It was not, as the name implied, confined to the rustics, for probably as large a proportion of the populace of cities as of the tillers of the soil joined it.

Nor was there in it anything entirely new.

The cry for justice was of long standing, and every single element of the revolt, including the hatred of the clergy and demand for ecclesiastical reform, is to be found also in previous risings.

Thus, the rebellion of peasants under Hans Boehm, commonly called the Piper of Niklashausen, in 1476, was brought about by a religious appeal.

The leader asserted that he had special revelations from the Virgin Mary that serfdom was to be abolished, and the kingdom of God to be introduced by the levelling of all social ranks; and he produced miracles to certify his divine calling.