Wolfen War (Merveilles des Morte)

Wolfen War Merveilles des Morte
Part of the Reformation
The Battle of Dohna (1506) during the Long March, from a 1607 etching.
Date 1505-1506 Location Thuringia, Saxony, Meissen Result Jungist victory Continuation of the Wolfenbund Creation of first Jungist bishop Protestantization of Meissen
Belligerents
Bishop of Dresden Meissen (Catholics) Merseburg County of Dohna Bamberg Various Catholic States	Wolfenbund Thuringia Brandenburg Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Johann VI Thilo of Trotha	Thin White Duke Gregor von Hanstein Paul Osterberg Conrad von Lautertal Charles I Edmund Alwin

The Wolfen War was a conflict that broke out during the early years of the Reformation. The war began in late 1505 after a coalition of Catholic states, who were concerned by the teachings of Konrad Jung, banded together to strike against minor states in the Saxony region who were embracing the Jungist teachings. Catholic leaders such as Johann VI, Archbishop of Dresden, would claim that they were acting defensively in response to the proselytization and violence being perpetuated by early Jungist converts such as Gregor von Hanstein of Altenburg. Nonetheless, in response to the successful attack of Altenburg by these Catholic powers, an alliance was formed in the city of Wolfen consisting of three of the region's strongest, Jung-sympathetic leaders: the Thin White Duke of Thuringia, Charles I of Brandenburg, and Edmund Alwin of Saxony. Together this alliance briefly retaliated against the Bishop of Dresden and his coalition, managing to repulse the Catholic attackers from Altenburg and eventually Dresden proper.

The victory of the Wolfenbund would mark a major stage in the evolution of the Reformation. Their success would ensure that the Jungist movement would not be snuffed out in the cradle, and also helped to spread the movement rapidly across the Saxony region. Soon after the victory the Margraviate of Meissen would enter the alliance and eventually convert to Jungism, while the city of Dresden became the home of the first Jungist diocese. However, the war shocked the other powers of the Holy Roman Empire and caused the Reformation to take a violent turn in retaliation. Despite preaching against violence and religious warfare, Konrad Jung would be assassinated a year after the war's conclusion, causing many of his successors to be less pacifistic.

Background

Main article: Reformation (Merveilles des Morte)

The Protestant Reformation began in Erfurt, Thuringia in 1504, following the publication of the 105 Theses by Konrad Jung. The teachings of Konrad Jung spread rapidly across Europe, becoming particularly popular in Thuringia where religious discontent was high. The Henrician Civil War a decade earlier had seen an attempted crusade against the state due to its high prevalence of heretical sects, such as the Neo-Adamites. A group of nobles had come to exist that sheltered the Adamites or harbored discontent for church authorities, and they likewise helped to spread the works of Jung among the heretics and among the general population, so that within a year of Jung's publications the “evangelicals”, or as the Catholics derogatorily called them, the Jungists, came to form a majority in key areas in the far east of Thuringia. After years of preparation, said conspirators – Conrad von Lautertal, William of Mühlberg, William von Bibra of Meiningen, Gregor von Hanstein of Altenburg, et al – capitalized on this religious fervor and marched on Erfurt, persuading the Thin White Duke to relent to formal protestantization of the duchy. He gave an order that all church land in Thuringia, their numerous monasteries, abbeys, private lands, etc, were to be annexed to the state, and that the clergy of Thuringia (as Jung was the Vicar of Thuringia and Saxony) was to be taught the doctrine that Jung espoused, in a process that would take some time.

Konrad Jung painted by Hans Dürer in 1508.

This causes immediate backlash, and soldiers were needed to carry out the confiscation of church lands in the center of Thuringia. Much of the wealth from these seizures was then distributed to the population, which helped to quell much of the unrest. By and large the peasantry and the population were not affected by these changes at all: the change in ownership was but a different name on the deed for those attending churches across Thuringia. However, in some areas this escalated, with protesters smashing artwork and statues, and pillaging the images at churches and other church properties. These protests grew across the state, causing nearly open war across Thuringia. Although devout Catholics in a place like Thuringia seemed hard to come by, there was some open resistance to the developments, leading to dozens of deaths. Throughout all this the Thin White Duke began receiving potent visions once more, and he managed to convince much of the population that these developments were of grave importance and perhaps beneficial. This became more true in December when the Duke’s army fought and defeated a small coalition of Catholic lords, and declared any serfs of them to be freed. With all or most of the nobles of Thuringia being sympathetic or believers themselves, or just unable to resist, the Thin White Duke called for a conference in Erfurt among his vassals to come to an agreement the following year. Gregor von Hanstein became a particularly zealous Jungist, causing chaos in the eastern border region of Thuringia. Numerous other German nobles also took up interest, including Charles I of Brandenburg, known for his anti-papal conspiracy theory and the ensuing controversy.

Overview

With religious heresy centered primarily around Saxony, the Bishop of Dresden and an alliance of minor Saxon states formed to combat the spread of Jungism. They would launch an attack on the city of Altenburg, which was controlled by "Conspirator" Gregor von Hanstein, after Jungist soldiers supposedly attacked Catholics across the border. It’s unclear if Gregor von Hanstein actually did deliberately order such an attack, or if the Bishop wanted an excuse to combat the Jungists, but a battle soon broke out almost immediately near Altenburg.

Fearing further retaliation from neighboring Catholic nations, the nations foremost affected by the rise of Jungism decided to meet in the small town of Wolfen to arrange for a conference. The result would be the League of Wolfen (or Wolfenbund), a defensive alliance chiefly between Duke Edmund Alwin of Saxony, Duke Charles of Brandenburg, and the Thin White Duke of Thuringia. Together these three states creatde a series of marriage alliances, and also began working with the “Conspirators”, including Gregor von Hanstein.

With Jungists being repulsed at Altenburg, the battle spured the creation of a new military in Thuringia. Firstly there were the White Knights, who through a series of internal fights, come to be dominated by Jungists, and the Thin White Duke would call them the world’s first “Jungist Holy Order”. A coup within the leadership of the organization placed Paul Osterberg as the head knight, and he organized a swift removal of devout Catholics from the organization, and a shift toward Jungist teaching. An event known as the Easter Purge occurred, in which a few hundred Catholics were killed within the army of the Conspiracy, creating a solely Jungist fighting force organized to “safeguard the reformation”. With 1,000 of these levies and 200 White Knights, Gregor von Hanstein marched out from Altenburg and began the “Long March” toward Dresden.

As he marched he spreads the message of Jungism through Meissen, attacking churches, and gaining followers. By the time he reached the Bishopric of Dresden's lands his army had increased several times over, and a siege ensued. Cut off from the rest of the alliance, the Bishop of Dresden quickly found himself surrounded by a nation converting in rapid numbers, and he surrendered. Elsewhere, the Wolfenbund sponsored the creation of the “Blue Army of the Elbe”, a force of Jungists raised from primarily Thuringia and Saxony. Under the command of Conrad von Lautertal, the Blue Army marched against the supporters of Dresden and led the charge in confiscating all church land between Erfurt and Wittenberg. The Bishopric of Naumburg was mediatised, while the Bishop of Merseburg was forced to flee. They discovered other religious leaders, such as the Bishop of Halberstadt, had decided to convert of their own volition.

The most zealous in Thuringia (such as the previously heretical Adamites) urged the creation of a “utopia” as defined by the writings of the Thin White Duke, in which life would return to how it was in the time of the Apostles, but their goal would fail to be achieved at that time. Through all of this the Thin White Duke urged Konrad Jung to help standardize Jungism as a separate religion completely, and Jung was eventually forced to appoint priests to meet demand. The unrest spilled over into the neighboring Bishopric of Bamberg, escalating the conflict, and knowing that the Emperor would likely get involved once the election was over and he has settled into his position, the Thin White Duke petitioned to have these series of disputes resolved diplomatically before a full war broke out.

By 1506 the defensive war against the Bishopric of Dresden and others was defeated, with Thuringia and the Wolfenbund successfully repulsing the attack. The result was that a militant attempt to contain Jungism was stopped, intimidating many in the area that such a move would not be prudent, and convincing others to not resist the spread of Jungism. The Long March of Gregor von Hanstein ended with him marching into Dresden to much celebration from the locals, who had begun to throw off their Catholic oppressors. With the Bishopric having been toppled, the Evangelical-Jungist Church of Saxony was declared, to serve as a model church for the reformation. A new Jungist bishop was declared with his seat in Meissen Cathedral, becoming the first proper diocese of Jungism. The Long March continued in a limited capacity, with Gregor von Hanstein pursuing a few towns who had supported the invasion of Thuringia. With the Blue Army in the Meissen area, and with the capital at Dresden now formally Jungist, the Thin White Duke would persuade his son-in-law Frederick VI, Margrave of Meissen to join the defensive alliance of the Wolfenbund as an equal member, and in exchange Thuringia supported ceding any captured towns to Meissen, including the valuable church lands. The rest of the territory captured by the Blue Army was converted to Jungism and remained as independent states, albeit under the influence of Thuringia temporarily in some capacities, with a small number of soldiers remaining in the region to protect the Wolfenbund from attack.

Footnotes