Thomas Müntzer was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was foremost amongst those reformers who took issue with Luther's compromises with feudal authority. He was a leader of the German peasant and plebeian uprising of 1525 commonly known as the German Peasants' War.
Müntzer, imagined in a 1608 engraving by Christoffel Van Sichem
St Katharine's Church in Zwickau, where Thomas Müntzer preached
The castle at Allstedt
Rebellious peasants of 1525
Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history.
Martin Luther, 1529
Portraits of Luther's parents, Hans and Margarethe Luther, by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1527
In July 1505, Luther entered St. Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt
Luther's residence at the University of Wittenberg, where he began teaching theology in 1508