ABSTRACT
At first glance, the Protestant Reformation was a movement initiated and fostered by Martin Luther and his supporters with the aim of renewing church and society. So powerful was this view that for a long time alternatives to Luther’s understanding of the Reformation, and the people who formulated and defended them, were not adequately explored by historians. Recently, however, scholars have become more aware of the fluidity of the early Reformation period, and so potential alternatives to Luther’s Reformation have received more attention. Thomas Müntzer (1489–1525) is among those historical figures who are of particular interest in this context. Müntzer was born in Stolberg, Saxony. He studied in Leipzig and Frankfurt on the Oder and was actively involved in school and church ministries. In May 1520, Müntzer assumed his first position as a preacher in the city of Zwickau, Saxony. However, after fierce quarrels with clergy who adhered to the old faith, he was forced to leave the city. Müntzer went to Prague in Bohemia, convinced that in the territory of Jan Hus the ‘new apostolic church’ would come into being and spread. In Prague, Müntzer finished his first work, which explicated his developing theological ideas. Soon, however, new conflicts arose, and once again he was forced to leave.
