Source
Source: Anonymous, “Die Bauern wollten freie sein,” c. 1525.
Early German Ballads, sung by
Wolfgang Roth with lute accompaniment, vol. 1. Folkways Records (FH
3071), 1960.
Abstract
This is a lansquenets’ song from the time of the Peasants’ War (1524-1525). Its title translates as “The peasants wanted to be free.” The lansquenets [Landsknechte] were mercenaries and mostly foot soldiers and pikemen. They were used in many of the Habsburg emperors’ military campaigns against the King of France and to suppress the peasants’ uprising. The lyrics reference Georg von Frundsberg (1473-1528), a knight and military leader in the imperial armies of Maximilian II and Charles V who introduced the use of lansquenets.
Die Bauern wollten freie sein (c. 1525)
Recommended Citation
Die Bauern wollten freie sein (c. 1525),
published in: German History in Documents and Images,
<https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/from-the-reformations-to-the-thirty-years-war-1500-1648/ghdi:audio-5070>
[April 22, 2025].