Peasant Fires: Its the remix to ignition; hot and fresh from perdition

As we are transported into the world of Hans Behem, Wunderli reveals a society of much tension. The great gap between the peasantry and the high living of the lords as well as the clergy created much indignation in the peasantry which was primarily directed at the clergy: lords and nobles were expected to live luxuriously; however, the clergy was not. The preaching of Hans Behem, and the many pilgrims he gained shows the general agreement and agitation among the peasants that wished for the church to live a more minimalistic lifestyle, for this was the lifestyle that god favored. Any unnecessary wealth was potentially an example of avarice. To cure this behavior, Hans Behem called for a bonfire of the vanities in which people burned their unneccessary belongings to show their devotion. These bonfires were not unique to the ideas spread by Hans Behem, but have other occurrences throughout Europe. In 1497, Savonrola held a bonfire of the vanities in the city of florence where high tensions between the classes also occurred. He accused those who did not participate to be unchristian. These ideas can be traced back to St. Bernadino of Siena and St. John of Capistrano. Both of which advocated propertylessness. St. Bernadino is accredited with the first "real" bonfire of the vanities and preached many sermons about living as ascetics. While this movement became somewhat popular with St. Bernadino it gained momentum throughout the 15th century as the lower class become increasingly agitated and tensions increase.