the English throne had attempted to raise additional funds, they sought to obtain additional lands for the crown. Under the feudal system, more land would result in more income. However, Henry VII realized that a more efficient way of raising money for his government, was to tax the income of the rising class of merchants--especially those in the trade in wool and woolen cloth. Indeed, as a "good businessman" and as a politician, Henry VII was aware that "to enrich the merchants was to enrich himself through increased customs duties" At the same time, Henry VII would "win the gratitude of the business classes. It was this mechanism that weakened and finally ruined the feudal system in England.

In Germany, however, the same conditions did not exist. There was no strong central government in Germany to collect custom duties on trade. Instead, income from trade flowed directly back to the feudal lords located in the various principalities and fiefdoms throughout Germany. With Germany divided into a patchwork of small kingdoms and fiefdoms, governmental power lay securely under the control of local feudal lords. In order to bring about the reforms they wanted, the knights needed the united support of both the cities and the peasantry. However, this united support proved to be illusive. The peasantry distrusted the knights almost as much as the higher nobility. Only a program that included a total abolition of serfdom, bondage and the privileges of the nobility could induce the peasantry to join the knights in the struggle for reform.

In the 1495 Reichstag, the Imperial Cities presented an Act of Protest, containing several points, ed to their lack of effective representation in the Reichstag. However, the only part of the Act which was actually passed was the ban on private warfare. Even then, the Princes made sure that the ban applied only to the Knights and specifially exempted any private wars in which the Princes might engage. This took from the Knights a major source of income and pride. Capturing and holding cities and Princes for ransom had been the main income of the Knights.