Georg Metzler (farmer's guide)

Georg Metzler (* 15th century or 16th century; † after June 2, 1525) was a leader of the Odenwälder Haufen in the Peasants' War of 1525 .

Peter Haarer, field clerk of the Count Palatinate near Rhine, described the beginning of the riots as follows: “A special thing arose from all the surrounding places - boisterous and in piles, like the swarming bees - at the instigation of Georg Metzler, the host in a Mainz town called Ballenberg was situated on the Odenwald; he had spent most of his days with games, feasts and all frivolous beings ... Within a short time the farmers in Schüpfergrund, located on the Odenwald, came in large numbers, and the aforementioned Jörg Metzler was appointed as their chief captain. "

Georg Metzler ran the inn "Zum Ochsen" in Ballenberg . Together with Wendel Hipler , a nobleman and former chancellor of the Counts of Hohenlohe , he moved to Jagst on April 1, 1525 with angry Odenwald farmers, the so-called "Evangelical Army" . About 2,000 farmers from the Rothenburg camp joined this group. At this point Georg Metzler took over the management of the heap and led the farmers to Schöntal an der Jagst Monastery on April 4th . Here the Neckartaler Haufen , led by Jäcklein Rohrbach , joined the group and merged with the Odenwälder Haufen to form a light heap (the name is probably based on the peasants' light linen clothing). The rebels, about 12,000 strong and armed with cannons and about 3,000 hand rifles, accepted the Twelve Articles and went on forays into monasteries and castles. Florian Geyer , a Frankish knight, joined the peasants and led the black heap (also black crowd ), a kind of elite group within the rebels. However, he separated from the bulk of the bunch and went on forays on his own.

The bright heap moved to Heilbronn under the leadership of Metzler and Rohrbach , where they were able to invade through the open gates on April 17th, thanks to help from the city. The city took the side of the rebels, handed over 1,200 guilders and provided a flag of volunteers. Only ecclesiastical properties and the order house of the Teutonic Knights were plundered. Metzler is said to have appropriated a sack with more than 1,000 guilders. Since Heilbronn was to be made the center of the various heaps ("Heilbronner Bauernparlament"), the farmers occupied Heilbronn and moved on to the Odenwald on April 22nd. Jacklein Rohrbach separated from the bunch in Heilbronn.

On April 24th, the knight Götz von Berlichingen , who had changed fronts several times before, had to join the Protestant brotherhood and take over the supreme command of the bright, light group (as opposed to the black group of Florian Geyers). At the same time he was a prisoner of the peasants who bound him to the advisory board of the captains and without whom he could do nothing. He then moved with Metzler and the farmers via Buchen to Amorbach , where they stayed from April 30th to May 5th. The support of the nobles was won all over the area, of course only because their castles were spared.

When a storm on the Würzburg fortress finally failed on May 15th , Hipler suggested that the farmers should gather at Krautheim , where the bright, light heap also arrived on May 24th. The fact that the farmers heard that their villages had already given up prompted many of them to go home. On May 28, the heap arrived in Neckarsulm ; his number had decimated to 2000 by Öhringen . Metzler and Hipler led the group back to Krautheim, from where they had to retreat to Königshofen , besieged by the Bundish army . Here the bright, light group succumbed to the superior strength of the Bundish army on June 2nd. After the devastating battle, Georg Metzler was considered lost.

He is also a character in Goethe's play Götz von Berlichingen .

Web links

• Article about Metzler on the website of the city of Ravenstein
• Peasants' War in the Odenwald (PDF file; 79 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.ravenstein.de/p/d1.asp?artikel_id=1095  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.