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Martin Luther and the Protestant Revolt 315 Luther was greatly troubled by news of this disorderly reform. He did not approve of sudden and violent changes and left his hiding place to protest. He preached a series of sermons in Wit- tenberg in which he urged that all alterations in religious services and practices should be introduced by the government and not by the people. But his advice was not heeded. 533. The Peasant War. In 1525 the serfs rose, in the name of "God's justice," to avenge their wrongs. Luther was not re- sponsible for the civil war which followed, though he had cer- tainly helped to stir up discontent. Some of the demands of the peasants were perfectly reasonable. The most popular expression of their needs was the dignified " Twelve Articles." In these they claimed that the Bible did not sanction any of the dues which the lords demanded of them, and that, since they were Christians like their lords, they should no longer be held as serfs. There were, however, leaders who were more violent and who proposed to kill the "godless" priests and nobles. Hundreds of castles and monasteries were destroyed by the frantic peasantry, and some of the nobility were murdered with shocking cruelty. Luther tried to induce the peasants, with whom, as the son of a peasant, he was at first inclined to sympathize, to remain quiet ; but when his warnings proved vain he turned against them. He declared that they were guilty of the most fearful crimes and urged the government to put down the insurrection without pity. 534. Cruel Suppression of the Peasant Revolt. Luther's ad- vice was followed with terrible exactness by the German rulers, and the nobility took fearful revenge on the peasants. In the summer of 1525 their chief leader was defeated and killed, and it is estimated that ten thousand peasants were put to death, many with the utmost cruelty. Few of the rulers or landlords introduced any reforms, and the misfortunes due to the destruc- tion of property and to the despair of the peasants cannot be imagined. The old exactions of the lords of the manors were in no way lightened, and the situation of the serfs for centuries following the great revolt was worse rather than better.