Christoph Schappeler

According to the judgement of the historian Peter Blickle, Christoph Schappeler (1472–1551) can be described as one of the most important reformers from Upper Germany. Schappeler was born in Saint Gall, Switzerland, and called to the “Prädikatur” (preaching office) at Saint Martin’s Church in Memmingen after studying theology in Leipzig in 1513.

It soon became clear that Schappeler had charismatic abilities. He captured the imagination of the population with sermons that were critical of social circumstances and of the Church. Schappeler was instrumental in ensuring that the Reformation in Memmingen was able to gain acceptance as early as during the first half of the 1520s. Similar to the reformers in other Upper German imperial cities, such as Lindau, he also orientated himself on the teachings of Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531).

Schappeler was also of great importance for the Peasants’ War in 1524/25, when he was instrumental for the composition of the so-called “Twelve Articles” and of the “Bundesordnung” (federal regulation) of the Upper Swabian insurgents, both of which were created in Memmingen in 1525. Ultimately, however, the Peasants’ War meant that Schappeler had to terminate his work in Memmingen abruptly. In 1525, the Swabian Confederation, an association of the imperial estates, entered the city. Schappeler fled to his hometown of Saint Gall, where he lived as a simple priest until his death.