ABSTRACT
The paper treats the two core concepts of the Peasant War in the form of a report on the present state of research on law and social conflict in the late Middle Ages. The author attempts to outline a history of the meaning of the terms, based on the results of legal, constitutional and religious historians. The complex method of inquiry is particularly significant and may very well serve as a model for comparative studies of similar but different ideas of legitimation for revolts. Her tentative results suggest the necessity of revision of many hitherto uncritically accepted simplifications and promises to open up new vistas through in-depth analysis of the terminology of the rebellious peasants.
