Zwölf Artikel – The Twelve Articles of the Black Forest
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Deutsch: Zwölf Artikel der Bauern: Flugschrift von 1525 English: 12 farmers' articles: Leaflets from C.E.1525 |
On this date March 20, 1525, the twelve articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants Groups were published. I will post two version of the articles before giving my thoughts.
Summary of the Twelve Articles
1. Every town and village shall be entitled to elect and to dismiss its preacher if he misbehaves. The preacher shall preach the gospel simply, straight and clear, without any human additions, for it is written that we can only attain God through true faith.
2. The preachers shall be paid from the great tithe. Any surplus shall be used to help the village poor and pay the war tax. The small tithe shall be abolished, for it was invented by humans, for the Lord, our God, created livestock free for mankind.
3. Until now it has been practice that we have been treated like serfs, which is deplorable, since Christ redeemed all of us with his precious blood, both the shepherd and the nobleman, with no exceptions. Accordingly we hereby declare that we are free and want to remain free.
4. It is unbrotherly and not in accordance with the word of God that the poor man is not entitled to hunt game or fowl, or to fish. Since when God our Lord created man, he gave him power over all beasts, the birds in the air and the fish in the water.
5. The nobles have taken sole possession of the forest. When the poor man needs something, he must buy it for twice its price. Consequently, all the forests that were not bought (meaning former community forests, which many rulers had simply appropriated) shall be returned to the village so that anybody can satisfy his needs therefrom for timber and firewood.
6. The excessive compulsory labour demanded of us, which grows from day to day, should be reduced to the amount that our parents used to perform, according to God's word.
7. The nobility shall not force us to perform more compulsory labour than was agreed upon. (It was common for nobles to raise unilaterally the compulsory labour they demanded of their serfs.)
8. Many fields cannot produce enough to pay the rent demanded for them. Honest men shall inspect these lands and set a fair amount of rent for them, so that farmers need not work for free, because each day's work deserves its pay.
9. New laws are constantly being made to impose new fines. Punishments are not being meted out depending on the offence but instead in an arbitrary fashion (raising fines and arbitrary judgments were common). In our opinion we should be judged in accordance with the old written law, according to the case's merits, instead of on a whim.
10. Many [nobles] have appropriated meadows and fields belonging to the towns (commons, which were at the disposal of all townspeople). We want them returned to all of us in common.
11. The “Todfall” (a sort of inheritance tax) shall be abolished altogether and never again shall widows and orphans be shamefully robbed contrary to God and honour.
12. It is our decision and final opinion that if one or more of the articles listed herein contradict God's word ... we shall rescind them if it is explained to us on the basis of what is written. If any articles were already granted to us and it emerges afterwards that they were unjust, then they shall be null and void. Likewise, all this is subject to the condition that if additional articles are found here written that are against God and a grievance by some other person.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Articles
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/7779074
The
title page of the Twelve Articles.
The Text in Part
The Twelve Articles are given below only in part owing to the length of the document. The following translation is taken from A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions edited by Denis R. Janz, pp. 168-170.
To the Christian reader, peace and the grace of God through Christ.
There are many Antichrists who, on account of the assembling of the peasants, cast scorn upon the gospel, and say, "Is this the fruit of the new teaching, that no one obeys but all everywhere rise in revolt, and band together to reform, extinguish, indeed ill the temporal and spiritual authorities?" The following articles will answer these godless and blaspheming faultfinders. They will first of all remove the reproach from the Word of God and secondly give a Christian excuse for the disobedience or even the revolt of the entire peasantry…Therefore, Christian reader, read the following articles with care, and then judge. Here follow the articles:
The First Article: First, it is our humble petition and desire, indeed our will and resolution, that in the future we shall have power and authority so that the entire community should choose and appoint a minister, and that we should have the right to depose him should he conduct himself improperly. The minister thus chosen should teach us the holy gospel pure and simple, without any human addition, doctrine, or ordinance. For to teach us continually the true faith will lead us to pray God that through his grace his faith may increase within us and be confirmed in us. For if his grace is not within us, we always remain flesh and blood, which avails nothing; since the Scripture clearly teaches that only through true faith can we come to God…
The Second Article: Since the right tithe is established in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New, we are ready and willing to pay the fair tithe of grain. Nonetheless, it should be done properly. The Word of God plainly provides that it should be given to God and passed on to his own. If it is to be given to a minister, we will in the future collect the tithe through our church elders, appointed by the congregation, according to the judgment of the whole congregation. The remainder shall be given to the poor of the place, as the circumstances and the general opinion demand…
The Third Article: It has been the custom hitherto for men to hold us as their own property, which is pitiable enough considering that Christ has redeemed and purchased us without exception, but the shedding of his precious blood, the lowly as well as the great. Accordingly, it is consistent with Scripture that we should be free and we wish to be so. Not that we want to be absolutely free and under no authority. God does not teach us that we should lead a disorderly life according to the lusts of the flesh, but that we should live by the commandments, love the Lord our God and our neighbor…
The Fourth Article: In the fourth place, it has been the custom heretofore that no poor man was allowed to catch venison or wild fowl, or fish in flowing water, which seems to us quite unseemly and unbrotherly, as well as selfish and not according to the Word of God…Accordingly, it is our desire, if a man holds possession of waters, that he should prove from satisfactory documents that his right has been wittingly acquired by purchase. We do not wish to take it from him by force, but his rights should be exercised in a Christian and brotherly fashion…
The Fifth Article: In the fifth place, we are aggrieved in the matter of woodcutting, for our noble folk have appropriated all the woods to themselves alone…It should be free to every member of the community to help himself to such firewood as he needs in his home. Also, if a man requires wood for carpenter’s purposes, he should have it free, but with the approval of a person appointed by the community for that purpose…
The Sixth Article: Our sixth complaint is in regard to the excessive services demanded of us, which increase from day to day. We ask that this matter be properly looked into, so that we shall not continue to be oppressed in this way, and that some gracious consideration be given to us, since our forefathers served only according to the Word of God.
The Seventh Article: Seventh, we will not hereafter allow ourselves to be further oppressed by our lords. What the lords possess is to be held according to the agreement between the lord and the peasant…
The Eighth Article: In the eighth place, we are greatly burdened by holdings which cannot support the rent exacted from them. The peasants suffer loss in this way and are ruined. We ask that the lords may appoint persons of honor to inspect these holdings and fix a rent in accordance with justice, so that the peasant shall not work for nothing, since the laborer is worthy of his hire.
The Ninth Article: In the ninth place, we are burdened with the great evil in the constant making of new laws. We are not judged according to the offense but sometimes with great ill will, and sometimes much too leniently. In our opinion, we should be judged according to the old written law, so that the case shall be decided according to its merits, and not with favors.
The Tenth Article: In the tenth place, we are aggrieved that certain individuals have appropriated meadows and fields which at one time belonged to the community. These we will take again into our own hands unless they were rightfully purchased.
The Eleventh Article: In the eleventh place, we will entirely abolish the custom called “heriot” and will no longer endure it, nor allow widows and orphans to be thus shamefully robbed against God’s will…
Conclusion: In the twelfth place, it is our conclusion and final resolution, that if any one or more of these articles should not be in agreement with the Word of God, which we do not think, we will willingly recede from such article when it is proved to be against the Word of God by a clear explanation of the scripture. For this we shall pray God, since he can grant all this and he alone. The peace of Christ Jesus abide with us all.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.worldhistory.org/Twelve_Articles/
Episode from the German Peasants' War, oil on canvas painting
by Hermann Eichler, c. 1867. Belvedere, Vienna. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15227/episode-from-the-german-peasants-war/]
People do not realize that governmental power is extremely dangerous. Down through history, peoples’ worst enemy have been their own government. When constitutional freedoms are gone, there is nothing to restrict government from doing anything it wants, and deadly government persecution is the result.
– The Secret Terrorist by Bill Hughes
MY THOUGHTS:
The Twelve Articles are one of my Favorite documents in German History. As a Christian myself, I agree with the articles. While I love Martin Luther the Great Reformer for what he had done for the Gospel and the church, I strongly disagree with what he did to the peasants. The Twelve Articles had inspired me to protest against injustice from the government, but remember, I believe in peaceful protest and I never condone any violence.
The Twelve Articles could most probably be the reason why the anabaptist descendants like the Amish and Mennonites etc, do not give their full trust to the government. They have the four core values: faith, family, community and simple life, which I believe could have been inspired by the Twelve Articles.
"If we don't want
the government to tell us how to conduct our church affairs, we had better not
tell them how to run the government.” – 1001 Questions and Answers Plain Living: Politics
and Lancaster’s Amish May
9, 2022 Dr. Steven M. Nolt, director
of Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies,
describes and interprets data gathered about the Amish vote during the 2016
election cycle. Filmed at Garden Spot Village on April 27, 2022. VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGLsRqcpMcY&t=1253s Joss Fritz https://wolfgangcapito.wordpress.com/tag/joss-fritz/ https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/06/bundschuh-bewegung.html
RELATED LINKS:
“Use this sword against my enemies, if I give righteous commands; but if I give unrighteous commands, use it against me.” -Roman Emperor Trajan, speaking to one of his subordinates -Doctrine of the lesser magistrates
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/09/emperor-trajans-sword-doctrine-of.html
With every citizen watching for an opportunity to strike a blow for freedom, the force of Communism can be halted, smothered, and then eliminated. This is our task. Without our tolerance and help the Communist empire would never have become the second strongest power in the earth. Now we have the job of dismantling it. - W. Cleon Skousen
SOME GOALS OF THE COMMUNISTS
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/05/some-goals-of-communists.html
"If we don't want the government to tell us how to conduct our church affairs, we had better not tell them how to run the government.” – 1001 Questions and Answers
HOW THE AMISH COPE WITH COVID
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/10/how-amish-cope-with-covid.html
The family that works together, eats together, and prays together, stays together. – Amish Proverb
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/05/family-value-quotes.html
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/06/tujaeng-kctu-rally-for-labour-reform.html
People do not realize that governmental power is extremely dangerous. Down through history, peoples’ worst enemy have been their own government. When constitutional freedoms are gone, there is nothing to restrict government from doing anything it wants, and deadly government persecution is the result. – The Secret Terrorist by Bill Hughes
Always love your country - but never trust your government! - Robert Novak
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/06/bundschuh-bewegung.html
RELATED VIDEOS LINKS:
https://rumble.com/v16k7sc-why-are-ultra-orthodox-jews-defying-coronavirus-rules.html
https://rumble.com/v16k657-the-neighborhood-resisting-israels-coronavirus-restrictions.html
Protest in Melbourne 2022 Videos:
https://rumble.com/v1kjo4d-17-09-2022-melbourne-freedom-rally-part-3-of-10.html
https://rumble.com/v1tzb1u-melbourne-freedom-rally-12-11-2022-part-7-of-10.html
https://rumble.com/v1twojw-melbourne-freedom-rally-12-11-2022-part-4-of-10.html
https://rumble.com/v3l4caw-dan-andrews-resignation-celebration-street-party-livestream.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yO7EWsfTow
OTHER LINKS:
https://rumble.com/user/DefyTyrants
https://rumble.com/user/mercyseat
https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2022/11/john-knox-on-resisting-tyrants.html
https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2016/bonhoeffer-reliable-guide/
https://www.wapeoplesarmy.com.au/
https://www.nationalstrikeaustralia.org/
https://alignedcouncilofaustralia.com.au/
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