ABSTRACT
Enthusiasm for reforming doctrines was widespread throughout all groups in German society. The Protestant reformers themselves believed that they were affirming a clear and decisive break with the practices and beliefs of the late medieval Catholic Church. The responses of layfolk, however enthusiastic, were much more ambiguous. Some saw in evangelical doctrines a weapon with which to bring the clergy, hitherto a privileged and separate caste, into the communal fold: ‘Anticlericalism’ was shorthand for creating a Christian community, the priesthood of all believers. Others, especially the rural population, saw the Gospel as a clarion of liberty from serfdom and an oppressive feudal regime which might justify recourse to violence.
