Anabaptist Martyrs of Europe

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The Marginal Mennonite Society’s

Guide to the Anabaptist Martyrs of Europe

1524-1614

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland

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A publication of the Marginal Mennonite Society (MMS)

http://www.facebook.com/marginalmennonitesociety

Last revised: Oct. 15, 2016

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Levina Ghyselius & David van der Leyen, burned at the stake, Ghent, Belgium, Feb. 14, 1554.

Engraving by Jan Luiken for Martyrs’ Mirror.

 

Introduction

The total number of Anabaptist martyrs is unknown. Record-keeping in the various regions of 16th-century Europe was inconsistent. In some areas, records were kept but later lost or destroyed. In other areas, no records were kept in the first place. There are also places where we have only numbers or names of martyrs with no further details. The most comprehensive martyr information available today comes from Belgium and the Netherlands. This doesn’t necessarily mean more people were martyred in those places than elsewhere. It simply means their records are in a better state of preservation.

For centuries, Martyrs’ Mirror was the primary source of information about Anabaptist martyrs. Over the last hundred years, however, historians and scholars have spent a lot of time digging through original documents in the archives of Europe. In the process they’ve uncover ed a lot of information that never made it into Martyrs’ Mirror. They also discovered that the listings in Martyrs’ Mirror are not always accurate.

The primary source for the MMS Anabaptist Martyrs Guide is the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (G AMEO) ( http://www.gameo.org ). Anyone who reads Martyrs’ Mirror today should do so in conjunction with a modern resource, like GAMEO, to assure that the most accurate information is being accessed. The martyr profiles on the GAMEO webs ite often correct and/or expand on details found in Martyrs’ Mirror.

It should be noted that not all Anabaptist martyrs are worthy of admiration. Some were revolutionaries who used the Bible to justify horrible acts of violence. (In the listings below, the word “revolutionary” is highlighted in red so the reader can see where they were concentrated.) Marginal Mennonites, of course, identify with the pacifist wing of the Anabaptist movement. But in order to understand the movement in its full context, it is necessary to learn the stories of all the martyrs, regardless of their theological/political tendencies.

The listings are organized geographically, by country and city, and then chronologically within each city. If you’re planning on taking an Anabaptist tour of Europe, the MMS Martyrs Guide would be an excellent resource to carry with you. If you’re reading the Guide on your electronic device, be advised that the underscored items are hyperlinks to pages on the GAMEO website.

Charlie Kraybill

MMS Facebook page administrator

The Bronx, New York City

October 2016

Italy

“Sixteenth-century sources contain many references to Anabaptism in Italy, and later observers, among them Karl Benrath,have assumed an organic connection between Swiss or German Taufer and Italian congregations. Critical study of the extant evidence, however, fails to reveal such a relationship. Italy provides, therefore, a classic example of the misunderstandings that may result when loosely defined terms like ‘Anabaptism’ are used freely for polemical purposes. …

The free-thinking ideas of some of the refugees, reflecting a rationalistic approach to the fundamentals of Christianity, drew the attention of Swiss reformed leaders to them. Camillo Renato of Sicily was the most troublesome of these Italians.

He was active in Chiavenna in 1546 and succeeding years and became embroiled in controversy over the sacraments andother subjects with the Reformed pastor Mainardi. The struggle dragged on for several years and during its course Renato was condemned by synods and by  Bullinger himself. Mainardi called Ranto an ‘Anabaptist’ and listed his heresies: he rejected infant baptism and held un orthodox opinions concerning the nature of Christ, salvation, the existence of hell, and the sleep of souls. Another man, Tiziano by name and a friend of Renato, professing to be guided only by the Spirit, combined anti-Trinitarian views with rejection of infant baptism. Although he opposed the magistral use of the sword by Christians, neither he nor Renato was associated with any northern Taufer community. Both Renato and Tiziano are best thought of as ‘spiritual reformers.’ There are scattered references to later Italian ‘Anabaptist’ activities in these border regions, but they are careless polemical accusations.”

~Excerpted from:

DeWind, Henry A. “Italy.”  Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online . February 2011

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Brixen

“Brixen is a city and district in Tyrol (now part of Suditirol, Italy), in which there were large numbers of Anabaptists by

1527. On 23 December, 1527, the prince-bishop had sent out the order to watch the roaming agitators, ‘among whom there are said to be some who preach in corners about the new sect and rebaptism.’ … In the following years Anabaptists are found both north and south of the Brenner in constantly increasing numbers, and sharp edicts are repeatedly issued against them. … It was in the Brixen fief of Michelsburg that Anabaptism had taken root. Numbers of Anabaptists were taken from here to Brixen and sentenced to death, with the exception of those of whom it was said ‘that they were in general quite simple and of slight intelligence.’ Among those released was Agnes, the sister of Jakob Hutter of Moos, the founder of the Hutterian Brethren.”

~Excerpted from:

Loserth, Johann. “Brixen (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy).”

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953

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1538

• On Oct. 31, 1538, Onophrius Griesinger was burned at the stake. He was a Hutterite.

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Klausen (Chiusa)

“Klausen is an ancient village of Tyrol, Austria, which became Italian after World War I. Towering over the town is the Saben abbey and the castle of Branzoll. In Anabaptist history Klausen is important. It was the scene of the last labor of several Anabaptist leaders. Here Georg Blaurock, one of the founders of the movement in Zurich in 1525, was burned to death. Several years later Jakob Hutter was put into the dungeon of Branzoll, and then burned at the stake at Innsbruck.

Seven Anabaptists were executed fortheir faith in Klausen. … When Georg Blaurock, who had just been banished fromSwitzerland, heard of the desire for the gospel in Tyrol, he was at once willing to take charge of Kurschner’s orphaned congregation. In May 1529 he came to Klausen with Hans Langegger. His success did not remain concealed from the government. To avoid capture, he went to other places to work, but in August he returned to Klausen and Gufidaun, and was betrayed to the authorities. On 14 August he and Hans Langegger fell into the hands of Hans Preu, the magistrate, and were burned 6 September 1529 at Klausen.”

~Excerpted from:

Loserth, Johann. “Klausen (Tyrol, Austria).”

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957

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1529

• On Sept. 6, 1529, George Blaur Ock and Hans Langegger were burned at the stake. Blaurock was one of the original members of the Swiss Brethren in Zurich. He was probably in his late thirties at the time of his death. His career as an

Anabaptist lasted less than five years.

1531

• On Oct. 2, 1531, Ulrich Mullner was beheaded.

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Michelsburg

“Michelsburg, a castle in Tyrol, Austria, near St. Lorenzen in the Puster Valley, played a significant part in the Anabaptist movement. In December 1527, the warden of Michelsburg received orders from the Brixen authorities to be on the lookout for Anabaptists coming from Venice. A year later the judge of Michelsburg searched for Anabaptists, who apparently escaped. The Brixen authorities ordered them pursued, and on 27 April 1529 the Michelsburg warden, Balthasar Gerhard, managed to arrest five Anabaptists, including the leader in the district, Gregor Weber of Pflaurenz, preacher and trustedfriend of Jakob Hutter. … In 1538, Bernhard, Cardinal of Trient, ordered the pastor of St. Lorenzen to devote all his energyto the eradication of the sectarians.Just at this time an exciting incident occurred in Michelsburg. Agnes von Waldhofen, awidow belonging to an old noble family, took all her cash and jewels and her little daughter to join the Brethren in Moravia. In spite of all precaution by local and higher authorities to prevent her leaving the country she apparently madeher way successfully to Moravia. … The list of martyrs of the Hutterian chronicles records a total of 48 executions in the Puster Valley, half of them at Michelsburg.”

~Excerpted from:

Dedic, Paul. “Michelsburg (Bruneck, Südtirol, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957

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1529

• On June 17, 1529, Gregor Weber, Kaspar Mayrpaulle, and an Anabaptist woman were burned at the stake. On the sameday, Wilhelm Sambsfeuer was executed by beheading.

1531

• At some point during the summer of 1531, Georg Schraffl, along with his servant, were executed.

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St. Lorenzen

1591

• On August 5, 1591, Georg Wenger was executed by be heading.

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Venice

1562

• In Oct. 1562, Gherlandi Giulio was executed by drowning. He was a Hutterite.

1565

• On Feb. 26, 1565, Francesco della Sega and Antonio Rizzettowere executed by drowning. They were Hutterites.

Austria

 

“The most intense activities of Anabaptist leaders fell into the two years 1527 and 1528. It was then that Hans Hut, Oswald Glait, and Leonhard Schiemer worked so successfully for their new doctrine in Lower and then Upper Austria. … The first place of work for Hans Hut was Vienna, where he is said to have baptized more than 50 people, thus establishing a small independent group. Then he moved on toward Upper Austria where we find him again in the city of Steyr. In the meantime Oswald Glait became active in Vienna, baptizing among others Leonhard Schiemer, a former Barefoot Friar, later one of the outstanding Anabaptists. He, too, soon moved toward Steyr on the Enns River, the most important center of Anabaptism at that time. … Driven from Nikolsburg, Hubmaier entered Lower Austria where he was jailed and executed at the stake (March 1528). It was a major event in the history of Anabaptism, even though it had not the consequences which the government had hoped for from this ‘object lesson.’ The Anabaptist movement actually gained new followers. The authorities, however, were not slow in proving their determination: the Hutterite C hronicle reports for 1528 as many as 91 executions, 28 of them in Vienna alone. … The Munsterite tragedy of 1534-35 gave the government new justification for intensified persecutions. Now they claimed that the Austrian Anabaptists taught the same doctrine as the Munsterites, hiding it only from the inquisitors. The truth, however, was that the indigenous Anabaptist movement in Lower Austria had already died out. The martyrs whom we will meet from now on are but Hutterite missionaries on their witnessing journeys everywhere. … All in all, between 150 and 180 Brethren suffered martyrdom in Upper Austria, of which number about 100 died in the years 1528 to 1530 alone. As for Lower Austria, the Chronicle reports a sum total of 150 martyrs up to 1542.”

~Excerpted from: Friedmann, Robert and Lawrence W. Warkentin. “Austria.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

February 2011 .

Wolf Binder, beheaded in Scharding, Austria, Feb. 1571.

Engraving by Jan Luiken for Martyrs’ Mirror.

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Hall on the Inn

1529

• Sometime in late August 1529 or shortly thereafter, Anna Malerin and Ursula Ochsentreiberin were drowned in the Inn River.

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Innsbruck

1529

• On June 2, 1529 , Michael Kurschner was burned at the stake.

1536

• On Feb. 25, 1536 , Jacob Hutter was burned at the stake in the town square. He was a leader of the Anabaptists in the Tyrol, and later in Moravia. The Hutterites are named after him.

1561

• On June 10, 1561 , three Hutterites were executed. Their names were: Eustachius Kotter (beheaded), Jorg Rack (beheaded), and Hans Mandl (tied to a ladder and thrown alive onto a fire).

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Kitzbuhel

“Kitzbuhel is a town in Tyrol, Austria. Few places in Tyrol had as many Anabaptists as Kitzbuhel, in the archbishopric of Salzburg. The Tyrolean government had on 28 November 1527 demanded that the archbishop assist in eliminating the sect, and issued orders to the authorities to that effect. But these public servants lacked either the interest or the power to halt the movement. Instead, refugee Anabaptists from Salzburg and other parts of Tyrol met here. A number were seized in March 1528. By April, 200 had been arrested. Many were dismissed when they recanted, but 110 refused to do so. An order of 2 April 1528 promised pardon to all but the preachers and those who had talked about Christian liberty, community of goods, or against the sacraments.”

~Excerpted from: Loserth, Johann. “Kitzbühel (Tyrol, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1528

• On Aug. 12, 1528 , Hans Schwaighofer and Hans Platzer were executed.
• On Aug. 28, 1528 , Thomas Herrmann was burned at the stake.

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Lengbach (Lembach)

“Lengbach, Austria, is located in the Wienerwald. The first mention of Lengbach appears in an apology of the government councilors to an accusation made by the king, dated 4 March 1528, which says that they were holding several Anabaptistsin Lengbach. Persecution in Moravia was bringing many Anabaptists to Lower Austria, where the marshal Dietrich von Hartitsch was hunting them down. It was, however, not the marshal but the clerk of Neulengbach, the knight Blasius Notlitsch, who succeeded in capturing them. On 3 June 1528 he reported to the government that with the aid of Gryss, master of the hunt, he had brought to Lengbach 33 newly baptized persons, who had been living for three weeks in the forest ‘on a high mountain’ — 16 men and 17 girls and women. Most of them were young; only four were past 40. There was among them a furrier who had assumed the priestly role of baptizing. … The king decided that the cost must be borneby the magistracy, but the prisoners must be turned over to Hartitsch, who soon afterward executed 18 men and women.

Although the court records are silent on the point, there must have been other Anabaptists here, for the chronicles list 45 executions in Lengbach, of a total of 105 for all of Lower Austria.”

~Excerpted from: Dedic, Paul. “Lengbach (Wienerwald, Niederösterreich, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.1958 .

1528

• At some point in the late summer of 1528 , 18 Anabaptists (men and women) were executed.

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Linz

“Linz, Austria, is a city on the Danube. The extent of the Anabaptist movement in Upper Austria in the late 1520s can be learned from the records of the cross-examinations given the imprisoned Anabaptists in 1527-1528 in several cities in Germany, and also from the reports sent to the governments by various authorities. We learn that after the dispersal of the congregation founded at Steyr by Hans Hut, Linz became a center for the Upper Austrian Anabaptists. … The Anabaptist group at Linz included Jakob of Meissen, who was serving as an ‘apostle’ near Freistadt, and especially Wolfgang Brandhuber, ‘the preacher of Linz,’ and Hans Schlaffer also ‘sometimes called the parson of Linz,’ Hans Fischer former secretary of the baron of Stahremberg, also Thomas of Grein, usually called Waldhauser, who was burned at the stake at Brno two days before Easter 1538. … Brandhuber was condemned to death in 1529 ‘as a preacher and a ringleader of the seducing sect,’ together with the preacher Hans Niedermaier and 70 others.”

~Excerpted from: Loserth, Johann. “Linz (Oberösterreich, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1529

• Sometime during 1529 , Anabaptist leaders Wolfgang Brandhuber and Hans Niedermayer , along with 70 others , were seized and executed here, some by beheading, some by burning.

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Rankweil

1583

• On Nov. 6, 1583 , Melchior Platzer was executed by beheading, after which his corpse was burned. He was a Hutterite.

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Rattenberg

“Rattenberg, Tyrol, Austria, a small fortified town situated on the Inn River about 25 miles east of Innsbruck, with some copper mines nearby. Ruins of the fortress are still present. Also, the picturesque town remains almost unchanged since the 16th century. In the 1520s Anabaptism was vigorous here as everywhere along the Inn, perhaps because of the miners, the most alert section of the population. The Hutterite Chronik reports (up to 1542) a total of 71 martyrs from this town alone. Only Kitzbuhel with 68 martyrs and Schwaz, another mining town of the Inn Valley, with 20, had such large numbers.

Kirchmaier reports that a thousand ‘heretics’ were executed in Tyrol prior to 1530, and that fagots were burning continually all along the Inn Valley. Unfortunately, little is known about the inner history of the Rattenberg congregation which has so many martyrs. No doubt it was a strong group. Only two facts are certain: (1) the Anabaptist ‘bishop’ Leonhard Schiemer was caught in this town on 25 November 1527 and beheaded on 14 January 1528; and (2) Pilgram Marpeck was born and educated here, became a mining magistrate, and in 1525 a member of the inner council of the city.”

~Excerpted from: Friedmann, Robert. “Rattenberg (Tyrol, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On Jan. 14, 1528 , Leonhard Schiemer was executed by beheading. He was a leader in the South German wing of the Anabaptist movement. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously calls him Leonhard Schoner.) His martyrdom came less than a year after he joined the Anabaptists.

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Ried im Innkreis

“Ried im Innkreis, a town in Upper Austria. Anabaptism came to Ried in the early days of the movement. Wolfgang Brandhuber, of Passau, had won a group here for the Anabaptist cause in 1528. In the 1530s, the Philippites settled here after their withdrawal from Moravia. Riedemann visited them in Ried. But in the early 1540s they disappeared from the town.”

~Excerpted from: Crous, Ernst. “Ried im Innkreis (Oberösterreich, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1545

• On June 24, 1545 , Hans Bluetl was burned at the stake. He was a Hutterite.

1605

• On Aug. 5, 1605 (or possibly Aug. 26), Marx Eder and Hansel Poltzinger were beheaded and then burned.

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Salzburg

“The struggle against the Anabaptists could be carried on with much greater vigor in Salzburg than in the Austrian hereditary lands, since here the temporal and spiritual authority were combined in the archbishop. In Salzburg there were resident Anabaptists as early as 1526. … The extensive spread of Anabaptism in the bishopric of Salzburg is seen in the numerous mandates as well as the complaints of Archbishop Matthaus, who wrote on 4 July 1527 that he had to work day and night with his councillors to stamp out Anabaptists.”

~Excerpted from: Loserth, Johann. “Salzburg (Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1527

• On Oct. 25, 1527 , Barbara Grunauer was executed by drowning, along with a woman named Elsbeth .
• On Oct. 27, 1527 , 37 Anabaptists were crowded into a house which was then locked and set on fire. All 37 perished in the flames. Among the dead were Eucharius Binder , and Wolfgang Wimmer and his wife Martha .

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Scharding

1529

• Sometime during 1529 , an Anabaptist named Vigil Plattner was executed by beheading.

1571

• Sometime during Feb. 1571 , a Hutterite named Wolf Binder was executed by beheading.

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Schwaz

“Schwaz, a town on the Inn near Innsbruck in Tyrol, Austria, was, like Rattenberg and other towns in this area, a center of Anabaptist activity 1526-1550. In 1526-1542, twenty Anabaptists died as martyrs at Schwaz, including Hans Schlaffer and Leonhard Frick, both arrested in 1527 and executed in 1528, and Ludwig Fest in 1533. In 1544, many Anabaptists moved from Schwaz to Moravia to join the Hutterite communities.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Schwaz (Tyrol, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On Feb. 4, 1528 , Hans Schlaffer and Leonhard Frick were executed by beheading.

1533

• On July 3, 1533 , Ludwig Fest was executed by beheading. He was probably a member of Pilgram Marpeck’s circle.

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Steyr

“Steyr, a city in Upper Austria, with a wealthy and proud citizenship. During the 14th and 15th centuries there existed in this city large and influential Waldensian congregations. Although no recorded ties between Waldensians and Anabaptists can be produced, connections are most probable. It is noteworthy, for instance, that an Anabaptist congregation existed in Steyr as early as 1526, of unknown origin, for when Balthasar Hubmaier passed through on his way from Zurich to Nikolsburg he found a small congregation shepherded by the chaplain of the ‘imperial castle,’ Johann Portner. … When Hans Hut was on trial in Augsburg and questioned about his activities, he claimed to have baptized 10 or 12 persons ‘in Eysenstadt’ (Steyr), but the number of converts was certainly greater than that.”

~Excerpted from: Mercenseffy, Grete and Robert Friedman. “Steyr (Oberösterreich, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On March 30, 1528 , six Anabaptists were executed by beheading, after which their corpses were burned. Their names were: Hans Schutzenecker , Sigmund Peutler , Hans Muhr , Leonhard Alexberger , Mathaus Purchinger , and Hans Penzenauer .

• In May 1528 , Hans Heher and five other Anabaptists were executed here.

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Vienna

“Vienna, the capital of Austria, situated on the Danube at the crossroads from East to West and North to South. Vienna had  been the seat of the ruling house of Hapsburg since c. 1300, and a strong bulwark against the Turks in 1529 and again in 1683. It is a place where many nations and races mingle but has a predominantly German population. Vienna never had an Anabaptist congregation for any length of time, but was the scene of execution of at least 23 Anabaptists during the reign of Ferdinand I. … The first Anabaptist influence in Vienna was apparently brought by transient brothers on their way to and from Nikolsburg, where Anabaptism had shown a vigorous growth ever since Hubmaier and Glait led the movement.

Hans Hut, leaving Nikolsburg with Glait in early 1527, stopped in Vienna and held meetings at a house in the Kirntnerstrasse, where he is said to have baptized not less than 50 persons. Discovery of the group by the authorities forced Hut to flee and seems to have led to the final dissolution of this budding congregation.”

~Excerpted from: Loserth, Johann and Robert Friedmann. “Vienna (Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On March 10, 1528 , Balthasar Hubmaier was burned at the stake. His wife Elsbeth was martyred three days later. Hubmaier was born in Germany but he found himself in Zurich just as the Swiss Brethren movement was getting started. In 1526 he moved to Nikolsburg, Moravia, where he played a key role in making that town a center of Anabaptist activity for a while. He was in his late forties at the time of his death. His career as an Anabaptist barely lasted three years.

• On March 13, 1528 , Elsbeth Hugeline (Balthasar Hubmaier’s wife) was executed by drowning. A large stone was tied around her neck, and she was thrown from a bridge into the Danube.

1535

• At some point during 1535 (or possibly 1536), Jakob Wiedemann (known as “One-eyed Jakob”) was executed, along with several fellow Moravian Anabaptists .

1536

• On March 31, 1536 , three Hutterites were burned at the stake. Their names were: Hieronymus Kals , Michael Seifensieder , and Hans Oberecker .

1546

• At some point in the late summer of 1546 , Oswald Glait was executed by drowning in the Danube. Glait was born in Germany and later became an important Anabaptist leader in Moravia. He was in his fifties at the time of his death.
• On Nov. 22, 1546 , Blasius Beckh , Anthoni Keim , Leonhard Schneider , and Hans Staudacher were executed by beheading. They were Hutterites.

1550

• On June 27, 1550 , Hans Gurtzham was executed by drowning in the Danube.

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Wels

“Wels, a town in Upper Austria, the seat of an Anabaptist congregation in 1528, which was however soon violently suppressed by the government. A number of members fled from the town when persecution set in. In 1528, Luther sent a warning concerning them to Wenzel Link, a clergyman in Nurnberg. Those who remained were arrested and those who did not recant were executed. At least 12 suffered martyrdom.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Wels (Oberösterreich, Austria).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On June 8, 1528 , Hans Neumair and Leonhard Haslinger were executed by beheading, their corpses then burned.
• On June 28, 1528 , Jorg Kreutzinger was executed with the sword and then burned, along with seven other persons .

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Ybbs

1545

• Sometime during 1545 , Andreas Kofler was executed by beheading. He was a Hut

Belgium

“During the reign of Charles V, Belgium was the southern part of the Netherlands and was governed in his name by the vice-regent, who resided in Brussels. The influence of the court was more pronounced in the south than in the north; hence, the religious persecutions were also more violent in the southern provinces than in the northern. … Whereas in the north the followers of Melchior Hoffman were more numerous, there is little information concerning their activity in the south.

David Joris, who was presumably born in Bruges, apparently had followers in Flanders. Also, the unitarian ideas of Adam Pastor found reception among some here, as was revealed in the cross-examination of the martyr Herman van Vlekwijk. …

We may assume that the number of Anabaptists was great, because so many Belgian martyrs are known. As a rule, only small parts of the congregations were imprisoned, and hundreds must have fled to the north after the release of a sharp edict against the Anabaptists in 1555. … The number of executions can no longer be exactly determined, but I estimate it at more than 800.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der and Robert Charles. “Belgium.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2011 .

Grote Markt, Antwerp

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Antwerp

“Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders. Antwerp is located onthe bank of the river Scheldt. In Antwerp there was as early as the late Middle Ages evidence of heresy and opposition to the Roman Church. Since there were in the city many printing presses, the Reformation found early entry here. …

Anabaptism soon won adherents, and by 1534 there was a large group. … Jan Smeitgen or Smekens, a preacher who had fled to Antwerp from Maastricht, was burned on 24 May 1537. At this time revolutionary Anabaptism (Munsterites) seems to have had a large following. Jan van Geelen visited Antwerp in 1534. The Davidjorist group also had a few adherents. But the peaceful Mennonites soon predominated.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Antwerp (Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1535

• On Feb. 17, 1535 , Jeronimus Pael was executed by beheading in Antwerp. He seems to have been a revolutionary

Anabaptist.

• On March 3, 1535 , Matheus Sauviage and Godevaert van Holaer were burned at the stake in the marketplace. Matheus’swife, Lysbeth Smeets, was executed by drowning two weeks later.

• On March 12, 1535 , Peeter Mouwe was executed by beheading.
• On March 16, 1535 , four Anabaptist women were executed by drowning in the Scheldt River. Their names were: Digna Jacops , Barbele Gheerts , Neelken Clercx , and Lysbeth Smeets . Lysbeth’s husband, Matheus Sauviage, was burned at the stake two weeks earlier.

1536

• On Jan. 26, 1536 , Joos Baten was executed by beheading.

1537

• On May 19, 1537 , Cornelis van Middeldonck was executed by beheading.
• On May 24, 1537 , Jan Smeitgen was burned at the stake.
• At some point during 1537 , Lambrecht Linthermans was burned at the stake.
• At some point during 1537 , Janne de Hane was burned at the stake.

1544

• On Oct. 23, 1544 , Eloy Pruystinck was burned at the stake. He was an Anabaptist, a universalist, and a teacher with many followers (known as Loisten ). Among other things, Pruystinck believed everyone has the “Holy Spirit,” because the “Holy Spirit” in reality is one’s own reason. He denied the existence of hell, and insisted that everybody will enjoy eternal life.

1550

• On Aug. 18, 1550 , Peter van den Broecke was burned at the stake.

1551

• On Sept. 1, 1551 , Hendrik Beverts and Jeronimus Segersz were burned at the stake.

1552

• On Feb. 19, 1552 , Lysken Dirks was executed by drowning. She was placed in a sack and thrown into the Scheldt River.
• On Sept. 23, 1552 , four Anabaptists were executed, three men by burning at the stake, and a woman by drowning. Their names were: Willem van Roosendaele , Hans de Druckere , Adriaen Wouterssone , and Mechtelt Melis . Adriaen and Mechtelt were husband and wife.

1553

• On Jan. 20, 1553 , Adriaen de Wintere and Anthonis Jacobssone were burned at the stake. Afterwards, their heads were placed on poles.
• On July 13, 1553 , Jan Boulin was burned at the stake.
• On July 17, 1553 , Frans Jorissen and Hans de Schoenmakere were burned at the stake.

1555

• On Aug. 27, 1555 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Pieter van Beringen , Jan Droochscheerder , Hans Borduerwercker , and Frans Sweertveger .

• On Oct. 5, 1555 , Tanneken van der Leyen was executed by drowning in the Scheldt River. Several other members of the van der Leyen family were accused of heresy and put to death.
• On Nov. 22, 1555 , Bartholomeus Potbacker was executed in the Grote Markt of Antwerp.
• On Dec. 10, 1555 , Rommeken (aka Rombout Smit) was burned at the stake.

1556

• On Sept. 4, 1556 , Jan de Cudse was burned at the stake in the Antwerp marketplace.

1557

• On Jan. 30, 1557 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Willem Droochscheerder , Pieter de Backer , Joris Oud-Kleer-kooper , Maerten Saey-Wever , and Victor Willemsz .
• On May 22, 1557 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Jacob van Yperen , Laurens van Gelder ,

Pieter de Meulenaer , Maerten de Wael , and Jeronimus van der Capellen . Maerten’s wife, Claerken Boucket, was martyred a few weeks later, on July 6. Jeronimus’s wife, Margriete, was also martyred on July 6.

• On July 6, 1557 , Clairette Boucket , Margriete Jeroons Huysvrouwe , and Janneken op Dextrelaer were executed (secretly) by drowning in the Steen Castle. Afterwards, their naked corpses were cast into the Scheide River. Clairette’s husband, Maerten de Wael, and Margriete’s husband, Jeronimus, had been executed on May 22.

1558

• On Feb. 5, 1558 , Jacob Daneels was burned at the stake on the Antwerp market square.
• On April 22, 1558 , Louwys de Wever was executed by beheading, after recanting
• On June 10, 1558 , Anthonie Rocke was executed. He was married to Noelle Mazille, who was executed two months later, on Aug. 20, also in Antwerp.
• On July 7, 1558 , Frans Tibau was executed by beheading in the Steen Castle.
• On July 21, 1558 , Cleynen Dirck was executed by beheading in the Steen Castle.
• On Aug. 20, 1558 , Noelle Mazille was executed by drowning in a tub. She was married to Anthonie Rocke, who was executed in Antwerp two months earlier, on June 10.
• On Oct. 8, 1558 , three Anabaptists were executed in the Steen Castle, probably by beheading. Their names were: Antonis

van Houtere , Dirck de Schilder , and Hendrik Leerkoper . Antonis’s wife, Grietgen, was executed here a few months later, in December of 1558.

• On Oct. 26, 1558 , Hans den Duytsch was executed by beheading in the Steen Castle.
• On Nov. 19, 1558 , Sander Hendriksz was executed, probably by beheading, in the Steen Castle.
• On Dec. 12, 1558 , Stijntgen van Aken was executed by drowning in Steen Castle, along with three other women .
• On Dec. 16, 1558 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Aerdt Aerssens , Geraert

Passamentwerker , Hans van Borculo , and Pieter Vettewarier .

• On Dec. 31, 1558 , four women were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle. Their names were: Lynken Jacops ,

Stijntgen van Aken , Tanneken van Cluyten , and Grietgen . Grietgan was the wife of Antonis van Houtere, who had been executed here a few months earlier, in October.

1559

• On March 19, 1559 , three women were executed secretly by drowning in a tub in the Steen Castle of Antwerp. Their names were: Pleuntgen van der Goes , Fransken de Vroedvrouw , and Naentgken Leerverkooper (aka Adriana Lambrechts).
• On June 18, 1559 , Michiel Beernaerts was burned at the stake. On the same day, Adriaen Pan was executed by beheading. Adriaen’s wife Neelken Jacobs was executed by drowning 10 days later.
• On June 18, 1559 , Magdaleentken Andriesd was executed by drowning, along with two other women , in the Steen Castle.
• On June 28, 1559 , three women were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle. Their names were: Betgen de Haze , Mariken Fransse , and Neelken Jacobs . Neelken, who had just given birth, was the wife of Adriaen Pan, executed 10 days earlier.
• On July 19, 1559 , Aechtken Joris Adriaensdochter was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle, along with five other women .

• On Oct. 12, 1559 , Grietgen Bonaventuers was executed by dr owning. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously says she was beheaded.)
• On Nov. 8, 1559 , Andries Langedul was executed by beheading.

1560

• On Jan. 20, 1560 , Hans de Bakker was executed (secretly) by drowning in a tub in the Steen Castle of Antwerp.
• On Feb. 1, 1560 , three Anabaptists were executed by drowning in a tub in the Steen Castle. Their names were: Gomer de

Metser , Jacob Schot , and Pedro de Soza .

• On March 16, 1560 , three women were secretly executed by drowning in a tub in the Steen Castle. Their names were: Betken van Gent (aka Elisabeth Berents), “Doof” (deaf) Betken (aka Elisabeth Heuvels), and Lysken Smits .
• On March 20, 1560 , Cleerke Hiems was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On April 4, 1560 , Maeyken de Hont , Janneken van Aken , and Lenaert Plovier were executed by drowning in a tub (or a wine cask) in the Steen Castle.
• On Aug. 9, 1560 , Jan Cleeren was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On Oct. 5, 1560 , Willem de Cleermaker was executed by drowning (in secret) in the Steen Castle. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly says he was burned at the stake.)
• On Nov. 9, 1560 , Joris Leerse and Joachim Ooms were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.

1561

• On June 21, 1561 , Joost Verbeeck was burned at the stake.
• On July 23, 1561 , Adam Henricx was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On July 24, 1561 , Franchoys de Corte was executed (in secret) by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On Sept. 6, 1561 , Jan van Lyere and Jan Vaetz were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.

1562

• On April 3, 1562 , Heyndrik van Dale was executed by drowning. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously says he was executed Aug. 15, 1561.)
• On April 4, 1562 , Nicolaes de Penty was executed (secretly) by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On June 26, 1562 , Michiel Seyn was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.
• On Sept. 5, 1562 , Mariken van Meenen and Lyntgen Wendelyn were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously gives the date as Aug. 15, 1561.)
• On Oct. 17, 1562 , two brothers were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle. Their names were: Aert van Gershoven and Jacob van Gershoven .
• On Oct. 31, 1562 , Hans de Goudsmid was executed by drowning.
• On Nov. 13, 1562 , Lyntgen van Dale and Beetken van Brugh , along with several others, were executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.

1563

• On Oct. 31, 1563 , Marinus van Dale was executed by drowning in the Steen Castle.

1567

• On Sept. 13, 1567 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Christiaen Janssens , Hans Symonsz , Cornelis Claesz , and Mattheus de Vik .

1568

• On March 17, 1568 , Jacob Dirks and his two sons, Andries and Hans , were hanged and then burned at the stake.

1569

• On March 15, 1569 (or possibly March 16), Jan Ghyselinck died while being tortured in the Steen Castle of Antwerp. His corpse was later hung and displayed in public.
• On March 19, 1569 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Hans Vermandele , Jan Poote , Jan de Schaper , and Joos van Beke . Jan Poote was the husband of Baetken Crauwels who was executed here about 6 weeks later.
• On March 30, 1569 , Pieter Verlonge , Gerrit Vermandele , and Willem de Clerck were burned at the stake. Willem’s wife, Maeyken Christaens, was martyred a month later in the same place.
• On April 2, 1569 , Baltasar de Rosieres , Jan de Timmerman , and Jan van Ackeren were burned at the stake on Grote Markt square.
• On April 30, 1569 , Maeyken Christiaens and Baetken Crauwels were burned at the stake. Maeyken was the wife of Willem de Clerck, who had been executed here a month earlier. Baetken was the wife of Jan Poote, who was executed about 6 weeks earlier.
• On June 22, 1569 , Joos de Hoymaekere and Jasper de Taschringmaker (aka Jasper Hermansz) were burned at the stake. Jasper’s wife Meyken was martyred later in the year, on Nov. 22, and their daughter, Neelken, was martyred in June of 1570.
• On Oct. 12, 1569 , Willem Timmerman was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 22, 1569 , Maeyken Janssens van der Goes , Abraham Picolet , and Hendrik van Etten were burned at the stake. Maeyken’s husband, Jasper de Taschringmaker, was burned at the stake five months earlier, and their daughter, Neelken, was burned at the stake in June 1570.

1570

• On March 14, 1570 , Carel Thys and Hans Keune were burned at the stake.
• On June 27, 1570 , Herman Hermansz and Neelken Jaspers were burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year for Neelken’s martyrdom as 1571.) Neelken’s father Jasper had been burned at the stake in June 1569, and her mother burned in November 1569.
• On Sept. 12, 1570 (or possibly Sept. 13), Joost Verkindert and Laurents Andriesz were burned at the stake.

1571

• On Shrove Tuesday (sometime in early February 1571 ), Joost van der Straten was burned at the stake. Two of his sons, Hans and Martin, also became martyrs: Hans was burned at the stake in Brussels in March 1571, and Martin was burned at the stake in Ghent in December 1572.
• On Feb. 26, 1571 , three Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Maerten van Wijk , Jan van de Walle , and

Calleken Meevels . Jan and Calleken were husband and wife. Jan’s brother, Martin, had been executed in October 1558 in Bruges.

• On May 9, 1571 , Gillis van Havre was burned at the stake. (Gillis may be the same person as Jelis Claversz and/or Jelis de Metselaer who are listed in Martyrs’ Mirror as different persons, executed on May 2. The official records of Antwerp do not support the information in Martyrs’ Mirror with regard to Jelis Claversz and Jelis de Metselaer.)
• On Aug. 14, 1571 , Jenneken Peeters and Jan van Ryssele were burned at the stake.
• On Oct. 19, 1571 , Michielken Huls was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 13, 1571 , Guillam Roels was burned at the stake.

1573

• On Jan. 28, 1573 , three Anabaptists (one man and two women) were burned at the stake. Their names were: Jacques van Hulten , Grietken van den Steene , and Janneken Croecx . Jacques’s wife, Lynken Ghysseleers, was martyred here a month later.
• On Jan. 31, 1573 , Jenneken de Beaucoup , Jacques Verbruggen , and Hans der Weduwe were burned at the stake.
• On Feb. 17, 1573 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Tanneken Janssen , Adriaen van Daele , Gielis de Hevile , Heylken Baillaerts , and Hans van Munstdorp . Hans’s wife, Janneken, was martyred later in the year, on Oct. 6, after giving birth.
• On Feb. 21, 1573 , Lynken Ghysseleers , Lysken Pennaerts , and Willem Huyberts were burned at the stake. Lynken’s husband, Jacques van Hulten, was martyred here a month earlier.
• On Feb. 28, 1573 , Lynken Baillaerts and Henry Hannon were burned at the stake.
• On May 20, 1573 , three women and one man were burned at the stake. Their names were: Boudewijne Boccaert , Trynken van Spelle , Grietken Govaerts , and Mathijs Baseliers . Mathijs’s wife, Diericxken Roels, was executed later in the year, in November.
• On May 26, 1573 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Maeyken Groffelaers , Loyse de Coucq , Pierre Wandesoye , and Hans Inghelberts .
• On May 28, 1573 , Lynken Groffels and Jenneken de Cantere were burned at the stake.
• On June 6, 1573 , two Anabaptist women were burned at the stake. Their names were: Peryne de Corte and Gheerardyne Ryckelmans . Gheerardyne was the wife of Adriaen van Daele who had been executed earlier in the year, on Feb. 17.
• On Oct. 6, 1573 , Maeyken Wens was burned at the stake, along with a couple other women: Janneken van Munstdorp and Lysken Luchtens . Janneken was the wife of Hans van Munstdorp, who had been executed here earlier in the year, in February.
• On Nov. 19, 1573 , Sijntgen van Roesselare was executed by burning at the stake, and Diericxken Roels was executed by drowning. Diericxken’s husband, Mathijs Baseliers, had been executed earlier in the year, in May.

1574

• On Jan. 24, 1574 , Olivier Willemsz was burned at the stake. He was the proprietor of a bookshop in the Steenhouwersvest, Antwerp.

1575

• On May 22, 1575 , Anneken van Brussel , Tanneken Walraven , Jacob Antheunis , and a widow named Grietgen were burned at the stake in Antwerp.
• On Oct. 7, 1575 , Claes of Armentieres (aka Nicolaes de Stevele) was burned at the stake.
• On Dec. 16, 1575 , Augustijn de Vuelpere and Lambrecht Henricx were executed.

1577

• On Jan. 4, 1577 , Hans Bret , Hans Corneliszoon , and Jacques Mergaert were burned at the stake.
• On Jan. 18, 1577 , Lourens Janssen was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Bruges

“Bruges, capital of West Flanders, Belgium. There were Anabaptists here probably as early as 1530, who fled to this place after the passing of the Edict of Speyer in 1529. There was a very active congregation here in 1534, which was untouched by the fanaticism of Munster. During the 16th century there was a large congregation in this city. The notorious heretic hunter, Brother Cornelis Andriaensz, speaks of no less than 700 Anabaptists living there. A large number of martyrs camefrom this city. Van Braght names at least 24. The actual figure was 47, two of whom died in prison, two were buried alive, and 43 died at the stake. Seven martyrs were executed in 1538; one in 1552; seven in 1558; twelve in 1561; eleven in 1568; five in 1570; and two in 1573. The fact that on one occasion 12 and on another 11 were burned at one time suggests that the church was a large one, for otherwise it would not have been possible to capture so many at once. … The most important of the martyrs of Bruges were the two preachers and elders, Jacob de Rore or Keersgieter, and Herman van Vlekwijk, who were burned to death on 18 July 1569.”

~Excerpted from: Vos, Karel and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Bruges (West-Vlaanderen, Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1536

• On Aug. 28, 1536 , Adriane Vyncx was burned at the stake.

1538

• On Aug. 17, 1538 , an Anabaptist named Margriet was sentenced to be buried alive, even though she had recanted.
• On Aug. 20, 1538 , Josyne Schricx was burned at the stake.
• On Aug. 21, 1538 , two Anabaptist women were executed. Magdalena de Vos was buried alive (even though she had recanted). Cornelye Andries was burned at the stake.
• On Aug. 24, 1538 , Laurentie Jans was burned at the stake.

1552

• On Jan. 16, 1552 , Jan Helleman was burned at the stake.

1558

• On Aug. 15, 1558 , Jacob de Swarte was burned at the stake.
• On Oct. 15, 1558 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Martin van de Walle , Hansken van den Broecke , Pauwels Vermaete , and Jehan de la Beecke . Martin’s brother, Jan, was executed a dozen years later, in February 1571, in Antwerp.

1561

• On Dec. 10, 1561 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Adriaen Brael , Lucas Hendricks , Nicasen van Alcmaers , Marijn Euwout , and Andries Meulenaer . Andries was the husband of Francyntgen who was executed the following day in the same place.
• On Dec. 11, 1561 , seven Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Anthonis Keute , Hans Lisz , Jan Christiaenz , Jehan (Hans) Cant , Jelis Outerman , Maeyken Trams , and Francyntgen Meulenaers . Francyntgen was the wife of Andries Meulenaer who was executed here the previous day.

1568

• At some point between April 13 and July 28, 1568 , Maycken Heeren was burned at the stake. A man named Cornille Marins was also burned at the stake during this same period.
• At some point during 1568 , Jan Diericxsone was executed by beheading.

1569

• On June 8, 1569 , Jacob de Rore and Herman van Vlekwijk were burned at the stake. Herman, a follower of Adam Pastor, had antitrinitarian tendencies.

1570

• On May 18, 1570 , three Anabaptists were burned at the stake at the Tillegem Castle outside of Bruges. Their names were: Karel de Raed , Willem (de Snijder) Vernon , and Hansken in’t Schaek .
• On or about May 20, 1570 , two women, Grietgen and Christijntgen , were burned at the stake. Grietgen’s husband, Karel de Raed, and Christijntgen’s husband, Willem Vernon, had been executed a few days earlier, May 18.

1573

• On Aug. 7, 1573 , Mattheus Keuse and Adriaen de Hoedemaker were burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1574.)

~ ~ ~

Brussels

“Brussels, since 1830 the capital of Belgium, where Anabaptist doctrine was spread in the 16th century. Since the city was then the residence of the chief magistrate, the Inquisition tracked down the heretics more ruthlessly than in other places. There were probably fewer Anabaptists here than in Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp. … The last Anabaptist to suffer death as a martyr in Belgium was Anneken van den Hove, who was buried alive 19 July 1597.”

~Excerpted from: Vos, Karel and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Brussels (Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 ,

1534

• On July 27, 1534 , Ysbrand Dircksz Schol was burned at the stake. (He may have been a Sacramentist rather than an Anabaptist.)

1541

• On March 24, 1541 , Wouter van Stoelwijk was burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly says he was executed at Vilvoorde, a few miles northeast of here.)

1567

• On Sept. 20, 1567 , Govert Jaspersz was burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the year as 1558.)

1568

• On March 2, 1568 , Geeraert Saelen was burned at the stake.
• On March 31, 1568 , Jan Pipart was burned at the stake.

1571

• On March 28, 1571 , Jacques de Stremont and Hans van der Straten were burned at the stake. Hans’s brother, Martin, was martyred in Ghent in December 1572. Hans and Martin’s father, Joost van der Straten, was executed in Antwerp in February 1571, on Shrove Tuesday.
• On May 5, 1571 , Janne de Snijdere and Elisabeth Bruyne (husband and wife) were burned at the stake. Their six children were baptized into the Catholic church at St. Gudula cathedral the same day their parents were executed.

1597

• On July 19, 1597 , Anneken van den Hove was executed by being buried alive outside of the city.

~ ~ ~

Ghent

“With the exception of Antwerp no other city in Belgium had as long a list of Anabaptist martyrs as Ghent. The Anabaptist and Calvinist martyrbooks together list 110 victims. M artyrs’ Mirror lists 92 Anabaptist-Mennonite martyrs. The researchof V. van der Haeghen published in 1890 proved that the number of victims was much higher. A.L.E. Verheyden, who studied the sources, lists a total of 252 victims, subdivided in five groups: 51 iconoclasts, 30 Calvinists, 146 Anabaptist-Mennonites, 23 heretics, 2 Lutherans. … Anabaptists may have been at Ghent as early as 1530. During the first period (1530-1540), a certain revolutionary spirit seems to have prevailed in the congregation. This fact can be concluded from the deaconship of Mahieu Wagens, a revolutionary. But in general the church followed the paths of the movement inHolland, those of a peaceful Anabaptism-Mennonitism. The congregation, also in the following periods, seems to have consisted more of refugees seeking shelter here rather than citizens of Ghent.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Ghent (Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1535

• On July 15, 1535 , Willem Mulaer was executed by beheading.
• On July 19, 1535 , Arnoudt Jaeghere and Jan van Gendtbrugge were executed by beheading in front of the Gravensteen Castle.

1536

• On June 5, 1536 , Lieven van de Walle was executed by beheading in front of the Gravensteen Castle.

1537

• On Aug. 15, 1538 , Mahieu Waghens was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Afterwards, his corpse was hanged on the gallows with a placard reading: “Archdeacon of the Anabaptists.”

1549

• On Sept. 27, 1549 , Claus Lieven was executed by beheading. He had two infant daughters, Cathalijne and Suzanneke Claes, who themselves became martyrs 24 years later, in the same place.

1551

• On April 11, 1551 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Naenken Bornaige , Goris Cooman , Gaultier van der Weyden , and Margriete van den Berghe .
• On April 19, 1551 , an Anabaptist woman named Catharina was burned at the stake.
• On July 9, 1551 , Hans van Overdam and Jannijn Buefkijn were burned at the stake.
• On July 21, 1551 , Lysbeth Piersins and Gillis de Gusseme were burned at the stake on the Veerleplein.

1552

• On July 27, 1552 , Peter van Olmen was burned at the stake.

1553

• On Feb. 17, 1553 , Cornelis Claissone and Willem van Leuven were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year 1554 for Willem’s execution.) Willem’s wife, Levina Ghyselins was martyred a year later, in Feb. 1554. Their son Frans van Leuvene was martyred here 20 years later, in July 1573.
• On Sept. 15, 1553 , Lievin Verreken was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.

1554

• On Jan. 19, 1554 , Pieter Neert was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.
• On Feb. 14, 1554 , David van der Leyen and Levina Ghyselius were burned at the stake. Many members of the van der Leyen family were accused of heresy and executed. Levina’s husband, Willem van Leuven, was martyred a year earlier, in Feb. 1553. Their son, Frans van Leuvene, became a martyr two decades later, in July 1573.

1556

• In late 1556 (or early 1557), Claes Praet was burned at the stake.

1557

• On March 4, 1557 , Pieter de Cleercq was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.
• On April 3, 1557 , Jan Dries and Willem de Vileers were burned at the stake.
• On April 13, 1557 , Barbara Smachscheers , Jacob Rederwijn , and Philips van Hulle were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.

1558

• On April 28, 1558 , Franchois van der Leyen was burned at the stake.

1559

• On July 5, 1559 , Hans de Vette was executed here. He was the husband of Miertgen, who was executed here on June 27 of the following year.
• On Aug. 7, 1559 , six Anabaptists were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. The names of five of them were: Marcus de Smit , Hans de Smet , Jacob Spillebout , Abraham Tancreet , and Maeyken Floris . Hans de Smet’s wife, Tanneken Gressy, was executed the following year, on June 27.

1560

• On March 2, 1560 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Their names were: Joos van de Walle , Sanders van Gremberghe , Joos de Vinck , Michiel van Houcke , and Joos Vlaminck .
• On June 27, 1560 , two women were secretly executed by beheading in the Gravensteen Castle. Their names were: Miertgen and Tanneken . ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1559.) Both women were pregnant at the time they were arrested, so their executions were delayed until after they gave birth. Miertgen was the wife of Hans de Vette who had been executed the previous year, on July 5. Tanneken was the wife of Hans de Smet, also executed the previous year, on August 7.
• On Nov. 20, 1560 , three women were executed by beheading (in secret) in the Gravensteen Castle. Their names were: Soetken van den Houte , Martha Baerts , and Lynken Pieters .

1561

• On Aug. 14, 1561 , Tanneken Delmeere and Lynken Claesdochter were secretly executed by beheading in the Gravensteen Castle.

1562

• On March 12, 1562 , Jan van Eenhoorne and Pieter de Jonckheere were burned at the stake. Pieter had three sisters who also became martyrs, four months later, in July, in the same place.
• On March 24, 1562 , three women were beheaded in the Gravensteen castle. Their names were: Lynken de Meyere Janneken Kinderkens , and Kathelijne van Lokerhoute . Lynken’s husband, Pieter van Male, was martyred in the same place several months later, on July 16. Kathelijne’s husband, Laurens Allaerts, was also martyred on July 16.
• On July 16, 1562 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Their names were: Pieter van Male , Pieter van Maldeghem , Jacques Bostijn , and Laurens Allaerts . Pieter van Male’s wife, Lynken, had been executed here on March 24. Laurens’s wife, Kathelijne, had also been martyred on March 24.
• On July 21, 1562 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Three of them were sisters: Goudeken de Jonckheere , Janneken de Jonckheere , and Vijnken de Jonckheere . The other two were Sijntgen van Gelder and Betgen van Maldeghem .
• On Dec. 23, 1562 , Guillaume van Dale was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.

1563

• On April 12, 1563 , Dierick Lambrechts was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 9, 1563 , Antonijn de Waele and Christiaen van Wettere were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.

1564

• On Jan. 15, 1564 , Pieter van der Meulen was burned at the stake.
• On April 7, 1564 , a woman named Sijntgen (aka Jozyne Steeghers) and her son, Steven de Graet , were burned at the stake.
• On Dec. 12, 1564 , two sisters were executed by beheading. Their names were: Marijntgen van Male and Pierijntgen van Male .

1568

• On March 30, 1568 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake in Veerle Square. Their names were: Pieter Aelbrechts , Jan van Parijs , Hendrik Maelschap , and Laurens Pietersz . On the same day, seven iconoclasts were hanged for destroying icons in the city’s Catholic churches.
• On May 25, 1568 , Jan de Smet was burned at the stake.

1569

• On Sept. 26, 1569 , Joos Inghelbijl was burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt.

1570

• On Nov. 7, 1570 , three Anabaptists (two women and one man) were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Their names were: Janneken van Rentegem , Janneken van Hulle , and Hans van der Weghe . Hans’s brother Jacob would later be burned at the stake in the same place, in July 1573.
• On Nov. 22, 1570 , Barbelken Goethals and Saerken van Duerhoven were burned at the stake outside the city gate.

1572

• On March 25, 1572 , Martin Taelman was burned at the stake.
• On Dec. 4, 1572 , four Anabaptists (three men and one woman) were burned at the stake. Their names were: Martin van der Straten , Adriaen Rogiers , Mattheus Bernaerts , and Dingentgen (aka Baudinken Het). Martin van der Straten was the husband of Beliken de Jaghere, who was martyred here the following March. Martin was also the brother of Hans van der Straeten, who had been executed in Brussels the previous March. Martin and Hans’s father, Joost van der Straten, was executed in Antwerp the previous February.

1573

• On March 17, 1573 , Hans van Audenaerde and Beliken de Jaghere were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Beliken’s husband, Martin van der Straten, was burned at the stake in the same place the previous December.
• On June 25, 1573 , Maurissus van Dale was burned at the stake outside the city’s Peterselle gate. Listed as a “bishop of the Mennonites.”
• On July 28, 1573 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Their names were: Hendrik Bauwens , Jacob van der Wege , Calleken Meere , and Frans van Leuvene . The crowd of spectators tried to prevent these executions, but their efforts were foiled when the authorities called in reinforcements. Calleken was the sister of Martijnken Meere, who was executed in the same place two weeks later. Jacob’s brother Hans was executed in the same place three years earlier, in November 1570. Frans was the son of Levina Ghyselius, who was executed here in February 1554, and Willem van Leuven, who was executed in February 1553.
• On Aug. 19, 1573 , three Anabaptist women were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. Their names were: Olyverynken‘s Keysers , Janneken Dhanins , and Martijnken Meere . Martijnken was the sister of Calleken Meere, who had been executed in the same place a few weeks earlier.
• On Dec. 3, 1573 , sisters Cathalijne and Suzanneken Claes were burned at the stake on the Vrijdagmarkt. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the date as Dec. 4.) They were the daughters of Claus Lieven, who was executed by beheading here 24 years earlier, in 1549, when Cathalijne and Suzanneken were infants.

1576

• On July 14, 1576 , Raphael van Velde and Jeronimus Schepens were burned at the stake on Veerle Square.

1589

• On April 13, 1589 , Joos de Tollenaere , Sijntgen Wens , and Michiel Buyse were executed inside the Gravensteen Castle. First they were strangled, then they were hanged outside the gate.

1592

• On Sept. 15, 1592 , Bartholomeus Panten and Michiel de Widower (aka Michiel de Cleercq) were executed by hanging in the Gravensteen Castle.

~ ~ ~

Kortrijk (Courtrai)

“Kortrijk, a town in West Flanders, Belgium, in the 16th century was a center of cloth and linen weaving and the seat of a Mennonite congregation. Anabaptists were found here as early as 1533. … In 1553, Kortrijk is said to have been the most infected (with Anabaptism) town of Flanders. In 1553 Joos Kindt was arrested here and put to death. In 1556-1561, a number of other victims followed. In 1568-1659, other martyrs died, most of them weavers. The total number of Anabaptist-Mennonite martyrs executed at Kortrijk was 24, and one died in prison.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Kortrijk (West-Vlaanderen, Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1553

• On July 16, 1553 , Joos Kint was burned at the stake.

1556

• On Feb. 5, 1556 , Georges Bare was burned at the stake.

1559

• On Feb. 18, 1559 , Gillis de Graet and Mahieu Antheunis were burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the year for Gillis’s execution as 1558.)
• On Dec. 12, 1559 , Daniel van der Campt and Marcus de Ledersnijder were burned at the stake.

1560

• On Dec. 20, 1560 , Karel van Tiegem was burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the year as 1559.)

1561

• On Nov. 20, 1561 , Willem van Haverbeke and Absolon de Zanger were burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly says these men were executed in 1558.)

1567

• On Nov. 8, 1567 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Joos Casteels , Karel Hannebeel , Jacob Mesdag , and Willem Aertsz .

1568

• On Dec. 17, 1568 , Anpleunis vanden Berghe was burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the year as 1569.) His wife, Kalleken, was executed the following April in the same place.

1569

• On April 22, 1569 , Stijntgen Vercoilgen was burned at the stake. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously gives the date as March 9,

1569.)

• On April 30, 1569 , six Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Fransoois de Timmerman , Jan Wattier de Jonge , Pieter den Ouden , Wouter Denys , Jan Raes , and Kalleken . Kalleken was the wife of Anpleunis vanden Berghe, who had been executed the previous December in the same place.
• On June 4, 1569 , Betken van der Male was burned at the stake.
• On June 7, 1569 , Jan van der Mersch was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Kuringen

1534

• On Jan. 9, 1534 , Andries van Niel was burned at the stake.
• Sometime during 1534 , Simon van Vliermaal was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Liege

1544

• On March 6, 1544 , A. Shepherd was burned at the stake.

1570

• At some point during 1570 , an Anabaptist woman named Lyntgen Kernels was executed here.

~ ~ ~

Lier

1551

• On Jan. 31, 1551 , two women and two men were burned at the stake. Their names were: Anneken van Roosbroecke , Marie Vlamincx , Gielis van Aerde , and Godevaert Mertens . ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1550.)

~ ~ ~

Meenen (Menin)

1572

• On Dec. 5, 1572 , Christoffel Fierens and Willem Rijke were burned at the stake.

1573

• On Jan. 6, 1573 , Pieryntgen Loosvelt was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Merelbeke

1551

• On July 11, 1551 , Pieter van den Hende and Willem van Ackere were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Oudenaarden

1565

• On July 10, 1565 , Adriaen den Burry was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Tielt

1573

• Sometime during 1573 , Anthonis Ysbaarts was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Tournai (Doornik)

“Doornik (Tournay) is a town in Belgium, where in the 16th century were found many adherents of the Reformation. The first victim of persecution was a former Augustinian monk, Hendrik van Westfalen, who was burned here on 13 July 1528. The total number of martyrs in this town was 227, only 30 of whom were listed in Mennonite or Reformed martyr books. Most of them were followers of Calvin, Calvinism being very strong in this town.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Doornik (Hainaut, Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1558

• Sometime during the year 1558 , six Anabaptists were burned at the stake in a forest near here. Their names were: Adriaen van Hee , Joos Meeuwens , Lambert van Doornick , Willem the Hatmaker , Egbert the Hatmaker , and Goossen the Hatmaker .

1564

• On Sept. 18, 1564 , Maeyken Boosers was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Vilvoorde

1538

• Sometime during 1538 , Jan van Batenburg was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Wervik

1562

• Sometime during 1562 , three Anabaptist weavers were executed by beheading. Their names were: Jelis Strings , Jelis Potvliet and his brother Pieter Potvliet .

~ ~ ~

Ypres (Ieper)

“Ieper, a town in West Flanders, Belgium. In the Middle Ages it was very prosperous as a result of a flourishing weaving industry. There was Anabaptist activity at Ieper as early as 1538, and there may have been a congregation at this time.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Ieper (Flanders, Belgium).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1561

• At some point during 1561 , Jan Hulle , Anthonis Schoonvelt , Laurens van de Walle , and Maeyken Kocx were burned at the stake.
• On Oct. 18, 1561 , Kalleken Strings was burned at the stake.

1568

• At some point during 1568 , Claudine le Vettre was executed.

1569

• At some point during 1569 , Dirk Anoot and Willem de Zager were burned at the stake.

Czech Republic

“Moravia is a historical region located in what is now the Czech Republic. It occupies most of the eastern third of the country. In the 16th century, Moravia was often called ‘the promised land’ of the Anabaptists. During the Middle Ages it was a margravure and part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. As such it experienced also the rise and spread of Hussitism in the 15th century. When this pre-Protestant movement settled down to become a quiet sectarian church, several names appeared for it, such as Bohemian Brethren and Picards. … Not only Anabaptists of all shades but many other left-wing groups of the Reformation found a welcome refuge in Moravia for shorter or longer periods.”

~Excerpted from: Friedmann, Robert. “Moravia (Czech Republic).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

Brno (Brunn), Moravia, Czech Republic

~ ~ ~

Brno (Brunn)

“Brno, Moravia, formerly the seat of the Moravian Provincial Diet or Estates. Moravia once belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia and with it fell to the Habsburgs in 1526. The Hutterite Chronicle reports that in the 16th century four Anabaptist brethren were martyred in the city, among them Thoman and Balthasar Waldausen in 1528, and Wilhelm Griesbacher of Tyrol in 1535. As seat of the Provincial Diet, the city is often mentioned in the Chronicle, particularly at the time of the imminent outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Brno has a Provincial State Archive which contains most valuable Anabaptist source material, namely, 15 Hutterite manuscript books and the famous Beck Collection, comprising 104 files with transcripts and some originals of practically everything Hutterite.”

~Excerpted from: Friedmann, Robert. “Brno (Jihomoravský kraj, Czech Republic).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1528

• On April 10, 1528 , Johannes Zeising (Cizek) and Thomas Waldhauser were burned at the stake.

1536

• In or around 1536 , Wilhelm Griesbacher was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

England

“The name ‘Anabaptist’ in England first occurs in references to the movement on the Continent by that name. As early as 1526 a list of proscribed books included a tract by Zwingli against the Anabaptists. … Beginning about 1535 the name was also given to both foreign and native adherents of the movement present in England. Henceforth ‘Anabaptist’ became a common pejorative of the English Reformation and throughout the 16th and 17th centuries was used with specific as well as generic connotations. … The first Anabaptists in England, according to various polemical treatments written in the 17^th century and later, came from Holland subsequent to the seditious uprising at Amsterdam on 10 May 1535. The source of this information is Lambertus Hortensius, a Dutch ecclesiastic and chronicler, who lived contemporary with the events and whose Tumultuum Anabaptisticarum was first printed at Basel in 1548, but he nowhere holds that these Anabaptists were the original ones in England. The 25 Dutch Anabaptists arrested and brought to trial at St. Paul’s on 25 May 1535, 14 of whom were condemned and burned at London and other English towns on 4 June 1535, may have been members of the party mentioned by Hortensius. Anabaptists were present in England before 1535. During the fall or early winter of 1534, Anabaptist ministers from England were at Amsterdam. Anneken Jans, a devout Dutch Anabaptist and later a martyr, with her husband Arent Jansz fled to England from Den Briel in Holland in the summer of 1534. Six English and two Flemish persons who held Anabaptist views were arrested in connection with the importation and distribution of ‘the books of Anabaptist confession’ sometime in 1532-34. They had a place of meeting in London, and their leader was a certain Fleming named Bastian. … The relationship between Anabaptists and Lollards during the early Reformation in England is obscure. The spiritualistic character of Lollardy provided a fertile soil for the Dutch-Flemish variety of Anabaptism, and it may be said that ‘new Anabaptist was but old Lollard writ Dutch.’ Nevertheless, in the 1530s Anabaptism supplanted Lollardy in name as well as in doctrine and became the left wing of the English Reformation. … The connections between Anabaptism and Separatism do not submit to exact statement. It has been pointed out that the strongholds of both movements were located in the same geographical areas. … Relationships between Anabaptism and Quakerism have also not been clearly established. Quakerism, which arose about 1644 around the prophetic leadership of George Fox, was in many respects more akin to historic Anabaptism than any of the segments within Separatism, especially in regard to the doctrine and practice of nonresistance. The English historian, G.P. Gooch, states that a large number of ‘Baptists’ went over to the Quaker movement during the Puritan Revolution when no stand was taken by their leaders against participation in Cromwell’s army.”

~Excerpted from: Horst, Irvin B., Harold S. Bender and Alan Kreider. “England.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2011 .

Smithfield, London

~ ~ ~

London

“London, the capital of Great Britain, was in the early years of the Reformation the scene of Anabaptist activity, especially of the followers of Melchior Hoffman, who came to England in the 1530s from the Netherlands. About 1535 the authorities arrested four Englishmen in London for their part in the distribution of an Anabaptist confession of faith. They had connections with Flemish Anabaptists. … On 25 May 1535, 25 Dutch Anabaptists were examined at St. Paul’s forerroneous views regarding the incarnation, the mass, and baptism, with the result that 14 were condemned. Two of this number were burned at Smithfield on 8 June 1535, and the others sent to various English towns for a similar death.”

~Excerpted from: Horst, Irvin B. “London (England, Great Britain).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1538

• On Nov. 22, 1538 , John Nycolsen Lambert was burned at the stake in London’s Smithfield section (where many executions took place over the centuries). Three other Anabaptists , names unknown, were burned along with him.
• On Nov. 29, 1538 , Peter Franke and his wife , along with Jan Mathijsz van Middelburg , were burned at the stake at Smithfield.

1550

• On May 2, 1550 , Johan Knel and Anna Cantiana were burned at the stake.

1575

• On July 22, 1575 , Jan Pietersz Wagenmaker and Hendrik Terwoort were burned at the stake at Smithfield

France

“Throughout the late Middle Ages, France was the major center of ‘pre-evangelical’ heretical movements. These movements, parallel in certain of their aims and principles, of whose relations with one another and with Anabaptism so little is known, from Martin of Tours to the Waldenses, embodied in varying degrees the concern for scriptural reformation which the Anabaptists were later to apply consistently. The greatest centralization of royal and ecclesiastical authority in France prevented any real beginning of Anabaptism in the 16th century. Protestants themselves being a persecuted minority, the issues on which focused the break between Zwingli and the Anabaptists never came to the same degree of clarity in the French-speaking Reformation. Flanders and Alsace were both centers of Anabaptism, but were at that time not part of France, and little if anything of the original 16th-century movement existed in either of these two provinces atthe time of their acquisition by France.”

~Excerpted from: Yoder, John Howard. “France.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2011 .

Lille, France

~ ~ ~

Hondschoote

“Hondschoote, a town in Flanders, during the 16th century belonged to the Southern Netherlands, now to France. In the 16th century, its population was much larger than now, and the town was an important center of wool weaving. There was once a Mennonite congregation here, which supplied a number of martyrs. In 1558, a young man named Wouter was burned at the stake. Four years later, seven were seized, apparently when a religious meeting was surprised. Five of them were burned. Two married women were secretly drowned.”

~Excerpted from: Vos, Karel and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Hondschoote (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1558

• At some point during 1558 , an Anabaptist named Wouter was executed here, either by drowning or burning at the stake.

1562

• On March 23, 1562 , Frans de Swarte was burned at the stake.
• On April 4, 1562 , Jasper de Schoenmaker was burned at the stake.
• On April 17, 1562 , Karel van de Velde was burned at the stake.
• On Oct. 3, 1562 , two sisters, Claesken and Proentgen , were executed by drowning in a tub. Claesken was the wife of Frans de Swarte, who was executed here seven months earlier. Proentgen was the wife of Karel van de Velde, executed here six months earlier.

1571

• On Oct. 20, 1571 , Josse Tam was burned at the stake.

1588

• On April 7, 1588 , Christiaen de Rijcke was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Lille

1563

• On March 16, 1563 , six Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Pieter Schoenmaker , Hendrik Aerts , Jan Maes , Perceval van den Berge , Jan de Swarte , and Jan’s son Claes . Jan de Swarte’s wife, Claeksen, and their other three sons, were martyred 11 days later in the same place.
• On March 27, 1563 , an Anabaptist named Claesken was burned at the stake, along with three of her four sons. Their names were: Christiaen , Hans , and Mahieu . Claesken’s husband, Jan de Swarte, and their other son Claes, had been martyred 11 days earlier, on March 16.
• On April 27, 1563 , Herman Buens was burned at the stake.

1570

• At some point during 1570 , Maerten Karrettier was executed here.

1571

• At some point during 1571 , Adriaen Jansz and Jelis de Backer were burned at the stake here.

~ ~ ~

Germany

“At the time of the rise of Anabaptism what is now called Germany was a collection of 256 autonomous political units

within a loosely organized Empire, called the Holy Roman Empire. Although Switzerland, the Netherlands, and North Italy were technically within the empire, they were actually independent, and the Hapsburg dominions, including Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia, were outside the orbit of Germany proper. … The soil in Germany had gradually become rather well prepared for a new religious movement. Already in the late Middle Ages, sectarian tendencies had entered Germany (Waldenses, 1211-1480; Brethren of the Common Life since 1401, etc.). In the early twenties of the 16th century, Karlstadt, Muntzer, and the Zwickau Prophets (Storch, etc.) each propagated a reform of his own, which were often wrongly called Anabaptist. Yet it was not the criticism of infant baptism which was decisive, but the introduction of adult baptism. So Anabaptism proper, arising out of Zwingli’s reform, was part of the original Reformation movement. Anabaptism entered Germany first from the South. Wilhelm Reublin, appearing in Waldshut from Zurich in April 1525, baptized Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier, the pastor of the Lutheran Church there, and they together baptized most of thecongregation, some 360 persons in all. But in December of that year, the Austrians conquered the city and forced Hubmaier to flee, practically ending the Anabaptist congregation. Hubmaier went to Augsburg next, where early in 1526 he established an Anabaptist congregation which became very large and influential. But he went on to Moravia, leaving Augsburg in the hands of Hans Denck, whom he had baptized in May 1526. Augsburg and Strasbourg now displaced Zurich and Switzerland as the centers of the growing Anabaptist movement, remaining so for some years. Michael Sattler became the chief leader in this area of southwest Germany until his execution at Rottenburg in May 1527. Hans Denck (who moved about in the area Augsburg, Basel, Strasbourg, and Worms) was the leader of a more mystical-spiritualist wing, but died in Basel in November 1527. The Sattler and Denck groups remained separate at Strasbourg, and probably constituted two distinct bodies. Denck preferred the ‘Inner Word’ to the ‘Outer Word” and taught Christ as a teacher to follow and imitate rather than as a redeemer whose atonement saves men. Jakob Kautz’s Seven Theses of 7 June 1527 at Worms also carry this position.”

~Excerpted from: Bender, Harold S., Diether Götz Lichdi and John Thiessen. “Germany.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2014 .

Cologne, Germany

~ ~ ~

Aachen

1558

• On Oct. 19, 1558 , Hans Schmid (aka Hans Raiffer) was burned at the stake in Aachen. He was a Hutterite.
• On Oct. 22, 1558 , Heinrich Adams and his brother-in-law Hans Weckh were burned at the stake. They were Hutterites.

1559

• On Jan. 4, 1559 , Tillmann Schneider and Mathias Schmidt were executed. They were Hutterites.

~ ~ ~

Augsburg

“At the beginning of the second quarter of the 16th century, Augsburg was the center of the Anabaptist movement in South Germany. In a single year (1526), the largest Anabaptist congregation in South Germany was formed here and from here the doctrine spread in all directions when persecution set in and scattered the members. Among the earliest leading figures living here were Ludwig Haetzer, Hans Denck, and Hans Hut.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Augsburg (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1528

• On April 25, 1528 , Hans Leupold was executed by beheading. He was an important South German Anabaptist leader, though his career barely lasted a year.

~ ~ ~

Bamberg

“Bamberg, a city in Upper Franconia in Bavaria, the former capital of the bishopric of Bamberg (1007-1802), together with Nurnberg once considered a seat of old-evangelical activity, especially for the Waldenses in Franconia. Anabaptism also early found entry here, chiefly through Hans Hut, who baptized many in the region about 1526.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Bamberg (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1527

• On Jan. 25, 1527 , a daughter of Hans Hut was executed by drowning.

1528

• On Jan. 30, 1528 , two men and three women were burned at the stake. Their names were: Endres Weiss , Hans

Weischenfelder , Elise Koch , Margarethe Petz , and Katharina Rosner .

• On Jan. 31, 1528, Lorenz Reuschlein was executed by beheading.

1551

• Sometime during 1551 , Johannes Bair was executed, after having been imprisoned in the Toren for 23 years.

~ ~ ~

Bruhl

1535

• On Feb. 1, 1535 , Johann Klopreis and Gottfried Stralen were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Burghausen

1585

• On July 5, 1585 , a Hutterite named Leonhard Summerauer was executed by beheading.
• On Aug. 13, 1585 , three Hutterites were executed by beheading. Their names were: Hans Aichner , Wolf Rauffer , and Jorg

Bruckmaier .

~ ~ ~

Cadolzburg

1528

• On Feb. 6, 1528 , Ambrosius Spittelmayr was executed by beheading. He was a follower of Hans Hut.

~ ~ ~

Cologne

“Cologne was already in Reformation times a great city, the center of an extensive trade, the fortress of Catholicism, and the place of refuge of all the non-Catholic movements of the time, among which the Anabaptists played a prominent part. Numerous traces of pre-Reformation parties are also to be found here. Cologne can be called a center of the Waldensian groups, who held their meetings in secret basements and weavers’ rooms. Wherever they came into the open or were discovered, they became victims of the Inquisition. In the protocol of the Cologne council, 24 August 1531, an archbishop’s letter is mentioned which states that there were Anabaptists in the city. In 1533 the Anabaptists began a greater activity. … In the center of the movement was the native of Cologne, Gerhard Westerburg. He had gone to Munster early in 1534 and been baptized in Knipperdolling’s house by Henric Rol. With his brother Arnold he baptized many in Cologne. The movement was violently suppressed. Later a congregation of peaceful Anabaptists had also formed at Cologne. … When Thomas von Imbroich came to Cologne in 1554, he was introduced to the preacher of the brotherhood there by Johann Schuhmacher, a citizen of Cologne. He found a large congregation. The council issued an edict in 1554 warning that the imperial laws would be strictly observed in all cases of adult baptism. On 10 July 1555, this announcement was repeated. Two years later, Thomas von Imbroich was arrested and executed on 5 March 1558. … In 1560, the city council was informed that the Anabaptist congregation there numbered 40 members, and that their leader and preacher was the capmaker, Heinrich Krufft, ‘a small squarely built man.’ They met frequently in the Neuenahrer or Moersischen Hof.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Cologne (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1534

• On Nov. 7, 1534 , Richard von Richrath, Johann Mey, and Gothard were executed. Richard was burned at the stake. Johann and Gothard were beheaded.

1558

• On March 5, 1558 , Thomas von Imbroich was executed by be heading. ( Martyrs’ Mirror gives the date as May 5.)

1561

• On Nov. 29, 1561 , Plonius and Orvel were executed by drowning in the Rhine River.

1562

• Sometime in September 1562 or shortly thereafter, Georg Friesen was drowned in the Rhine. He had been imprisoned with Wilhelm von Keppel who was also sentenced to be drowned. But after Georg went under the water, Wilhelm recanted. He was released and banished from the region.

1565

• On June 30, 1565 , Matthias Servaes von Ottenheim , Hermann von Daverkhausen , and Jost Boterknap were executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Esslingen

“Esslingen, situated on the Neckar, from 1209 to 1802 a free imperial city, in which Anabaptism early found many adherents, with some protection from the nobility. … As early as 1527 there was an Anabaptist congregation here, which prepared the ground for the introduction of the Reformation, but also suffered severe persecution. Its leaders were the knifesmith Hans Krafft of Augsburg, and the cobbler Felix Pfudler of Esslinen, Zuberhans of Hegensberg, Stephen Bohmerle, and others. … The city council issued a warning, 10 November 1527, against the ‘deceitful seduction of Anabaptism,’ but did not take steps of suppression until the Austrian government at Stuttgart reminded the councilors of its presence in the city. Many men and women were arrested and by torture compelled to make confessions. … It may be correct that some required community of goods and asserted that Christ was not God but a prophet and a sinless man, like any other, for all who do God’s will are His sons. The contemporary chronicler Dyonisius Dreytwein makes an interesting statement at the conclusion of a comparison of the different creeds: ‘Therefore the Anabaptists are still the best and most pious; they do not swear, they do not practice usury; they do not drink to excess, as thou, miserable crowd.’”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Esslingen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1528

• On Oct. 5, 1528 , Stephen Bohmerle was executed by beheading in Esslingen.

1530

• On Feb. 21, 1530 , Joachim Fleiner and Ludwig Lichtenstein were executed by beheading.
• On an unknown date in 1530 , Bastian Egen and Jakob Schneider were executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Frankenhausen

1533

• In November 1533 , an Anabaptist leader known to history only as Alexander was executed.

~ ~ ~

Freiburg

1588

• On July 8, 1588 , Peter Saimer was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Gangelt

1566

• On Nov. 23, 1566 , an Anabaptist woman named Mercken was burned at the stake, along with another woman whose name has not been preserved.

~ ~ ~

Honnef

1565

• On Nov. 26, 1565 , Konrad Koch was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Ingolstadt

1543

• Sometime during the year 1543 , a Hutterite named Damian was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Jena

“Jena is a city in Thuringia, Germany. Here the preacher Martin Reinhard, supported by Gerhard Westerburg, opposed infant baptism without, however, ceasing to practice it. After Luther’s dispute with Karlstadt at Jena, Reinhard was banished in 1524. … On 30 November 1535, 16 Anabaptists were seized at a meeting in Kleineutersdorf. Four men of this group, Hans Peissker, Heinz Kraut, Jobs Moller, and Lorenz Petzsch, were taken to Jena. Petzsch had not yet been baptized, and since he seemed inclined to recant he was separated from the others. The cross-examinations were begun on 1 December by the city pastor and several councillors. Kaspar Cruciger and Philipp Melanchthon took part, but all attempts to make them recant failed. Melanchthon reported to Elector John Frederick the fruitless course of the investigation and advised him to apply serious penalties against the prisoners. The three prisoners were then put on the rack. Since nothing could be pressed from them beyond what they had already said, they were sentenced to death on 26 January 1536. They were executed the same day. Lorenz Petzsch, who had been kept alone in a cell, escaped before the execution.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Jena (Thuringia, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1536

• On Jan. 26, 1536 , Heinz Kraut , Hans Peisker , and Jobst Moller were executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Julbach

1591

• On March 18, 1591 , Leonhard Boltzinger was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Kaufbeuren

“Kaufbeuren, a city in Swabia, southwest Bavaria, Germany, was once an imperial city, which passed to Bavaria in 1803. It opened slowly to the Reformation. Anabaptists soon came here from Augsburg. Among them Hans Kraft and Callus Fischer were influential. At first the Protestant pastors tried to win them by friendly persuasion. Then the Swabian League in 1528 hunted down the Anabaptists with a squadron of 400 horsemen. In Kaufbeuren, 40 persons were seized, of whom five were beheaded (13 May 1528) and seven had their cheeks burned through.”

~Excerpted from: Quiring, Horst. “Kaufbeuren (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1528

• On June 13, 1528 , Martin Burkhard was executed by beheading, along with three others .

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Konstanz (Constance)

“Konstanz, a city on the Bodensee, Baden, Germany, a Roman Catholic bishop’s seat until 1817, when it was suppressed. Here John Huss was burned at the stake in 1415. Anabaptism appeared here very early. Already in 1524 Urban Rhegius wrote to Thomas Blaurer, warning him of it. … In 1528, Ludwig Haetzer came to Konstanz. He was arrested and executed on 4 February 1529. His execution caused great excitement in the city, revealing how much sympathy there was among the citizenry with Haetzer and the Anabaptists.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Konstansz (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

1953 .

1529

• On Feb. 4, 1529 , Ludwig Haetzer was executed by beheading, in the very place where Jan Hus had been burned at the stake in 1415. Haetzer belonged to the Swiss Brethren wing of the Anabaptist movement, though he was not a central figure. He was a close associate of Hans Denck and shared many of Denck’s views. He was non-trinitarian and likely a universalist. About 29 years old at the time of his death.

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Landshut

“Landshut, a city on the Isar River in Bavaria, Germany. In the spring of 1528 August Wurzlburger, the leader of the Regensburg Anabaptist congregation, preached and baptized in the territory of Landshut. In a brief visit he won a number of converts, among them Hans Sedlmaier with his wife and their sons Paul and Willibold and daughter Katharina. Also Hans Frank, a weaver of Oberhain. Hans Sedlmaier and Hans Frank were soon discovered. Sedlmaier said he would remain in his faith, while Frank begged for mercy. On 26 May the council of Regensburg wrote to the council of Augsburg, stating that a few days previously a man had been beheaded in Landshut, whom Wurzlburger had baptized. This was probably Sedlmaier. Duke Louis wrote on 2 June that all other persons baptized by Wurzlburger were put to death, regardless of willingness to recant — a total of nine persons. Somewhat later the same lot befell some Hutterian Brethren. On 2 April 1560, Klaus Felbinger, a Hutterite preacher, and Hans Leitner were seized in Neumarkt in Lower Bavaria, and put into the tower at Landshut on 7 April. … Since both Felbinger and Leitner remained steadfast in their faith, they were beheaded on 19 July 1560. This execution raised the number of Anabaptist executions in Landshut to 12.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Landshut (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1528

• Sometime in the middle of May 1528 , an Anabaptist was executed by beheading. This was presumably Hans Sedlmaier .
• At some point in late May 1528 , nine Anabaptists were put to death.

1560

• On July 19, 1560 , two Hutterites were executed by beheading. Their names were: Hans Leitner and Klaus Felbinger .

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Muhlhausen

“Muhlhausen in Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Unstrut, until 1802 a free imperial city, and during the Peasants’ War the seat and site of execution of Thomas Muntzer, later a temporary center of the Anabaptist movement in northern Thuringia. Anabaptism found its way into Thuringia about 1527 apparently from Franconia, where Hans Hut was working. The first head of the Thuringian Anabaptists was Hans Romer, a furrier of Eisenach. After him his disciple Ludwig Spon of Ershausen became ‘the soul of the movement’ in this area. The preacher Alexander who also baptized in this region was seized and beheaded in Frankenhausen in 1533, ‘one of the noblest characters of Anabaptism.’… A center for the Anabaptists in the city was for a time the home of Barbara Meissrod, who had been baptized in the fall of 1534 by Heinz Kraut. In early 1535, Peter Reusse baptized several women of Muhlhausen. … The growth of the movement in Muhlhausen stirred up the wrath of the authorities in 1537. Barbara Meissrod and several others were arrested and examined on the rack. Georg, Duke of Saxony, ordered the immediate execution of the Anabaptists by drowning. On 8 November 1537, ten were put to death. They were thrown into the Unstrut and their bodies buried on the river bank. Thisprocedure of terror apparently wiped out the Anabaptist movement in Muhlhausen.”

~Excerpted from: Hein, Gerhard. “Mühlhausen (Thüringen, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1537

• On Nov. 8, 1537 , nine Anabaptists were executed by drowning in the Unstrut River just north of Muhlhausen. Their names were: Appolonia Kaiser , Elise Graef , Barbara Meiszrod , Tele Obelecker , Katharina Schaefer , Klaus Scharf , OttilieFranke , Jakob Storger , and Christina Strobel .

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Munich

“Munich, capital of Bavaria, Germany, in which there were Anabaptists for a time during the 16th century. Like the Lutherans, they were violently persecuted and subdued within a few years. Even before Emperor Charles V issued his mandate against the Anabaptists, the dukes William IV and Louis issued one on 15 November 1527. As in other cities, most of their followers were craftsmen, some of whom became martyrs. … Until their trial, those who were seized were thrown into the dungeon of the Falkenturm, a tower from which no one ever emerged without severe punishment. … One of the first martyrs burned at Munich was George Wagner of Emmering. He was executed on 8 February 1527 on thesquare of the Frauenkirche. This execution did not have the effect expected by the church and government.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Munich (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1527

• On Feb. 8, 1527 , Georg Wagner was executed on Frauenkirche square.

1528

• On Jan. 7, 1528 , Augustin Perwanger and Christoph Perwanger were executed by beheading. They were brothers.
• On Jan. 28, 1528 , Hans Feyerer and five other “obstinate” Anabaptists were burned at the stake.
• On Jan. 31, 1528 , the wife of Hans Feyerer , along with the wives of two men martyred three days earlier, were executed by drowning, after which their bodies were burned. A contemporary chronicler described the women as “much more obstinate than their husbands.”

1586

• On Sept. 13, 1586 , Christian Gasteiger was executed by beheading. He was a Hutterite.

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Munster

1536

• On Jan. 22, 1536 , Jan van Leyden , Bernhard Knipperdolling , and Bernhard Krechting were tortured and executed in the central marketplace of Munster. These men were the remaining leaders of the so-called “Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster.” Their flesh was torn from their bodies by red-hot tongs, then daggers were thrust through their hearts. After they were dead, the corpses were placed inside iron cages hung from the steeple of St. Lambert’s Church. The bones were eventually removed but the cages are there to this day. Hundreds of other Anabaptists were killed in Munster during the preceding year and a half. Some at the hands of fellow Anabaptists, some at the hands of the soldiers who besieged the city. Many others died of starvation.

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Nuremberg (Nurnberg)

“Nurnberg is located in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. The Reformation found early entry into the city, with the preachers Andreas Osiander and Lazarus Spengler as its most important representatives. Signs of Anabaptism appeared here very early. It is possible that Diepold of Thon, a peasant who was holding meetings in February 1524 in the neighborhood of Nurnberg with a large attendance, and Gallus, a journeyman weaver of Nordlingen, were forerunners of the new movement. For it is known that there were Waldensians in and around Nurnberg. Meanwhile, Hans Denck had come to Nurnberg in the fall of 1523. After serving for a year as the rector of the school of St. Sebald, he became involved in a theological dispute with Osiander, and was expelled from the city on 20 January 1525. Here in Nurnberg he met Ludwig Haetzer, Hans Hut, and Hans Schlaffer. Hans Hut was working for a book binder named Valantin, and lived in Denck’s house at various times. Later, in 1526, after he had been baptized as an Anabaptist at Augsburg by Denck, Hut won Wolfgang Vogel, the pastor at Eltersdorf near Nurnberg, for Anabaptism. The city council of Nurnberg ordered Vogel’s execution on 26 March 1527, as a seditious person, because he ‘sought to form an association for the elimination of all the ungodly and establish a new kingdom of Christ, where only equality is to reign.’”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Nürnberg (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 . 1527

• On March 26, 1527 , Wolfgang Vogel was executed by beheading.

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Passau

“Passau, a city on the Danube, in Lower Bavaria, once a fortress, where, according to some reports, a small Anabaptist congregation formed at the beginning of the Reformation period. In 1527, Hans Hut baptized Hermann Kheil, a citizen of Passau. Wolfgang Brandhuber, Lienhard Stieglitz, and other Anabaptist leaders stemmed from Passau. In 1537, about 60 Anabaptists on their way from Moravia to South Germany were seized in Passau and held in the castle prison for five years. Many died, including the songwriters Hans Betz and Bernhard (Michael) Schneider.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Passau (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• In Jan. 1528 , Leonhard Dorfbrunner was burned at the stake.

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Ravensburg

1530

• Sometime in or around 1530 , near the town of Ravensburg, Margret Hottinger and her father Jacob Hottinger were executed. Margret was drowned, Jacob was beheaded. They had recently left Switzerland and were on their way to Moravia when they were captured.

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Regensburg

“Regensburg, the capital of the Oberpfalz, Bavaria, formerly an imperial city, was in the earliest time of the Reformation the seat of an Anabaptist congregation. It may have been founded in the fall of 1527 (by Ludwig Haetzer), when several persons were baptized. In that year several Anabaptist leaders stopped here enroute to other places — Oswald Glait, Hans Schlaffer, Wolfgang Brandhuber, and probably also Hans Hut. Hut is named in a warning about the Anabaptists sent toRegensburg by the Nurnberg city council on 18 March 1527. At the end of the year, the congregation was discovered by the authorities. Some of its members, mostly Austrian Anabaptists, including Leonhard Freisleben, were imprisoned and cross-examined on 15 November, then expelled from the city. A worse fate befell the Augsburg schoolteacher Augustin Wurzlburger. He was captured on 21 May 1528 and executed on 10 October of that year. He is the only Anabaptist who died as a martyr in Regensburg.”

~Excerpted from: Landes, Emanuel and Ernst Crous. “Regensburg (Freistaat Bayern, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1528

• On Oct. 10, 1528 , Augustin Wurtzlburger was executed.

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Reinhardsbrunn

“Reinhardsbrunn, a village in the district of Hausbreitenbach, Thuringia, Germany. Here and in the castle, nine Anabaptists were imprisoned in January 1530 and cross-examined by Friedrich Myconius, the superintendent of Gotha. Three recanted. Six of them remained steadfast and were put to death on 18 January 1530.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian. “Reinhardsbrunn (Thuringia, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1530

• On Jan. 18, 1530 , six Anabaptists (four women and two men) were executed in a former Benedictine monastery. Their names were: Elsa Kuntz , Christoph Ortlep , Katharina Konig , Barbara Unger , and a married couple, Andreas and Katharina Kolb .

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Rottenburg am Neckar

“In the spring of 1526, Wilhelm Reublin, a native of this town, appeared here with his wife and stayed in the home of Jorg Schuhmacher. In both Rottenburg and Horb, he won and baptized a large number of followers. He called his friend Michael Sattler to Horb. In February 1527, when the authorities became aware of the Anabaptists, Reublin fled to Reutlingen, while Sattler (with his wife and his fellows) was arrested and taken to Binsdorf. On 17 May a court session was held in Rottenburg, and on 21 May the inhumane execution of Sattler was carried out. On the next day his wife was drowned in the Neckar. Of his companions, some were put to death and some exiled. In 1528, 11 persons were sentenced, some to death and some to exile. In 1529, Anabaptists who had lain in prison 157 days were driven from the town with rods after the executioner had burned an image of the devil on their foreheads.”

~Excerpted from: Bossert, Jr., Gustav and Ernst Crous. “Rottenburg am Neckar (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).” Global Anabaptist

Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1527

• On May 20, 1527 (or possibly May 21), Michael Sattler was burned at the stake. Later that day, in the evening, four other Anabaptists were put to death. Their names were: Mathis Kurssner , Michel Lenzi , Stoffel Schuhmacher , and an old man named Geiger .
• On May 22, 1527 , Margaretha Sattler , Michael Sattler’s wife, was executed by drowning in the Neckar River.

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Sangerhausen

1534

• In April 1534 , Greta Knobloch was executed by beheading.

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Schwabisch Gmund

“Schwabisch Gmund is a city in Wurttemberg, Germany, in the Rems Valley. It was rich in industry, in the Middle Ages strong ecclesiastically, with three monasteries of Augustinians, Dominicans, and Franciscans. The first stirrings of the Reformation took place here in 1523, under the influence of Hans Schilling, a Barefoot Friar in Rothenburg on the Tauber,whose stormy preaching roused the populace to such an extent that he was banished from the city. … On February 27, 1527, the council felt it necessary to warn the people of Anabaptism, which had reached its full strength in Augsburg and Esslingen. In Gmund, Martin Zehentmayer, a painter of Langenmoosen near Inchhofen, was a significant Anabaptist leader. … The council in mid-February 1528 arrested Zehentmayer and 40 of his adherents, including 19 girls and women. Among the people there was much sympathy for them. … The prisoners were sentenced to die by the sword, but if they would recant they would receive mercy. Zehentmayer and four men, a woman, and a 15-year-old boy remained steadfast and were executed on Tuesday, 7 December. … The popular mood was so excited and rebellious against the council that the council did not dare to dismiss the troops of the Swabian League or to execute more Anabaptists.”

~Excerpted from: Bossert, Gustav, Sr. “Schwäbisch Gmünd (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1529

• On Dec. 7, 1529 , seven Anabaptists were executed by beheading just outside the city. The names of two of them were:

Wolfgang Esslinger and Martin Zehentmayer .

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Schweinfurt

1529

• At some point towards the end of Feb. 1529 , Georg Braun was executed by beheading on the market square.

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Stuttgart

1530

• On March 30, 1530 , Augustin Bader was executed with his own sword.

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Warthausen

1571

• On Dec. 13, 1571 , Hans Missel was executed by beheading.

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Wesel

“Wesel, a town on the Lower Rhine in Germany. In 1534, when Anabaptists from the Netherlands and from Cleves streamed into Munster, active contacts were maintained between Wesel and Munster. … There were rumors that there were large numbers of Anabaptists in Wesel. The council arrested suspect wanderers. Heinrich Graess, one of the ‘prophets’ sent out by Munster, was imprisoned and confessed his mission in Wesel and also betrayed his brethren in the town. …

Eighteen persons were imprisoned in 1535. There were Wesel citizens among these Anabaptists: Otto Vink and his wife, Wilhelm Schlebusch and his wife, and Lijntgen Bottermanns. They were also arrested, although they belonged to the first families of the city and had been on the city council. Vink, Schlebusch, their wives, and four others were executed on Mt. Calvary and buried there in the presence of the Duke of Cleve.”

~Excerpted from: Hege, Christian. “Wesel (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1535

• On April 13, 1535 , Otto Vinck was executed by beheading. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist associated with the leaders at Munster.

1580

• On March 12, 1580 , Jan Willemsz (the cobbler “King” of Roermond) was burned at the stake. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist. With his death, the last embers of the Munsterites and the Batenburgers died out.

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Wurzburg

1528

• On April 15, 1528 , Friedrich Pretscher , a monk turned Anabaptist, was executed.

Netherlands

“It was slightly later than in Switzerland, Germany, Tyrol, and Moravia that Anabaptism appeared in the Netherlands. In 1530, Jan Volkertsz Trypmaker brought baptism upon confession of faith from Emden to the Netherlands. He had there come in contact with Melchior Hoffman, a chiliast and Anabaptist reformer, who had shortly before united with the Anabaptists in Strasbourg. The movement spread with great speed. The fruits could mature here so quickly because the soil was ready for the movement. … An eager expectation of the imminent kingdom of God prevailed. Hoffman’s visits in the Netherlands and his writings had further strengthened these expectations. … The imperial government at Brussels, and Charles V most of all, viewed the decline of Catholicism and the growth of the Anabaptist movement with deep disfavor.

Various proclamations were issued, beginning in 1521, against the spread of the Reformation. The proclamation of 10 June 1535 opposed the Anabaptists exclusively. … The severity reached its height when the Munster episode occurred and Jan van Leyden began to make himself felt in the Netherlands. On the whole it may be said that the Dutch Anabaptists turned away from these horrors. A meeting of 32 Anabaptist leaders held at Spaarndam, near Haarlem, at the end of 1534 or early in 1535, for the most part repudiated all violence. But many Anabaptists, incited by interminable persecution, weary of passively waiting for the kingdom of God, lent an ear to the commands of the sly seducer to come to Munster, or fell into the trap of his criminal emissary Jan van Geelen. Then when there were riots even in the Netherlands, i.e. the seizure of the Oldeklooster by a troop of revolutionary Anabaptists (30 March 1535) and the attack on the city hall of Amsterdam (10 May 1535), and other acts of violence here and there, the mania of persecution knew no bounds. Revolutionary and peaceful Anabaptists were lumped together into one class, although the authorities knew very well that there was a great difference between them. … The persecutions continued to claim many martyrs. It has never been possible to determine their exact number. Kuhler’s estimate of about 1,500 is too low; 2,500 is probably more nearly correct.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der and C. F. Brüsewitz. “Netherlands.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

February 2011 .

Dam Square, Amsterdam

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Alkmaar

“Shortly after 1530, Alkmaar and the vicinity were already a center of Anabaptist activity. There must have been an active and rather large circle of Anabaptists, many of whom were put to death in the course of time. Most of these victims were under the Munsterite influence. Slowly the congregation came to more peaceful principles. Leenaert Bouwens baptized no less than 123 persons here between 1551 and 1578.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Alkmaar (Noord Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1955 .

1535

• On Feb. 1, 1535 , Frans Dirksz Quintijn (aka Frans of Wormer) was burned at the stake in Alkmaar. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist who had devised a plan to take Alkmaar by force, but upon his arrival in the city he was arrested.

1536

• On Feb. 1, 1536 , Elbert Pieter Sinckes was executed by beheading. He was a Munsterite revolutionary . On the same day, a woman named Aegje Elinxdochter was executed by drowning.

1537

• On July 14, 1537 , Jaepgen Maertensd and Kathryn Willemsdr were executed by drowning.

1538

• On Feb. 6, 1538 , Guert Jansdochter was executed by drowning. Her mother, Stijntgen, was executed here two years later, in April 1540. They were possibly followers of revolutionary leader Jan van Batenburg.
• On June 24, 1538 , Cornelis Claesz was executed by beheading.

1539

• On Jan. 1, 1539 , Lambert Dirks was executed.
• On June 4, 1539 , Maerten Luykensz was executed by beheading. He might have been a follower of David Joris.
• On June 7, 1539 , Marytgen Davidsdochter and three other persons were executed by drowning. They may have been followers of David Joris.
• On June 17, 1539 , an Anabaptist named Elsge and two other women were executed by drowning. They may have been followers of David Joris.
• On July 7, 1539 , Trijntje Jans van Dulmen and two other women were executed by drowning. They may have been followers of David Joris.

1540

• On April 15, 1540 , Garbrant Gabbisz (aka Gerbrand Gabesz) was executed by beheading. He was possibly a follower of revolutionary leader Jan van Batenburg.
• On April 16, 1540 , Stijntgen Jan Mickers was executed by drowning. Her daughter, Guert Jansdochter, was executed here two years earlier, in Feb. 1538. They were possibly followers of revolutionary leader Jan van Batenburg.

1541

• On Jan. 23, 1541 , Hendrik Busch Varcken was executed by beheading.

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Amsterdam

“The origin of the Amsterdam Anabaptist congregation goes back to 1530. At the close of this year, Jan Volkertsz Trypmaker, a disciple of Melchior Hoffman, came from Emden to Amsterdam, where he became the head of a church, upon which he, like his teacher, urged peace and obedience to the government. In 1531, Hoffman himself was in Amsterdam, and baptized many. In November, the council of Amsterdam ordered the mayor to persecute the followers of the new doctrine. Trypmaker surrendered voluntarily, and with eight other Anabaptists was taken to The Hague and beheaded on 5 December 1531. Jan Matthyszoon, the Haarlem baker, soon appeared in Amsterdam as a prophet and sent out his 12 apostles. Early in 1534 the summons to go to Munster created a ‘crusade,’ which was, however, prevented. Meanwhile, Jacob van Campen succeeded in gathering the peaceful elements and in persuading by letter the assembly of 32 preachers in Sparendam to abandon the plan to storm the city (December 1534). … In February 1535, a group of 12 men and women, madly shouting in the streets at night ‘Truth is naked,’ roused more anger than fear. They paid the death penalty. Meanwhile, however, a leader appeared for the insurgents. He was Jan van Geelen, who had escaped from Munster in December 1534. With 40 followers he stormed the courthouse during the night of 10 May 1535. The attacked failed. … Now there began for the Anabaptist congregation, though it had had no part in the riot, a time of severe suffering. The government, spurred on by public indignation, delivered all the Anabaptists it could find to the executioner; 46 were executed in Amsterdam from 10 May to 28 July. Jacob van Campen was seized after a long search and cruelly killed (10 July 1535). Persecution lasted nearly 40 years.”

~Excerpted from: Doornkat Koolman, J. ten and Frits Kuiper. “Amsterdam (Noord-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist

Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953 .

1532

• On May 11, 1532 , Jan Arends was executed in Amsterdam.

1534

• On March 6, 1534 , Willemsz Cornelis was executed by beheading, along with eight other persons .
• On March 30, 1534 , Jacob Symonsz and Dominicus Abels were executed by beheading. They were Anabaptist preachers. They were also leaders of the group of 3,000 who, earlier in the month, had traveled from Amsterdam towards the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, but were arrested in Bergklooster.
• On April 25, 1534 , Claes Claesz of Westzaan was burned at the stake.
• On May 8, 1534 , two revolutionary Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Jan Jansz de Timmerman and Geryt van Campen .
• On May 11, 1534 , Jan Jacobsz was burned at the stake in Amsterdam. On the same day, a revolutionary Anabaptist named Ydewons was executed by beheading, probably in Amsterdam.
• On May 28, 1534 , Andries Gherytszoen van Castricum was executed by beheading.
• On Sept. 15, 1534 , Jan Fransz was executed by beheading. He was among those who had set out for the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster but was arrested at Bergklooster in March 1534.
• On Dec. 31, 1534 , Jan Evertsz van Wij was executed by beheading. He was probably a member of the revolutionary wing of the Anabaptist movement.

1535

• On Feb. 25, 1535 , seven men were executed by beheading. They were part of the group of Anabaptists who ran naked through the streets on February 10, the so-called “Naaktloopers.” Their names were: Gerrit van Benschop , Dirck Janssen , Adriaen Antheunis Focsen , Steven van Oudewater , Steven Janssen , Claes van Venlo , and Hendrik Hendriksz . The women Naaktloopers were executed a few months later, in May 1535.
• On March 6, 1535 , nine Anabaptists were executed by beheading. The names of seven of them were: Arent Jacobssen Keyser , Jan van Genck , Arent Janssen , Barent Claesz , Jan Paeuw , Hendrik Biesman , and Claes Claesz of Monnikendam .
• On April 21, 1535 (or possibly April 22), Goechjen Jans was executed by drowning, along with 10 other women .
• On May 14, 1535 , Anthoenis Elberts and 10 other revolutionary Anabaptists were executed for participating in the attack on Amsterdam’s city hall four days earlier, on May 10. The names of nine of the others were: Jacob Ghysbertszn van Gameren , Jacob van Emden , Peter Gael , Michiel Egbertszoon , Albert (van Meppel) , Zijbrandt Claesz , Claes Janssen , Evert Aerts , and Gheryt . Their executions were particularly cruel. Before they were beheaded, they were cut open while still alive and their hearts removed. After decapitation their corpses were quartered and their heads displayed on poles.

• On May 15, 1535 , 10 Anabaptists (seven women and three men) were executed. The women were drowned, the men beheaded. The names of the women were: Grietje Maes , Adriana Ijshrantsdochter , Baef Claesd , Barbara

Jacobsdochter , Trijn Jans , Lysbeth Jansdochter , and Brecht Alberts . The men were: Gerrit Claesz , Adriaen Cornelisz ,and Jan Jacobsz .

• On May 21, 1535 , Trijn Jansdochter was strangled and then hanged in front of the door to her home on the Pijlsteeg (a narrow street east of Dam Square). She was held guilty of hosting a meeting of the Anabaptists who attacked city hall on May 10-11.
• On May 21, 1535 , 11 Anabaptist women were executed by drowning. The executions occurred at night. The women had stones tied around their necks and were thrown into the water. The names of eight of the victims were: Leentgen Hendricxdochter , Aeltgen Gielisdochter , Aeltgen Wouters , Marritgen Nadminx , Griet Pieter Mollendochter , Jannetgen Jansdochter , Adriana Jansdochter , and a woman named Leentgen who was the mother of Adriana. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the date for these executions as May 15.)
• On May 25, 1535 , Pieter Claesz was executed by beheading. He was among those who in March 1534 had sailed from Amsterdam to go to Munster, but was arrested before getting there.
• On June 1, 1535 , Frans Frederycxzoon was executed by beheading. Frans was a revolutionary Anabaptist who had obtained the key to Amsterdam’s city hall and participated in the failed attempt to take over the government on May 10-11, 1535.
• On July 10, 1535 , four Anabaptists were executed in Amsterdam. The men ( Jacob van Campen and Pieter Pieters ) were beheaded. The women ( Fije Danen and Margriete Willems uyt Hitland ) were hanged. Margriete was the widow of Willem de Cuyper, who had been executed in The Hague in March 1534.
• On July 28, 1535 , two revolutionary Anabaptists were executed. Their names were: Harman Hoen and Hans van Coelen .

1537

• On April 12, 1537 , Albert Reyersz , Andries Hermansz , and Thijmon Hendriksz were executed by beheading.

1539

• On July 8, 1539 , Jan Jansz van den Berg was executed in Amsterdam.

1540

• On Aug. 9, 1540 , a revolutionary Anabaptist named Claes Dircxzn Mug was executed by hanging.

1541

• On March 28, 1541 , Elze Quirijnsdochter was executed by drowning. She was a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1544

• On Jan. 19, 1544 , Jan Claesz and Lucas Lambertsz van Beveren were executed by beheading. Lucas was 87 years old, probably the oldest Anabaptist martyr.

1545

• On April 16, 1545 , Quirijn Pietersz was burned at the stake.

1546

• On May 24, 1546 , Dirck Pietersz and Jacob de Geldersman were burned at the stake.

1549

• On March 20, 1549 , two women and six men were burned at the stake. The names of seven of them were: Barbara Thielemans , Truyken , Lucas Michielsz , Tobias Quintincxsz , Ellert Jans , Ghysbert Jansz , and Pieter Jansz . The wives of Ghysbert Jansz and Pieter Jansz were martyred the following year, in January 1550.
• On March 30, 1549 , Jan Pennewaerts was burned at the stake, along with seven others .
• On Nov. 9, 1549 , Cecilia Jheronimusd and Jacob Claesz were burned at the stake. They were husband and wife.

1550

• On Jan. 15, 1550 , Anneke Gerrits and Trijntje Dircxd were executed by drowning. Anneke and Trijntje were widows whose husbands (Ghysbert Jansz and Pieter Jansz) had been martyred together in Amsterdam the previous year.
• On March 3, 1550 , Anneken Boens was executed by drowning.

1552

• On Aug. 6, 1552 , six Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Hendrik Anthonisz , Lieven Jansz , Claes Gerbrandsz , Reyer Egberts , Pieter Thymans , and Hermansz Meynert .

1553

• On Jan. 16, 1553 , five Anabaptists were executed. Felistis Jans and Herman Jansz were burned at the stake. The other three had recanted under torture, and so were given the lesser sentence of beheading. Their names were: Cornelis

Aelbrechts , Gerrit Dirksz , and Anthoenis Courtsen .

1569

• On Feb. 26, 1569 , Pieter Pieters was burned at the stake. He was a ferryman who allowed Mennonites to conduct meetings

on his boat.

• On March 12, 1569 , Willem Jansz was burned at the stake. Also burned at the stake at the same time were Quirijn Janssz (aka Jan Quirijnsz) and Cornelis Jansz .
• On Dec. 17, 1569 , Clement Henricksz was burned at the stake.

1571

• On June 26, 1571 , Gerrit Cornelisz was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 10, 1571 , Anneken Hendriks was executed by burning on Dam Square.

1572

• On Sept. 3, 1572 , Sander Woutersz and Evert Hendricks were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Arnhem

1550

• On Aug. 9, 1550 , an Anabaptist woman named Jater was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Asperen

1569

• On May 16, 1569 , Dirk Willems was burned at the stake outside of town.

~ ~ ~

Culemborg

1552

• On Aug. 13, 1552 , Cornelis Aertsz de Man was burned at the stake. (The year may have been 1562 rather than 1552.)

~ ~ ~

Delden

1544

• On Nov. 13, 1544 , two Anabaptist women, sisters-in-law, were burned at the stake at Twickel Castle near Delden. Their names were: Maria van Beckum and Ursula van Beckum .

~ ~ ~

Delft

“Delft is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. As early as 1534, there was live Anabaptist activity here. On 27 March 1534, the martyr Jan Evertsz of Middelburg, who had visited Delft shortly before, named nine persons at Delft who had been rebaptized, among them David Joris and his wife. In the fall of 1534, Obbe Philips visited Delft and ordained David Joris as an elder. Early in March 1535 and in December 1535 some Anabaptists were executed whose names are not known. Probably there was a congregation there at this time, which was deeply influenced by David Joris. In January 1539, 31 Anabaptists were put to death. All these persons were Davidjorists.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Delft (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1535

• In March 1535 and Dec. 1535 , several Anabaptists whose names are not known were put to death.

1539

• On Jan. 7, 1539 , 11 Anabaptists were executed by beheading. The names of 10 of them were: Barent Heyndricksz

Volkeringksoen , Frans Pietersz , Harman Coenraetsz , Herman van Kelder , Jan Aertsz , Jan Heyndricx , Jan Jansz ,

Michiel Pietersz , Outgert Jacob Barbierszoon , and Willem Aelbrechts . All or most were followers of David Joris.

• On Jan. 10, 1539 , Cornelis Wolfartsz , Damas Jacobsz , and Hendrik Koel van Gelder were executed by beheading. They were probably followers of David Joris.
• On Jan. 17, 1539 , five women were executed by drowning. The names of three of them were: Heynderickgen Aert

Kielezdochter , Imme Eyckendochter , and Toengen Diruc Jansdochter . They were followers of David Joris.

• On Jan. 23, 1539 , four women were executed by drowning. The names of two of them were: Elsgen Heynderic

Schenckelberghsdochter and Geertgen Cort Pietersd . Probably followers of David Joris.

• On Jan. 24, 1539 , four women were executed by drowning. The names of two of them were: Geert Cornelis and Vincente Adriaensdochter . They were followers of David Joris.
• On Jan. 31, 1539 , Lysbeth Hermansdochter was executed by drowning. Probably a follower of David Joris.
• On Feb. 6, 1539 , Katrijn Huyghendochter was executed by drowning.
• Sometime near the end of February 1539 , Marytge Jan de Gortersdochter was executed by beheading, after recanting. She was the mother of David Joris.
• On Aug. 26, 1539 , Machtelt Dieric Jansdochter and Marritgen Jansdochter were executed by drowning in a wine cask.

1544

• On Nov. 8, 1544 , Jan Henricxz was executed by beheading. Follower of David Joris.

1550

• On Jan. 22, 1550 , Jorisz Huig and Quirijn Jorisz (brothers) were executed by beheading.

1572

• On Feb. 5, 1572 , Maerten Jansz Corendrager and Jan Hendricksen were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Deventer

“Deventer is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The Anabaptists made their first appearance here in the 1530s. The first phase of Anabaptism in this city was of a revolutionary character, under the direct influence of Munster and later of Batenburg. … Jacob van Wijnssen and five other Anabaptists were beheaded on de Brink (a square) in February 1535, and Fenne, the wife of the notorious leader Jan van Geelen, was drowned in April. Nevertheless the doctrine continued in secret, despite the repeated proclamations of the government, and after 1540 showed itself in the revolutionary following of Batenburg and later of the mystical David Joris. Jurriaen Ketel, the publisher of Joris’s Wonderboek, was beheaded for this publication on 9 August 1544. … After this repression, Anabaptism was hardly felt in Deventer until about 1570, when religious strife was renewed and in March 1571, twelve peaceful Mennonites (6 men and 6 women) were dragged from their homes by the Spanish soldiers and imprisoned, at times racked and finally beheaded or burned by the Inquisition.”

~Excerpted from: van Slee, J. C. and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Deventer (Overijssel, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1535

• On Feb. 6, 1535 , four Anabaptists were executed by beheading on Brink Square. Their names were: Willem Glaesmaker , Herman Schroer , Johan Lubelei , and Johan van Wynssem . They were Munsterite revolutionaries .
• On Feb. 17, 1535 , Jellys Ballam was executed by beheading. He was a follower of revolutionary leader Jacob of Antwerp.
• On April 17, 1535 , an Anabaptist woman named Fenneken was executed by drowning in the IJssel River. She was the wife of revolutionary leader Jan van Geelen. A month later, van Geelen was killed during an ill-advised attack on the city hall of Amsterdam.
• On May 17, 1535 , Jacob of Antwerp was executed by beheading. He was a leader of the revolutionary Anabaptists.

1544

• On Aug. 9, 1544 , Joriaen Ketel was executed by beheading on Brink Square. Initially Joriaen was a follower of Jan van Batenburg. After Batenburg’s death in 1538, he became a follower of David Joris. Joriaen’s wife, Elsken, was executed in Utrecht in June 1539.

1571

• On May 25, 1571 , Anthonis de Wever and Bruyn de Wever were executed by beheading.
• On an uncertain date, sometime between May 24 and June 16, 1571 , Harmen de Wever , Dirk Wessels and his wife Janneken , and several other persons were burned at the stake.
• On June 16, 1571 , Ydse Gaukes , Claes Opreyder , Catharina Somerhuys , Lysbeth Somerhuys , Lyntgen Joris and Trijntgen were burned at the stake. Catharina and Lysbeth were sisters. Lyntgen and Trijntgen were mother and daughter.

~ ~ ~

Dordrecht

“Early Anabaptism had no great number of adherents here, although Bartholomeus Boeckbinder and Willem de Cuyper preached here as early as 1533-1534. Of great blessing was the activity of Elder Leenaert Bouwens, who baptized six persons here in 1557-1561 and no less than 44 in 1563-1565. About this time the congregation was greatly increased by immigrants from Flanders, as is indicated by the family names. Yet the congregation was severely persecuted. The Martyrs’ Mirror names as martyrs here: Digna Pieters, 1555; Joris Wippe, burgomaster of Meenen, Belgium, 1558; 10 persons in 1569; Jan Woutersz van Cuyck, an artist, 1572.”

~Excerpted from: Vos, Karel and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Dordrecht (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956.

1555

• On Nov. 23, 1555 , Digna Pieters was executed by being put in a sack and drowned.

1558

• On Oct. 1, 1558 , Joris Wippe was executed by drowning (in secret). He was submerged in a wine cask filled with water.

1569

• During the year 1569, at least 10 Anabaptists were executed here, names unknown.

1572

• On March 28, 1572 , Jan Woutersz van Cuyck and Adriaenken Jansdochter were burned at the stake in Dordrecht.

~ ~ ~

Gouda

1570

• On May 30, 1570 , Faes Dirks was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Groningen

1535

• Sometime during April 1535 , Jacob Cremer was executed by beheading. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist.

~ ~ ~

Haarlem

“About 1530 there were already Anabaptists in Haarlem. Court trials of Anabaptists took place here repeatedly about that time, although these brethren and sisters came from other sections of the province of Holland. It is clear also that among those on trial were some who either played a part in the Munster affair or were involved in it. Jan Matthijs himself was from Haarlem. A large number of Anabaptists were arrested in March 1534 at Spaarndam north of Haarlem, victims of the unscrupulous Jan van Leyden. … It is clear there was a church here by 1560 and possibly earlier. In the meantime the Anabaptists of Haarlem were persecuted. The sheriff Jacob Foppens, assisted by a spy called Aagt, was able to arrest several members, particularly in 1570.”

~Excerpted from: Hylkema, C. B. “Haarlem (Noord-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956 .

1534

• On March 26, 1534 , seven Anabaptists were executed by beheading. The names of five of them were: Adriaen Lourysz , Jan Pieter Eggesz , Bartel Boeckbinder , Dirk Vredricx , and Pieter de Houtzager . These were the fanatics who, four days earlier, had run through the streets of Amsterdam, with drawn swords, crying woe over the city and calling everyone to repent.
• On March 30, 1534 , Barthout Heynricsz was executed by beheading.

1536

• On Nov. 7, 1536 , Dirck Ewoltsz was executed by beheading.

1539

• On May 29, 1539 , three Anabaptist women were executed by drowning. Their names were: Gheese Aelbrechtsdochter , Ursula Corffis , and Alijt Henrich Rommertsdochter . Followers of David Joris. Gheese was the wife of Lambrecht Duppijns who was martyred three days later in the same place.
• On June 2, 1539 , Lambrecht Duppijns , Cornelis van den Bosch , and Steffen van Halteren were executed by beheading.They were followers of David Joris. Lambrecht was the husband of Gheese Aelbrechtsdochter who had been martyred three days earlier.
• On June 3, 1539 , four Anabaptist women were executed by drowning. Their names were: Geertgen Geluwers , Geertruyt Jansdochter , Maritgen Thonisdochter , and Clara Joostendochter .

1557

• On April 26, 1557 , Joriaen Simonsz and Clement Dirksz were burned at the stake. Joriaen was a bookseller. The authorities intended to burn his books along with him, but people in the crowd grabbed the books and ran off.

1570

• On Feb. 13, 1570 , Barber Jans was executed by drowning, after which her corpse was burned.
• On May 6, 1570 , Allert Jansz was burned at the stake.
• On an unknown date in 1570 , Anneken Ogiers was executed by drowning, in secret, in Haarlem’s town hall.
• Sometime during 1570 , Adriaen Pietersz was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Hoorn

1535

• On June 7, 1535 , five Anabaptists (three men and two women) were executed. The men ( Hendrik Gysbrecht , Sijbrant Jansz , and Steven Benedictus ) were beheaded, after which their heads were displayed on poles. The women ( Femmetgen Egberts and Welmoet Jans ) were led to the waterside, with heavy stones tied around their necks, and cast into the sea.

~ ~ ~

Kampen

1535

• On Feb. 15, 1535 , four Anabaptists were executed by beheading. The names of two of them were: Ghele Hame and Michiel . Ghele recanted before his execution.

1540

• On June 14, 1540 , Pieter Jans was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Leeuwarden

“Leeuwarden, capital of the Dutch province of Friesland, was the seat of a large Mennonite congregation, which was the oldest congregation of Friesland and one of the oldest in the Netherlands. This congregation can be traced back to Melchior Hoffman who preached here in 1532. Hoffman’s followers mostly belonged to the middle classes. Undoubtedly the group at first led a hidden existence. In the fall of 1533, two apostles of Jan Matthijsz van Haarlem visited the group and baptized Obbe Philips and Hans Scheerder. Both the first and the last Anabaptist martyr in the Netherlands were executed in Leeuwarden. The first was Sicke Freerks in 1531, the last Reytse Aysesz in 1574. The martyr Elisabeth Dirks, who was executed in 1549, was a member of the Leeuwarden congregation, and is said ‘to have seduced many persons.’”

~Excerpted from: Yntema, J. and Nanne van der Zijpp. “Leeuwarden (Friesland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite

Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1531

• On March 20, 1531 , Sicke Freerks was beheaded. ( Martyrs’ Mirror incorrectly gives the year as 1533.) Afterwards, his body was tied to a wheel and his head put on a pole. A local priest heard about the fate of Sicke Freerks and found it odd that a pious man would be executed for being rebaptized. The priest was Menno Simons, who later joined the Anabaptists himself, in 1536.

1533

• On April 13, 1533 , Peter Witses was executed.
• On April 22, 1533 , Aucke Broersz and Aucke Tzallincxz were burned at the stake.

1535

• On March 13, 1535 , Andries Claessen was executed by beheading. ( Martyrs’ Mirror gives the date as March 16.)
• On April 7, 1535 , Hahscke Sascher was executed by beheading. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist, one of those captured at the Oldeklooster monastery near Bolsward. (The monastery had been seized on March 30, and held for about five weeks, by a large group of Anabaptists, under the leadership of Jan van Geelen.)
• On April 10, 1535 , five revolutionary Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Frans Metselair , Marck Jettyezoon , Focke Ublezoon , Sippe Claeszoon , and Willem Willemzoon van der Leye . They were among those arrested at the recapture of the Oldeklooster monastery.
• On April 12, 1535 , Hobbe Buwezoon was executed by beheading. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist, arrested at

Oldeklooster.

• On April 14, 1535 , more than two dozen Anabaptist women were executed by drowning. They had been part of the group of revolutionaries who seized and occupied the Oldeklooster monastery in March. Their names were: Barbara Diricks , Barbara Tiardsdochter , Baucke Jorisdochter , Lysbeth Bouwes , Lysbeth Diricxdochter , Marie Sioucke huysvrouwe , Tiets Jan Colmerswijff , Harmen Thys huysvrouwe Trijn , Tryn Rieurtsdochter , Tryn Willemsdochter , Aefke Harmen Thysdochter , Alyt Claesdochter , Anna Jacledochter , Anne Jansdochter , Anne Luytthiedochter , Anske Lieuwe Hayedochter , Atte Nanne Sybrandtsdochter , Aucke Sieurdtsdochter , Fedde Bindertsdochter , Geerdt Nannedochter , Geert Hansdochter , Hisse Lambertsdochter , Inthie Claesdochter , Rieme Douwedochter , Rinske Obbedochter , Siouw Harmen Thysdochter , and Sibrandt Sibrandtszoon .
• On April 15, 1535 , Aucke Haythiedochter and eight other women were executed by drowning.

1536

• On Oct. 21, 1536 , Obbes Sybout was executed by beheading.

1537

• On March 17, 1537 , three Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Peter Frericx , Rypert Claesz , and Symonsz Symon . Peter’s wife, Janneken, was martyred later in the year, in December, in the same city.
• On Dec. 19, 1537 , a woman named Janneken was executed by drowning. She was the wife of Pieter Frericxs, who had been martyred earlier in the year, in March.

1538

• On May 8, 1538 , Uble Claesz was executed by beheading.

1539

• On Feb. 8, 1539 , five Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Tjaert Renicx , Tjaert Tyercxz , Tiaert Tyercxzoon , Frans Claesz , and Frans Snyder .
• On Feb. 11, 1539 , Melis Jansz and Jan Hesselsz were executed by beheading.
• On Nov. 12, 1539 , Dirk Roloffszoon was executed by beheading.

1544

• On Sept. 27, 1544 , Henrick Herckemaiker was executed by beheading.

1545

• On March 28, 1545 , Frans Dammasz was burned at the stake.

1549

• On May 27, 1549 , Elisabeth Dirks was executed by dr owning. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the month as March.)
• On June 7, 1549 , two Anabaptist men were executed. Their names were: Fije (burned at the stake) and Eelke (beheaded). According to the record, the two were greatly excited when appearing before the judge, “kissed each other, and danced forjoy in being permitted to suffer martyrdom.”
• On Nov. 16, 1549 , Ysbrant Scheerjer was burned at the stake.
• On Dec. 7, 1549 , Tiettye Douwes and Laurens Tiettyezoon were executed by beheading.

1550

• On July 19, 1550 , Peecke Vulckezoon was burned at the stake.

1551

• On Dec. 20, 1551 , Dirck Cuiper was executed by beheading.

1553

• On May 2, 1553 , Thijs Hendriksz and another woman named Berendge were secretly executed by drowning. They were bound, placed into sacks, and thrown into the moat.
• On May 13, 1553 , Schelte Aedelezoon was burned at the stake.
• On June 28, 1553 , Aleph Jacobs , Thomas Arentsz , and Lauwereyns Claesz were burned at the stake.

1554

• On Dec. 13, 1554 , Allart Janszzon and Anthonis Fockes were burned at the stake.

1555

• On March 5, 1555 , Gielt Eelckezoon was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 22, 1555 , Trijn Jacobs was executed by drowning.

1557

• On Feb. 4, 1557 , Ulcke Ricoltswiif was executed by drowning.
• On March 14, 1557 , Richt Heynes was executed by drowning. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1547.)

1559

• On March 14, 1559 , Jacques d’Auchy was executed secretly by drowning in a tub in prison. Also executed the same day in the same way were: Hendrik Eeuwesz and Claesken Gaeledochter (husband and wife).
• On Sept. 30, 1559 , Taede Ruyerdtszoon was executed by beheading.

1571

• On Oct. 12, 1571 , Douwe Eeuwouts was executed by drowning.

1574

• On April 23, 1574 , Reytse Aysesez was executed by drowning.

~ ~ ~

Leiden

“Leiden, a town in the Dutch province of South Holland, where Anabaptists have been found since the earliest period, who apparently at first mostly belonged to the revolutionary branch. Unemployment and poverty among the weavers, who were numerous in the city, were a fertile matrix for revolutionary teachings, which the Anabaptist elder Cornelis Pieters of den Briel proclaimed here soon after 1530. Pieter Pieters, alias Borrekieck, tried and executed at Amsterdam in July 1535, reports a number of names of Anabaptists at Leiden in 1534 who had been baptized by Cornelis Pietersz. In 1533, Jan Beuckelszoon (Jan van Leyden) lived here. In April 1534 an attack on the city was contrived but not carried out, and in January 1535 a new attack was planned but prevented by treason. At that time a number of Anabaptists were apprehended and put to death. After Munster had fallen (25 July 1535), there were still some traces of Munsterism at Leiden, but gradually this declined and after a number of followers of Batenburg had been arrested in May 1544 the revolutionary Anabaptists disappeared. Apparently at that time a congregation of peaceful Anabaptists already existed, of whose earliest history not much is known.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Leiden (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1955 .

1535

• On Feb. 11, 1535 or shortly thereafter, Maritgen Ysbrandsdochter was burned at the stake. She was the wife of Jan van Leyden, the so-called “King of Zion” in Munster, Germany. She was also the proprietor of the “Three Herrings” Inn in Leiden, and a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1539

• On Nov. 25, 1539 , Jannetje Matthysdochter was executed by drowning.
• On Dec. 20, 1539 , Claes Claesz and Willem Eynoutsz were executed by beheading.

1544

• On July 14, 1544 , Aechte Coenen was executed by drowning. She was probably a follower of David Joris.

1552

• On Aug. 21, 1552 , Pieter Matthijsz was burned at the stake.
• On Nov. 24, 1552 , five Anabaptists were executed. Their names were: Adriaen Cornelisz , Hendrick Dirksz , Dirk Jansz ,

Annetgen Symonsdochter , and Mariken .

1554

• On Nov. 13, 1554 , Neeltje Jans was executed by drowning.

~ ~ ~

Maastricht

“Maastricht, capital of the Dutch province of Limburg. The soil had been well prepared for the Anabaptist movement, for the city had been a center of the Beghards and Beguines in the Middle Ages. As in the duchy of Julich, there was in Maastricht a separatist brotherhood at least by 1527, which called itself the ‘Christian Brethren.’ The arrest of a member was reported in that year. It is possible that this was an Anabaptist group. In doctrine they were at least closely related to the Swiss Brethren. But there is no record that they practiced adult baptism. They were accused of ‘Lutheran heresy.’ This of course does not prove that they were Lutheran. They were more likely Sacramentists. The brotherhood had a strong following in the guilds. … About 1530 there were Anabaptists in Maastricht. The group grew rapidly, numbering over 100 by 1533. It was visited in 1533 by Hendrik van Tongeren, a traveling Anabaptist preacher. Of greater importance to them was Henric Rol, a preacher who had left Munster, and now led them, quietly and intelligently, as a ‘bishop.’ Though he worked quietly, he did not escape the authorities. He was taken prisoner on 2 September 1534 and burned at the stake in Maastricht shortly after. Then Jan Smeitgen took his place. In January 1535 a severe persecution broke upon them, and 16 persons were executed. Only three of them remained steadfast, and were burned at the stake. The other 13 recanted and were beheaded.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Maastricht (Limburg, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1534

• At some point in early Sept. 1534 (possibly the 8th or 9th), Henric Rol was burned at the stake.
• On Sept. 8, 1534 (or possibly Sept. 9), Grietchen Bildesnider was burned at the stake on the Vrijthof.

1535

• On Feb. 1, 1535 , Bartholomeus van den Berge and Mente Jan Heynendochter (aka Clementia Heymen), husband and wife, were executed. Bartholomeus was burned at the stake on the Vrijthof. Clementia recanted and was therefore put to death by the lesser punishment of drowning in the Maas River.
• On Feb. 4, 1535 , Mathys Spangemecker (aka Thijs in die Starre) was executed by beheading, after recanting.
• On Feb. 6, 1535 , three Anabaptists were executed by beheading. All had Munsterite leanings, and all recanted before being put to death. Their names were: Michiel Geldoff , Philip Mutsemeker , and Vuegen Servaes .
• On Feb. 13, 1535 , Francois van Ludick was executed by beheading. He had recanted and thus was spared being burned.

1538

• Sometime during April 1538 , Jan van Bemelen was executed by beheading on Vrijthof Square.

1559

• On March 11, 1559 , Trijnken Keuts was burned at the stake.
• On Sept. 23, 1559 , Jan Durps (aka Jan Bosch van den Berge) was burned at the stake.

1570

• On Jan. 9, 1570 (or Jan. 10), Arent van Essen and wife Ursula were burned at the stake.
• On Jan. 24, 1570 , two Anabaptist women, mother and daughter, were burned at the stake. Their names were: Neeltgen and Trijntgen .

1573

• On July 27, 1573 , Marie Kerckhoffs was burned at the stake on the Houtmarkt.

~ ~ ~

Middelburg

“Middelburg, capital of the Dutch province of Zeeland, has since very early times been the seat of an Anabaptist congregation. Already in 1532 the magistrate had learned that there were Anabaptists in the city. … Between 1535 and 1571, at least 18 Anabaptists were put to death here. Jan Everts was beheaded on 19 April 1535; and in the same year, Marcus Cornelisz and Cop Heyne; the latter had been a Munsterite, but was converted at Amsterdam. Of Munsterite ideas there is no further trace among the Anabaptists of Middelburg. Marcus Cornelisz declared that neither he nor the others had anything to do with them. … Gillis Matthijsz, a surgeon, was executed in the prison one night in 1564, for fear of the populace. … The bloody persecutions ceased when the city passed into the power of William of Orange in 1574. At once the Calvinist preachers, though they were in the minority, began to molest the Anabaptists. In 1576 the government gave them a hearing and made it obligatory for the Anabaptists to swear the oath. Without it they could not be citizens or carry on a trade or craft. When William visited the city in 1577, the Anabaptists presented a petition to him. In his reply of 26 January 1577, William promised them release from this obligation. On this occasion the words were used which have become of great significance to the Dutch Mennonites because they marked the beginning of religious freedom for them: ‘His Excellency commanding and charging the magistrates of Middelborgh and all others whom this may concern, not further to oppress the petitioners contrary to their conscience, with regard to the oath and otherwise.’”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Middelburg (Zeeland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1535

• At some point during 1535 , Cop Heyne was executed here. He had recanted, but received the death sentence anyway.
• On April 30, 1535 , Marcus Cornelisz was executed by beheading, after recanting.

1559

• On Feb. 21, 1559 , Andries van Laarbeke , Maeyken Daniels , and Jan Hendricks were burned at the stake in the town square. Afterwards, their corpses were put on public display.

1561

• On or about Feb. 5, 1561 , Dirck Jansz was strangled and then burned at the stake.

1564

• On Oct. 26, 1564 , Willeboort Cornelisz was executed by beheading.

1569

• On Feb. 9, 1569 , three Anabaptists were burned at the stake on the market square. Their names were: Hendrick Alewijnsz , Gerrit Janssen Duynherder , and Hans Marijnsz .
• On or about May 2, 1569 , Bastiaan Corsz was burned at the stake. Around the same date, Maeyken Jans and Aelken Jansdochter were also burned at the stake here.

1571

• On Dec. 3, 1571 , Anneken Jans was burned at the stake.

1572

• On March 13, 1572 , Matheeux Maurisz and Magdaleene Jans (husband and wife) were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Nijmegen

“Nijmegen is a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The first mention of Anabaptists occurs in 1539. On 19 April of that year, three unnamed Anabaptist men were burned at the stake here, and shortly after that two women were drowned in the Waal River. Two other victims of persecution in this city are known. In 1557 Gerrit Hazenpoet was burned at the stake, and in 1569 Jan Block met the same fate. But the city government did not always take such strong action against the Anabaptists. As early as 1565 Jan van den Berg was expelled from the city with his whole family because he refused to have his children baptized.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Nijmegen (Gelderland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957 .

1539

• On April 19, 1539 , three Anabaptist men were burned at the stake. Shortly thereafter, two Anabaptist women were drowned in the Waal River.

1557

• At some point during the year 1557 , Gerrit Hazenpoet was burned at the stake here. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1556.)

1569

• On July 23, 1569 , Jan Block was burned at the stake outside the city gate. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously says 1572.)

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Rotterdam

“Rotterdam, a city of the Dutch province of South Holland. The fact that two Anabaptist martyrs were drowned here in January 1539 does not prove the existence of a congregation at that early date, for both women were merely passing through when arrested. Nevertheless, there was some Anabaptist activity here in 1534, led by Jan Jansz Schot, and an Anabaptist congregation was doubtless established at Rotterdam after 1540, which conducted itself quietly. Since the government here was more tolerant than in Amsterdam or Antwerp, or perhaps because there were fewer Anabaptists living here, there were relatively few martyrs at Rotterdam — a total of about 24 in 1534-1568. One of the anonymous martyrs of 1544 was a girl of 14. In 1558, at the scene of an Anabaptist execution, when the executioner was clumsily strangling Jan Hendricks preliminary to burning him, the crowd released the other four prisoners.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Rotterdam (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1534

• On Dec. 22, 1534 , a man named Martijn Pietersz , who had moved in Anabaptist circles, was executed by beheading. Not for Anabaptism, but for pocket-picking.

1535

• On March 4, 1535 , Cornelis Stevensz was executed by beheading.

1539

• On Jan. 24, 1539 , Anneken Jans (aka Anneken van Rotterdam) and Christiana Michiel Barents were executed by drowning. They were followers of David Joris.

~ ~ ~

The Hague

1531

• On Dec. 5, 1531 , nine (or 10) Anabaptists were executed by beheading. They all recanted their beliefs (under torture) beforebeing put to death. Afterwards, their heads were transported to Amsterdam where they were publicly displayed. Their names were: Jan Volkertsz Trypmaker , Evert Jans , Jan van Delft , Geryt Meynerts , Vranck Willemsz , Jan Hermansz , Jan Gouweszn , Thomas Janszn , and Jan Thomaszn .

1534

• On Feb. 4, 1534 , two sisters, Anna Jansdochter and Geertruydt Jansdochter , were executed by beheading in The Hague.
• On Feb. 10, 1534 , Jan Joosten van Goedereede was executed by beheading.
• On March 26, 1534 , Willem de Cuyper (aka Willem the Prophet) was executed by beheading. Willem was one of the fanatics who, four days earlier, had run through the streets of Amsterdam crying woe over the city and calling everyone to repent. Willem’s wife, Margriete Willems uyt Hitland, was executed in Amsterdam in July 1535.
• On April 10, 1534 , Cornelis Geryts was executed by beheading in The Hague. On the same day, two men with the same name, Jan Dirksz , were burned at stake.

• On April 15, 1534 , five Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Jacobsz Kraen Huyge , Willem Cornelisz , Cornelis Luytsz , Jan Cornelisz , and Jan Echtwerken .
• On April 25, 1534 , an Anabaptist woman named Marijtgen was executed by drowning. ( Martyrs’ Mirror mistakenly gives the year as 1532.) She was the wife of Jacobsz Kraen Huyge who had been martyred here 10 days earlier.
• On May 11, 1534 , Engel Cornelisz was executed by beheading.
• On July 28, 1534 , Arys Gerritsz and Lourys Lourisz were executed by beheading.
• On Sept. 15, 1534 , Thijs Olbrants and Jan Thymansz were executed by beheading.

1535

• On Feb. 15, 1535 , Geryt Jansz was executed by beheading in The Hague. He was a Munsterite.
• On March 17, 1535 , Lenaert Willemsz and Beatrix Jansdochter (husband and wife) were executed by drowning.
• On March 24, 1535 , Jan Claesz Cock was executed by being torn to pieces. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist.
• On April 10, 1535 , Jan Damasz , Adriaen de Kleermaker , and Jan Jansz Schot were executed by beheading. They were apparently revolutionary Anabaptists.

• On April 19, 1535 , Jan Everts was executed by beheading.
• On April 28, 1535 , Claes Ysbrands was executed by beheading.
• On June 8, 1535 , Neel Mypeis was executed.
• On July 1, 1535 , Cornelis Gysbrechtsz was burned at the stake. (Another Anabaptist, Claes Claesz of Beverwijk , was probably burned here on the same day.)
• On Sept. 15, 1535 , Herk Dirksz was executed. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1536

• On March 13, 1536 , Anabaptist revolutionary Claes Jansz was executed by having his heart cut out of his body, as punishment for taking part in the revolts at Hazerswoude the previous December.

• On March 14, 1536 , four revolutionary Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Heijnric Willemse Saelmaker , Aernt Gerytsz , Lenaert Aerntsz , and Willem Huygen .
• On March 17, 1536 , Jutte Eeuwouts was executed by hanging. She had allowed her house in the village of Poeldijk to be used as a meeting place by revolutionary Anabaptists and other radicals.
• On March 18, 1536 , Trijn Pietersdochter and Haze Claesdochter were executed by drowning. They were revolutionary Anabaptists.
• On May 29, 1536 , Pieter Pietersz was executed by beheading. Given his association with Jan van Leyden, he was probably a revolutionary .
• On Oct. 11, 1536 , Cornelis Cornelisz Kelder was executed.

1539

• On Nov. 6, 1539 , Peter Dirks Snijder was executed by beheading in The Hague. He was among those who had headed toMunster in March 1534, but was arrested in Bergklooster before he got there. He recanted his Anabaptism, was released, then “relapsed into his former error.”

1540

• On or shortly after Sept. 22, 1540 , Lambrecht Jacobs was executed by the sword in The Hague. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist, a follower of Jan van Batenburg.

1542

• On July 3, 1542 (or possibly July 4), Marytje Simons was burned at the stake.

1544

• On July 30, 1544 , Jan Wermbouts was executed by beheading. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist, a follower of Jan van Batenburg.
• On July 31, 1544 (or the day after), Simon Maertsz Vernouwen was burned at the stake in The Hague. He was a revolutionary Anabaptist, a follower of Jan van Batenburg.

• On Aug. 6, 1544 , Jan Dirck Volbrechtsz was executed by beheading. Presumably a follower of Jan van Batenburg.

1545

• On March 5, 1545 , Jochem Joosten was executed by beheading in The Hague.
• On June 26, 1545 , Marie Baernt Gerytsdochter was executed by drowning. She was a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1558

• On July 7, 1558 , Adriaen Pietersz , Waechlink Dirks , and Maerten Cornelisz were burned at the stake.

1564

• On Dec. 15, 1564 , Jan Geertsz was burned at the stake.

1568

• On Dec. 18, 1568 , Job Janze and Jan Thielemansz were burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Utrecht

“In the city of Utrecht, Anabaptist views were found by 1530, when some persons had to answer for heretical views. In 1535 a few revolutionary Anabaptists from outside were executed at Utrecht, among whom was Walraven Herberts of Middelie, who had been sent to propagate the Munsterite doctrines. Jacob Claesz and Govert Aertsz, citizens of Utrecht, also executed in 1535, seem to have been peaceful Anabaptists. In 1539, 15 Anabaptists, probably followers of David Joris and none a citizen of Utrecht, were put to death. A number of church robbers executed here in 1540, called Anabaptists in the records, had hardly anything to do with Anabaptism, and the same can be said of a number of followers of Jan Batenburg, executed at Utrecht in 1544-45, one of whom was the notorious Appelman.”

~Excerpted by: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Utrecht (Utrecht, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1535

• On March 11, 1535 , Walraven Herberts was burned at the stake in Utrecht. He was a Munsterite.
• On March 12, 1535 , Jan Hendriks and Jan Jansz van Calckeren were executed by beheading. They were revolutionary Anabaptists.
• On March 13, 1535 , Govert Aertsz and Jacob Claesz van der Veer were executed by beheading.
• On June 11, 1535 , three Anabaptist women were executed by drowning. All three were named Anna: Anna Matijs van

Doncksdochter , Anna Bueckhorst , and Anna (wife of Gerryt Roggens).

1539

• On June 11, 1539 , nine Anabaptists were executed, some by beheading and some by drowning. The names of the beheaded were: Cornelis Evertsz , Claes Jan Nachtegaelsz , Jan van den Velde , and Cortoys . The names of the drowned were: Aecht Jan Middelborchsdochter , Lysbet van Dulmen , Margriet Jan Herkensdochter , Mary Oth , and Mergriet Horstmans .

• On July 18, 1539 , a woman named Elsken was executed by beheading. She was the wife of Joriaen Ketel, who was martyred in Deventer in August 1544.

1541

• On July 18, 1541 , Oede Willemsdochter , a revolutionary Anabaptist, was executed by drowning. She was charged with lodging Anabaptists in her home.

1544

• On July 21, 1544 , three revolutionary Anabaptists were executed. Their names were: Heynrick Willemsz , Swaene Hermansdochter , and Willemken Willem Claesdochter . Heynrick was beheaded. Swaene and Willemken were drowned.

1545

• On Feb. 7, 1545 , Cornelis Jan Oliviers Appelman and Willem Zeylmaker were burned at the stake. They were revolutionary Anabaptists.

• On June 27, 1545 , Herman Dirksz was executed by beheading. He was a follower of revolutionary Anabaptist leader Jan van Batenburg.

1562

• On June 10, 1562 , Hendrik Eemkens was burned at the stake.

1569

• On July 1, 1569 , husband and wife Lenart Kerstenzoon and Trijntgen Jan Pannebackersdochter were executed, Lenart by burning at the stake and Trijntgen by drowning.

• On July 5, 1569 , Steven Pietersz , Gosen Heymans , and Jacob Heymans Tollincx were executed by beheading. Gosen and Jacob were brothers.
• On Aug. 25, 1569 , Vincent van der Hoeve was executed by beheading. He was the sheriff of the city of Amersfoort. While not a Mennonite himself, he had allowed Mennonite meetings to be held in his jurisdiction.

1570

• On April 20, 1570 , Geerloff Gerritsz was executed by hanging. He was arrested and sentenced for being present at a meeting where he was listening to a Mennonite preacher.

~ ~ ~

Valkenburg

1549

• On Aug. 22, 1549 , Clara Vrencken was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Veere

“Veere, an old town on the island of Walcheren, Dutch province of Zeeland, was in the 15th and 16th centuries an important seaport. Anabaptism is found here as early as 1534, in which year some Anabaptists fled the town to evade persecution. A few of them are said to have gone to Munster in Westphalia. In 1537, a number of Munsterite Anabaptists, whose names are unknown, were executed at Veere.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Veere (Zeeland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1539

• On Oct. 14, 1539 , Adriaen Wouters was executed by beheading.

1560

• On “the Monday before Christmas,” Joost Joosten was tortured on the rack and burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Vianen

1569

• On March 22, 1569 , Adriaen Willemsz was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Vlissingen

1571

• On May 8, 1571 , Dirk Meeuwesz was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Vught

1538

• On Sept. 9, 1538 , four Anabaptists were executed. Their names were: Paulus van Drunen , Jan Blok , Michiel Stevens , and Adriaen van ‘s Gravenhage .
• On Sept. 11, 1538 , four Anabaptists were burned at the stake. Their names were: Jan van Capel , Geertken Erasmusdochter , Lysken , and Neelken . Lysken was the wife of Jan Blok, who was martyred here two days earlier. Neelken was the wife of Paulus van Drunen, also martyred here two days earlier.

1544

• On or around Aug. 14, 1544 , an Anabaptist woman named Magdalena was executed on the charge of being a follower of

David Joris.

~ ~ ~

Workum

1574

• At some point during the year 1574 , Hendrik Pruyt was arrested by Spanish soldiers as he passed this town on his boat. Once it was established that he was a Mennonite, he was sentenced to death. He was stripped, tarred, and thrown into a boat with his hands and legs bound together. Then the boat was lit on fire and set adrift.

~ ~ ~

Zierikzee

“Both Galenus Abrahamsz and Pieter Cornelisz Plockhoy were natives of Zierikzee. Anabaptism arose here as early as

1534. In 1535, Adriaen Aersen suffered martyrdom at Zierikzee. On 4 September 1536, four Anabaptists were executed here: Adriaen Jorisse, Pieter Gerritsz, Janneken Mels, and Jan Iansze. Adriaen Cornelisse was executed at Zierikzee in

1537. According to K. Vos, all these martyrs were revolutionary Anabaptists. Paulus Harrouts died as a martyr at Zierikzee in 1540. None of these victims were natives of Zierikzee. They had come to spread Anabaptist doctrines.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Zierikzee (Zeeland, Netherlands).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959.

1535

• On May 8, 1535 , Adriaen Aersen was executed by beheading. Probably a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1536

• On Sept. 4, 1536 , four Anabaptists were executed by beheading. Their names were: Pieter Gerritsz , Jan Jansz , Adriaen Jorisse , and Janneken Mels . After the execution, their corpses were burned and their heads set on poles as a warning to others. Probably revolutionary Anabaptists.

1537

• On June 2, 1537 , Adriaen Cornelisse was executed by beheading. Probably a revolutionary Anabaptist.

1540

• On Dec. 7, 1540 , Paulus Harrouts was burned at the stake.

1561

• On Oct. 11, 1561 , Joos Jansz was executed by beheading. ( Martyrs’ Mirror erroneously gives the year as 1563.)

1569

• On Oct. 22, 1569 , Dirk Andriesz was executed by beheading in Zierikzee.

~ ~ ~

Zutphen

1549

• On March 30, 1549 , an Anabaptist woman named Cornelia was executed by drowning. She had been rebaptized by the antitrinitarian Anabaptist leader Adam Pastor. She was the widow of Claes van Leeuwen, rector of the local school, who had preceded her in death earlier in the year. When it was discovered that Claes had been an Anabaptist, his corpse was exhumed and reburied in unconsecrated ground.

~ ~ ~

Zwolle

1535

• In March 1535 , Cornelis de Vlaminck was executed by beheading.

Switzerland

“This mountainous land, whose inhabitants loved liberty and were for the most part earnestly religious, is the land of the birth of the Anabaptist movement and the homeland of innumerable refugee and emigrant Anabaptists or Mennonites. Of all the Anabaptist brotherhoods in Europe at the time of the Reformation, it is generally agreed that the group at Zurich was the first to constitute itself as a brotherhood alongside the prevailing church. … Zurich was first to adopt a policy of violent suppression under the influence of Zwingli. A large number of mandates were issued in the Swiss cities for the extermination of the movement. But when no other measures sufficed to crush the movement, the death penalty was adopted. The first death sentence of the new Protestant state church was carried out on Felix Manz in Zurich on 5 January 1527. From then on, we find the Swiss confederacy in a constant struggle with the Anabaptist movement. … Nevertheless, the Swiss Brethren continued to increase in Switzerland. The Protestant towns, Zurich, Bern, Basel, St. Gall, and Constance, united to adopt a common policy against the Anabaptists, because the ‘confused, miserable sect of the Anabaptists with their rabble and their doctrine are becoming everywhere more numerous and more dangerous, whereby in all true Christian faith great defection and division, much misery, shedding of blood and unrest results.’ Much misery and shedding of blood did indeed result from it, but not because of the faith of the Swiss Brethren, but because of the intolerantattitude of the government. Martyrs’ Mirror names 40 martyrs in Bern alone in 1529-1571.”

~Excerpted from: Geiser, Samuel. “Switzerland.” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2011 .

Bern, Switzerland

~ ~ ~

Baden

1582

• On Oct. 9, 1582 , Jakob Mandl and Heinrich Summer (aka Heinrich Muller) were executed by drowning.

~ ~ ~

Basel

“In August 1525 a small group of Swiss Brethren who met daily in Basel with Michael Schurer, a tailor from Freiburg, was surprised and arrested. Besides the owner of the house and his wife, there were present Lorenz Hochrutiner of St. Gall, Ulrich Hugwald of Thurgau, Matthias Graf, a printer, and his wife Katharina Breuner, Elise Muller, and Barbara Gruninger. On 23 August they were released after recanting. Non-resident Anabaptists had to leave the city ‘forever.’ …

Oecolampadius, the reformer of Basel, was greatly surprised to learn of the existence of the Anabaptist group. In August 1525 he held a disputation with them in his house. The proceedings of this debate were printed in three editions. The debate centered around infant baptism and the right to separate oneself from the church. … The Anabaptist movement spread. On 2 June 1526, the first mandate against the Anabaptists was issued in Basel. The second mandate, 24 July 1526, forbade Anabaptist meetings in the vicinity of the city. … In 1527, numerous Anabaptists from Straubing and Augsburg entered Basel. Among these were Hans Denck, who died here, Georg Maler, Ulrich Treschsel, and Hans Beck. … David Joris livedin Basel from 1544 to 1556 under the pseudonym of Johann von Brugge. Not until three years after his death was his realname discovered. Then his corpse was burned and the ashes scattered. In August 1554, Wilhelm Reublin appeared, a sick old man, in order to conclude his days in the city where he had begun his theological career as a priest in St. Alban’s. …

While the Anabaptist movement declined in the city of Basel, it was constantly growing in the canton of Basel. … On 29 December 1529, another disputation was held with 11 imprisoned preachers. This was the third Anabaptist disputation inBasel, but the first ordered by the government. Anabaptism was declared to be a ‘self-willed, Pharisaic hypocrisy, which pleases itself, condemns everything else, and finally leads to obvious disobedience and sedition.’”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian and Hanspeter Jecker. “Basel (Switzerland).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987 .

1530

• On Jan. 12, 1530 , Hans Ludi was executed by beheading. He had previously been whipped for destroying images in a local church.

~ ~ ~

Bern

“Eight Anabaptists appeared at the great disputation held at Bern in January 1528, which resulted in the introduction of the Protestant Reformation. They were: George Blaurock, Hans Hansmann, Hans Pfistermeyer, Heini Seiler, Ulrich Isler, Hans Toblinger, Thomas Maler, and Vincenz Spating. These eight were not admitted to the sessions, however, but were kept inprison and watched carefully. On the 17th day of the disputation they were taken to the city hall where Zwingli interviewedthem. Only Spating was persuaded to recant. The others were banished under threat of drowning if they returned. … The Bernese government spared no means to root out Anabaptism. Martyrs’ Mirror contains a list of 40 Anabaptist executions in Bern.”

~Excerpted from: Neff, Christian and Isaac Zürcher-Geiser. “Bern (Switzerland).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

1986 .

1530

• On Feb. 21, 1530 , Konrad Eichacher was executed by drowning.

1537

• On July 7, 1537 , Bernhard Waelty was executed.
• On Aug. 28, 1537 , Catharina Friedli Imhoff and Jurg Hoffser were executed.

1538

• On March 28, 1538 , Cunas Seidenkohen was executed.
• On April 16, 1538 , Peter Stucki was executed.
• On Sept. 17, 1538 , Peter Wessenmiller was executed.

1539

• On June 3, 1539 , Lorenz Eberli and Hans Schumacher were executed.

1543

• On Sept. 17, 1543 , Christian Oberlen , Hans Ancken , and Peter Ancken were executed.

1571

• On Oct. 20, 1571 , Hans Haslibacher was executed by beheading.

~ ~ ~

Egli

1525

• On May 29, 1525 , Bolt Eberli was burned at the stake.

~ ~ ~

Lucerne

1524

• On March 26, 1524 , Klaus Hottinger was burned at the stake. He was a close associate of the early Swiss Brethren leaders. His execution came quickly, so he didn’t have a chance to formally join the movement, but he almost certainly would have had he lived long enough. Because of his involvement in the earliest stages of Swiss Anabaptism, Klaus could be considered the first Anabaptist martyr. In 1522, he had been a participant in the “ Affair of the Sausages ,” an act of defiance that marked the very beginning of the Swiss Reformation.

1525

• Towards the end of July 1525 , Johannes Krusi was burned at stake.

~ ~ ~

Thun

“Thun, a town and district of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, situated on Lake Thun. Moritz Losenegger, a citizen of Thun, was in prison there as early as 1532. Concerning the spread and development of Anabaptism in the district of Thun, there is not much information. In the 17th century and probably earlier, Anabaptists were found in the villages of Goldenwil, Wattenwil, Hilterfingen, Sigriswil, Diesbach, and a few other hamlets, all mountain villages on the north shore of Lake Thun. Jakob Amman, the founder of the Amish Mennonites, was of Erlenbach near Thun. In the course of time a number of Anabaptists from the Thun area emigrated. Among the emigrants moving in 1711 to the Netherlands were members of the Schneider, Ruff (Rupp), Reuszer (Risser), Richard, Sorg, Schlappach, Eicher, Kienzi, Krahenbuhl, and Ruegsegger families from Sigriswil and other villages in the Thun district.”

~Excerpted from: Zijpp, Nanne van der. “Thun (Bern, Switzerland).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1538

• On Nov. 8, 1538 , Steffen Ruegsegger was executed on Lake Thun.

~ ~ ~

Zurich

“The city has been, through most of its history, the largest and most important economic center in Switzerland. Here the Swiss Reformation began with the work of Ulrich Zwingli, who came to the city as the head pastor in 1519 and led the movement until his death at the Battle of Cappel in 1531. … The Anabaptist movement arose out of the circle of intimate friends and followers of Zwingli in Zurich who, after failure to persuade Zwingli to establish a free church of believers only, introduced adult baptism on 21 January 1525, in a meeting of some 15 men in the house of Felix Manz’s mother on Neustadt Street. The leaders were two young citizens of Zurich, Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, together with George Blaurock, a former priest of Chur. … Vigorous suppression of the movement by force, climaxed in 1526 by the institution of the death penalty for teaching or preaching Anabaptism, prevented the development of an organized congregation in Zurich. The first congregation in the neighborhood was in the adjacent village of Zollikon, which existed from February to May 1525, and then was suppressed.”

~Excerpted from: Bender, Harold S. “Zürich (Switzerland).” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959 .

1527

• On Jan. 5, 1527 , Felix Manz was executed by drowning in the Limmat River. Manz was one of the original members of the Swiss Brethren. He was probably only 29 years old at the time of his death. His entire career as an Anabaptist barely lasted two years.

1528

• On Sept. 5, 1528 , Heini Reimann and Jakob Falk were executed by drowning in the Limmat River.

1532

• On March 23, 1532 , Hans Herzog was executed by drowning.

1614

• On Sept. 30, 1614 , Hans Landis was executed by beheading.