Lyndal Roper - The German Peasants War of 1525

This year marks the 500th anniversary of an event historians have long dismissed as a brief sideshow of the early Reformation.

Lyndal Roper, Professor of History at the University of Oxford, has a radically different interpretation. Her new book “Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War” (BasicBooks, 2025) identifies the uprising as a key moment in European history.

Although the extraordinary insurrection was ultimately defeated, it demonstrated the political intelligence of a neglected class which took Martin Luther’s revolutionary teachings at his word. The war also proved a turning point in Luther’s own political thought as the threat of social change persuaded him to stand against the rebels.

The lecture by Lyndal Roper will be held in English.

Lyndal Roper is the first woman to be appointed Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford. She is a fellow of the British Academy, the Australian Academy and the Berlin Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Her work on Germany in the early modern period has won her numerous awards and honorary doctorates. Her 2016 biography of Martin Luther is widely hailed as the definitive account of his life and the development of his social and political thought.

The Vienna Humanities Festival was launched in 2016 by the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), the European debate network “Time to Talk” (TTT), and the Wien Museum.

Since then, it has become one of the annual highlights of Vienna’s cultural scene. Under the motto ON EDGE / UNBEHAGEN, this year’s edition—taking place during the last weekend of September—will once again bring together some of the world’s most innovative thinkers to explore the political, ecological, technological, economic, artistic, and philosophical issues of our time.

More information along with the full program can be found at www.humanitiesfestival.at.

Illustration: Lyndal Roper © Isha Photography
 

Note: Registration required. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Duration: Approximately 90 minutes
Cost: Free
Meeting point: In the event hall, 3rd floor