Wu Ming - Thomas Müntzer: Sermon to the Princes

Thomas Müntzer was a radical theologian who, despite his short life, played a key role in the German Peasant War in the Thuringa region, eventually being one of the leaders of the peasant forces that faced the princes' armies at the battle of Frankenhausen in May 1525. The peasants were slaughtered at that battle and Müntzer was captured, tortured and eventually executed.

Müntzer has become, for many on the left, a radical precurssor figure of later socialist revolutionary movements. Part of the reason for that is the extensive role given to Müntzer in Engels' The Peasant War in Germany (1850). The bigger blame however lies in Müntzers' contemporary enemies, especially Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon who denounced him as a fanatic and a threat "to the orderly reproduction of society". There is much truth in this. Müntzer certainly did come to believe that society needed to be reshaped, particularly through a radical confrontation with the church and its authorities who had hidden the true pathway to God. Part of that was, an insistance, that rebellion was just and godly, if the authorities were a barrier. As Müntzer said, "the power of the sword as well as the key to realise sins is in the hands of the whole community".

This book, however, is a strange and perhaps unhelpful introduction to Thomas Müntzer. The preface by Alberto Toscano gives a good introduction to the afterlife of Müntzer, highlighting how his ressurgances have been associated with revolutionary upheavels, and giving some insights into his life, ideas and times. Wu Ming, the Italian cultural group behind the extraordinary novel Q and many other important radical cultural and political interventions have a framing essay that places Müntzer and their own interest in his work in the context of the post Seattle emergence of the anticapitalist movement. For veterens of Prague (2000), Genoa (2001) and various Social Forums like me this provided an interesting trip down memory lane, though there was a danger this review would slip into a detailed disagreement between Trotskyist and anarchosyndaclist analyses of that period.

Most of the book is however made up of a collection of Thomas Müntzer's most important works. These include his Prague Manifesto (here called the Prague Protest) and his Sermon to the Princes. Other letters and, perhaps controversially, his Confession are included. Problematically though these are not given anywhere near enough context and explanation. Müntzer's writing is seeped in mystical allusion, biblical reference and apocolyptic comment. It is hard to understand without a detailed context, and its not enough for the reader to skim for reference. I was quite surprised the publishers allowed this as I think most readers, not seeped in the history and bibliography of the period will be confused. Additionally the Confession is presented with only a passing mention in the endnotes that there are "doubts to its reliability". Indeed there are.

The endnotes and timeline of Müntzer's life are decent, but inadequate for the task they set themselves, and I would recommend readers find a decent biography of the subject before tackling these writings. Sadly given the state of radical publishing their likely to find Verso's collection first and I hope this doesn't put them off. Readers looking here for illumination might want to check out Tom Scott's 1989 biography of Müntzer, or Andrew Drummond's excellent forthcoming text (2024). The later will also be published by Verso.

Related Reviews

Blissett - Q
Engels - The Peasant War in Germany
Stayer - The German Peasants' War and the Anabaptist Community of Goods
Blickle - The Revolution of 1525: The German Peasants' War from a new perspective