Familia Caritatis

fAMILY OF lOVE


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Engraving by Johann Ladenspelder which is linked to Correction and exhortation out of heartie loue, a book by Nicholis
The Familia Caritatis, also known as the Familists, was a mystical religious sect founded in the sixteenth century by Henry Nicholis, also known as Niclaes. Familia Caritatis translates from Latin into "Family of Love", and in other languages, "Hus der Lieften", "Huis der Liefde" and "Haus der Liebe" (English: House of Love).[1]

History
The outward trappings of Nicholis's system were Anabaptist. His followers were said to assert that all things were ruled by nature and not directly by God, deny the dogma of the Trinity, and repudiate infant baptism. They held that no man should be put to death for his opinions, and apparently, like the later Quakers, they objected to the carrying of arms and to anything like an oath. They were quite impartial in their repudiation of all other churches and sects, including Brownists and Barrowists.[2]

Nicholis's message is said to have appealed to the well educated and creative elite, artists, musicians and scholars. They felt no need to spread the message and risk prosecution for heresy. Members were usually a part of an otherwise-established church, quietly remained in the background and were confident in their elite status as part of the Godhead. The Encyclop;dia Britannica Eleventh Edition states:

Nicholis's followers escaped the gallows and the stake, for they combined with some success the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove. They would only discuss their doctrines with sympathizers; they showed every respect for authority, and considered outward conformity a duty. This quietist attitude, while it saved them from molestation, hampered propaganda.[2]

Members of the Familists included the cartographer Abraham Ortelius and the publisher Christopher Plantin. Plantin worked by day as Philip II of Spain's printer of Catholic documents for the Counter Reformation, and otherwise surreptitiously printed Familist literature.

Nicholis's chief apostle in England was Christopher Vitell, who led the largest group of Familists in Balsham, Cambridgeshire. In October 1580 Roger Goad, Dr Bridgewater and William Fulke engaged in the examination of John Bourne, a glover, and some others of the Family of Love who were confined in Wisbech Castle, in the Isle of Ely.[3] In the 1580s, it was discovered that some of the Yeomen of the Guard for Elizabeth I were Familists. The Queen did nothing about it, which raised questions about her own beliefs. The keeper of the lions in the Tower of London for James I was a Familist.

The society lingered into the early years of the eighteenth century. The leading idea of its service of love was a reliance on sympathy and tenderness for the moral and spiritual edification of its members. Thus, in an age of strife and polemics, it seemed to afford a refuge for quiet, gentle spirits and meditative temperaments.[4] The Quakers, Baptists and Unitarians may have derived some of their ideas from the "Family".[2]

References
 Gordon 1911.
  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Pollard, Albert Frederick (1911). "Nicholas, Henry". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclop;dia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 656.
 Marsh, Christopher W. (1994). Family of Love. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521441285. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gordon, Alexander (1911). "Familists". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclop;dia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 158.
Further reading
A.J. van der Aa, "Hendrik Niclaes", in Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden Vol. XIII (J.J. van Brederode, Haarlem 1868) dbnl online
J.G. Ebel, "The Family of Love: Sources of Its History in England", Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. XXX no 4 (August 1967), pp. 331–343 Jstor
Fell Smith, Charlotte (1885–1900). "Nicholas, Henry" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Alastair Hamilton: The Family of Love. Cambridge 1981
Christopher Hill: Milton and the English Revolution. London: Faber (1977)
W.N. Kerr: Henry Nicholis and the Familists. Unpublished dissertation. Edinburgh 1955
M. Konnert, "The Family of Love and the Church of England", Renaissance and Reformation Vol 27 no. 3 (1991) (New Series Vol. 15 no 2), pp. 139–172. ISSN 0034-429X: JSTOR 43444801
---- Loafs, "Familisten", in Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1898)
C. Marsh, "A Gracelesse, and Audacious Companie? The Family of Love in the parish of Balsham, 1550–1630", Studies in Church History (Ecclesiastical History Society), Vol. 23: Voluntary Religion (1986), pp. 191–208
Christopher Marsh: "An Introduction to the Family of Love in England", in E.S. Leedham-Green: Religious Dissent in East Anglia. Cambridge 1991, pp. 29–36 ISBN 0-9513596-1-4
C.W. Marsh: The Family of Love in English Society, 1550-1630 (Cambridge University Press 1994), (Google)
F. Nippold, "H. Niclaes und das Haus der Liebe", in Zeitschrift f;r die historische Theologie (1862), pp. 323-394 (bsb-muenchen)
N.A. Penrhys-Evans: The Family of Love in England, 1550–1650. Unpublished Dissertation, University of Kent (Canterbury 1971)
Charles Wehrenberg, Before New York, Solo Zone, San Francisco 1995/2001, ISBN 1-886163-16-2
External links
Family of Love, from ExLibris. Contains extended bibliography. (Updated link)
Familist, from Encyclop;dia Britannica, on-line edition, free.
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online: Family of Love
Categories: Religious organizations established in the 1530s16th-century ProtestantismFormer Christian denominationsChristian radicalismNontrinitarian denominations


***
Henry Nicholis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the 16th century mystic. For the American businessman, see Henry Nicholas.

Hendrik Niclaes
Hendrik Nicholis (or Hendrik Niclaes, Henry Nichlaes, Heinrich Niclaes; c. 1501 – c. 1580) was a German mystic and founder of the proto-deist[1] sect "Familia Caritatis" (a.k.a. "Family of Love","Familia Caritatis" or "Hus der Lieften").

Life
Nicholis was born in 1501 or 1502 at M;nster, where he was married and was a prosperous merchant.[2]

As a boy he was subject to visions, and at the age of twenty-seven charges of heresy led to his imprisonment. About 1530 he moved with his family to Amsterdam, where he was imprisoned on a charge of complicity in the M;nster Rebellion of 1534–1535.[2]

About 1539 he experienced a call to found his "Family of Love". In 1540 he moved to Emden, where he prospered in business for twenty years, though he traveled to the Netherlands, England and elsewhere with commercial and missionary objectives. The date of his sojourn in England has been placed as early as 1552 and as late as 1569.[2] His activities in England contributed to the Puritan controversies that formed the backdrop of Queen Elizabeth I's reign.

Nicholis hoped that his "Family of Love" could promote wider religious reformation in Europe. He worked through powerful friends to bring about change: Christopher Plantin, Abraham Ortel who called himself Ortelius, and the genre painter and political cartoonist Pieter Brueghel the Elder.[citation needed] His doctrines seem to have been derived largely from the Dutch Anabaptist David Joris.[2]

The date of his death is unknown; in 1579 he was living at Cologne, and it is likely that he died there a year or two later.[2]

Evolution of the doctrine
Nicholis's doctrines have mainly to be inferred from the accounts of hostile writers. The outward trappings of his system were merely Anabaptist; but he anticipated a good many later speculations, and his followers were accused of asserting that all things were ruled by nature and not directly by God, of denying the dogma of the Trinity, and repudiating infant baptism. They held that no man should be put to death for his opinions, and apparently, like the later Quakers, they objected to the carrying of arms and to anything like an oath; and they were quite impartial in their repudiation of all other churches and sects, including Brownists and Barrowists.[2]

Nicholis's principal disciple in England was Christopher Vitell, and towards 1579 the progress of the sect especially in the eastern counties of England provoked literary attacks, proclamations and parliamentary bills. But Nicholis's followers escaped the gallows and the stake, through their combination of wisdom and apparent harmlessness. They would only discuss their doctrines with sympathizers; they showed every respect for authority, and considered outward conformity a duty. This quietist attitude, while it saved them from molestation, hampered propaganda; and though the Family existed until the middle of the 17th century, it was then swallowed up by the Quakers, Baptists and Unitarians, all of which denominations may have derived some of their ideas through the Family from the Anabaptists.[2]

Works
Most of his writings come from his time at Emden. His primary work was Den Spegel der Gherechticheit dorch den Geist der Liefden unde den vergodeden Menscit I-IN. uth de hernmelisc tie Warheit betuget. It appeared in an English form—with Nicholis's revisions—as An introduction to the holy Understanding of the Glasse of Righteousness (c.1575; reprinted in 1649). The list of Nicholis's works occupies nearly six columns in the Dictionary of National Biography.[3]

Nicholis signed his works with his initials, "H.N.", which coincidentally also stood for Homo Novus, "new man", which became a sort of call sign for the movement.

See also
Justus Velsius
References
 "Lipsius, Justus (Joest Lips; 1547–1606) | Encyclopedia.com". Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Pollard, Albert Frederick (1911). "Nicholas, Henry". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclop;dia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 656.
 See also Ernest Belfort Bax, Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, pp. 327–380 (1903); and John Strype's Works, General Index.
External links
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online: Niclaes, Hendrik (1502-1580)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Munster Rebellion" redirects here. For other rebellions, see Munster Rebellion (disambiguation).

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Anabaptist Dominion of M;nster
T;uferreich von M;nster
1534–1535
The city of M;nster under siege by Prince-Bishop Franz von Waldeck in 1534. The picture shows the first attack at Pentecost.
The city of M;nster under siege by prince bishop Franz von Waldeck in 1534. The picture shows the first attack at Pentecost.
Capital M;nster
Religion Anabaptism
Government Communal theocratic monarchy
King
• 1534-1535
John of Leiden
Historical era Protestant Reformation
• Established
February 1534
• Disestablished
June 24, 1535
Preceded by Succeeded by
Prince-Bishopric of M;nster
Prince-Bishopric of M;nster
 
Today part of M;nster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Captured citizens brought before an Anabaptist leader during the M;nster rebellion.
The M;nster rebellion (German: T;uferreich von M;nster, "Anabaptist dominion of M;nster") was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of M;nster – then under the large Prince-Bishopric of M;nster in the Holy Roman Empire.

The city was under Anabaptist rule from February 1534, when the city hall was seized and Bernhard Knipperdolling installed as mayor, until its fall in June 1535. It was Melchior Hoffman, who initiated adult baptism in Strasbourg in 1530, and his line of eschatological Anabaptism, that helped lay the foundations for the events of 1534–35 in M;nster.

Rebellion

Historical drawing of the execution of the leaders of the rebellion. In the background the cages are already in place at the old steeple of St. Lambert's Church.
After the German Peasants' War (1524–1525), a forceful attempt to establish theocracy was made at M;nster, in Westphalia (1532–1535). Here the Anabaptists had gained considerable influence, through the adhesion of Bernhard Rothmann, the Lutheran pastor, and several prominent citizens and leaders, including Jan Matthys (also spelled Matthijs, Mathijsz, Matthyssen, Mathyszoon), a baker from Haarlem, and Jan Bockelson (or Beukelszoon), a tailor from Leiden. Bernhard Rothmann was a tireless and vitriolic opponent of Catholicism and a writer of pamphlets that were published by his ally, the wealthy wool merchant Bernhard Knipperdolling. The pamphlets at first denounced Catholicism from a radical Lutheran perspective, but soon started to proclaim that the Bible called for the absolute equality of man in all matters, including the distribution of wealth. The pamphlets, which were distributed throughout northern Germany, called upon the poor of the region to join the citizens of M;nster to share the wealth of the town and benefit spiritually from being the elect of Heaven.

With so many Anabaptist adherents in the town, Rothmann and his allies had little difficulty obtaining possession of it at the elections for the magistracy and placing Bernhard Knipperdolling as the mayor, after deposing the mainly Lutheran magistrates, who, until then, had seen him as an ally in their own distrust of, and dislike for, Catholics. Matthys was a follower of Melchior Hoffman, and after Hoffman's imprisonment at Strasbourg Matthys obtained a considerable following in the Low Countries, including Bockelson, who became known as John of Leiden. John of Leiden and Gerrit Boekbinder[1] had visited M;nster, and returned with a report that Bernhard Rothmann was in M;nster teaching doctrines similar to their own. Matthys identified M;nster as the "New Jerusalem", and on January 5, 1534, a number of his disciples entered the city and introduced adult baptism. Rothmann apparently accepted "rebaptism" that day, and well over 1000 adults were soon baptised. Vigorous preparations were made not only to hold what had been gained but to spread their beliefs to other areas. The many Lutherans who left were outnumbered by the arriving Anabaptists. There was an orgy of iconoclasm in cathedrals and monasteries, and rebaptism became compulsory. The property of emigrants was shared out with the poor, and soon a proclamation was issued that all property was to be held in common.[2]

Siege
The city was besieged by Franz von Waldeck, its expelled bishop. In April 1534, on Easter Sunday, Matthys, who had prophesied God's judgment to come on the wicked on that day, led a procession from the city with twelve followers, as he believed himself the second Gideon. He and his followers were cut off and taken. Matthys was killed, his head placed on a pole for all in the city to see, and his genitals nailed to the city gate.

The 25-year-old John of Leiden was subsequently recognized as Matthys' religious and political successor, justifying his authority and actions by claiming visions from heaven. His authority grew until eventually he proclaimed himself the successor of David and adopted royal regalia, honors, and absolute power in the new "Zion". There were now in the town at least three times as many women of marriageable age as men, so he made polygamy compulsory,[3] and he himself took sixteen wives. (John is said to have beheaded Elisabeth Wandscherer in the marketplace for refusing to marry him, though this act might have been falsely attributed to him after his death.) Meanwhile, most of the residents of M;nster were starving as a result of the year-long siege.

After lengthy resistance, the city was taken by the besiegers on June 24, 1535, and John of Leiden and several other prominent Anabaptist leaders were captured and imprisoned. In January 1536, John of Leiden, Bernhard Knipperdolling and one more prominent follower, Bernhard Krechting, were tortured and executed in the marketplace of M;nster. Their bodies were exhibited in cages which hung from the steeple of St. Lambert's Church. The bones were removed later, but the cages hang there still.

According to a contemporary source, about 3,000 people died during the siege.[4]

Aftermath

Cages of the leaders of the M;nster Rebellion at the steeple of St. Lambert's Church.
The M;nster Rebellion was a turning point for the Anabaptist movement. It never again had the opportunity of assuming political importance, as both Catholic and Lutheran civil powers adopted stringent measures to counter this. It is difficult to trace the subsequent history of the group as a religious body, through changes in the names used and beliefs held.

The Batenburgers under Jan van Batenburg preserved the violent millennialist stream of Anabaptism seen at M;nster. They were polygamous and believed force was justified against anyone not in their sect. Their movement went underground after the suppression of the M;nster Rebellion, with members posing as Catholics or Lutherans as necessary. Some nonresistant Anabaptists found leaders in Menno Simons and the brothers Obbe and Dirk Philips, Dutch Anabaptist leaders who repudiated the distinctive doctrines of the M;nster Anabaptists. This group eventually became known as the Mennonites after Simons. They rejected any use of violence and preached a faith based on compassion and love of enemy.

In August 1536, the leaders of Anabaptist groups influenced by Melchior Hoffman met in Bocholt in an attempt to maintain unity. The meeting included followers of Batenburg, survivors of M;nster, David Joris and his sympathisers, and the nonresistant Anabaptists.[5] At this meeting, the major areas of dispute between the sects were polygamous marriage and the use of force against non-believers. Joris proposed compromise by declaring the time had not yet come to fight against the authorities, and that it would be unwise to kill any non-Anabaptists. The gathered Anabaptists agreed to the compromise of no more force,[6] but the meeting did not prevent the fragmentation of Anabaptism.

Works of fiction

The Unfortunate Traveller (1594), first English picaresque novel by Thomas Nashe, reflects the cruelty issued by the Emperor and the Duke of Saxony
A Tale of a Tub (1704) by Jonathan Swift. His first major work, brother "Jack" is based on "Jack of Leyden".
Le proph;te (1849), opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer that highly fictionalizes the rebellion
The Friends of God (1963) by Peter Vansittart
The Abyss (French: L';uvre au noir) (1968) by Marguerite Yourcenar
The Golden City (1974), immersive drama written and performed by Strathclyde Theatre Group in Glasgow Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[citation needed]
Rules For a Film about Anabaptists (1976),[7] film by Georg Brintrup
Die Wiedert;ufer (The Anabaptists) (1980), play by Friedrich D;rrenmatt, translated by Lauren Friesen as The Anabaptists (unpublished manuscripts in various libraries, including the Graduate Theological Union)
K;nig der letzten Tage (King of the Last Days) (1993),[8][better source needed] German historical mini-series that portrays the events of the M;nster Rebellion
In Nomine Dei (In God's Name) (1993), play by Jos; Saramago
Divara – Wasser und Blut (Divara, Water and Blood) (1993), German-language opera by Azio Corghi to a libretto by the composer after the play by Saramago
The Garden of Earthly Delights (1994) by Nicholas Salaman, named after the painting by Hieronymus Bosch[9]
Q (1999) by Luther Blissett
Speak to Her Kindly: A Novel of the Anabaptists (2003) by Jonathan Rainbow[10]
Perfection (2003) by Anita Mason
Orfeo (2014), novel by Richard Powers, whose main character composes an opera retelling the story
J.S. Bach — Die Apokalypse (premiere 2022), the opera that Bach never wrote. An opera using the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and libretto by Thomas H;st about the M;nster rebellion
References
 Kl;tzer, Ralf (2007). "Chapter 6: The Melchoirites and M;nster". In Roth, John; Stayer, James (eds.). A Companion to Anabaptism and Spiritualism, 1521–1700. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 222. ISBN 978-90-04-15402-5.
 Cohn 1970, pp. 262–264.
 Marshall, Peter (2017). Reformaatio [The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction] (in Finnish). Translated by Kilpel;inen, Tapani. Tampere: niin & n;in. p. 123. ISBN 978-952-7189-11-5.
 Stiff, Ursula. 1990. The Anabaptists in M;nster. Slide 07, p. 28f. http://www.westfaelische-geschichte.de/lit308
 Williams 1992, p. 582.
 Williams 1992, p. 583.
 "Spielregel f;r einen Wiedert;uferfilm" [Playing rule for an Anabaptist film] (in German). Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
 Toelle, Tom (1993). K;nig der letzten Tage [King of the Last Days] (TV-series) (in German). Germany.
 Blake, Robin (August 6, 1994). "BOOK REVIEW / Paperbacks: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Nicholas Salaman, Flamingo pounds 6.99". The Independent. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
 Rainbow, Jonathan (2003). Speak to Her Kindly: A Novel of the Anabaptists. Pleasant Word. ISBN 1-57921-590-4.
Works cited
Cohn, Norman (1970). The Pursuit of the Millennium. London: Temple Smith (& Paladin).
Williams, George Hunston (1992). The Radical Reformation. Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers. ISBN 0-940474-15-8.
Further reading
Communism in Central Europe in the Time of the Reformation, by Karl Kautsky
The Friends of God (The Siege in the US), by Peter Vansittart
The Tailor King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, by Anthony Arthur, ISBN 0312205155
Bockelson, by Fritz Reck-Malleczewen
Freaks of Fanaticism and Other Strange Events, by Sabine Baring-Gould, Gutenberg, 1891
Ham, Paul (2018). New Jerusalem: The short life and terrible death of Christendom's most defiant sect. Sydney: Random House Australia. ISBN 978-0143781332.
Narrative of the Anabaptist Madness: The Overthrow of M;nster, the Famous Metropolis of Westphalia (Studies in the History of Christian Traditions; 132), by Hermann von Kerssenbroch. Translated with introduction and notes by Christopher S. Mackay. Brill Academic Publishers, 2007; ISBN 978-9004157217.
Haude, Sigrun (2000). In the Shadow of "Savage Wolves": Anabaptist M;nster and the German Reformation During the 1530s (Studies in Central European Histories). Boston: Humanities Press. ISBN 0391041002.
External links
icon Christianity portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M;nster Rebellion.
Z;rich: Seedbed of Radical Change Archived 2018-03-20 at the Wayback Machine offers a more in depth look at attempts to rehabilitate the Anabaptist label after M;nster
"Der wedderdoeper eidt" / oath of the M;nster Anabaptists
M;nster Anabaptists in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
"German Zion: The Anabaptist Rebellion at Munster"[usurped], Historical article about the Revolt.
BBC Radio 4. In Our Time: The Siege of M;nster.
"Hardcore History 48" Dan Carlin's podcast which addresses the subject of The M;nster Rebellion.
Conversations – ABC Radio: The blood-soaked history of the M;nster Anabaptists
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Notable
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***

M;nster rebellion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Munster Rebellion" redirects here. For other rebellions, see Munster Rebellion (disambiguation).

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Anabaptist Dominion of M;nster
T;uferreich von M;nster
1534–1535
The city of M;nster under siege by Prince-Bishop Franz von Waldeck in 1534. The picture shows the first attack at Pentecost.
The city of M;nster under siege by prince bishop Franz von Waldeck in 1534. The picture shows the first attack at Pentecost.
Capital M;nster
Religion Anabaptism
Government Communal theocratic monarchy
King
• 1534-1535
John of Leiden
Historical era Protestant Reformation
• Established
February 1534
• Disestablished
June 24, 1535
Preceded by Succeeded by
Prince-Bishopric of M;nster
Prince-Bishopric of M;nster
 
Today part of M;nster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Captured citizens brought before an Anabaptist leader during the M;nster rebellion.
The M;nster rebellion (German: T;uferreich von M;nster, "Anabaptist dominion of M;nster") was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of M;nster – then under the large Prince-Bishopric of M;nster in the Holy Roman Empire.

The city was under Anabaptist rule from February 1534, when the city hall was seized and Bernhard Knipperdolling installed as mayor, until its fall in June 1535. It was Melchior Hoffman, who initiated adult baptism in Strasbourg in 1530, and his line of eschatological Anabaptism, that helped lay the foundations for the events of 1534–35 in M;nster.

Rebellion

Historical drawing of the execution of the leaders of the rebellion. In the background the cages are already in place at the old steeple of St. Lambert's Church.
After the German Peasants' War (1524–1525), a forceful attempt to establish theocracy was made at M;nster, in Westphalia (1532–1535). Here the Anabaptists had gained considerable influence, through the adhesion of Bernhard Rothmann, the Lutheran pastor, and several prominent citizens and leaders, including Jan Matthys (also spelled Matthijs, Mathijsz, Matthyssen, Mathyszoon), a baker from Haarlem, and Jan Bockelson (or Beukelszoon), a tailor from Leiden. Bernhard Rothmann was a tireless and vitriolic opponent of Catholicism and a writer of pamphlets that were published by his ally, the wealthy wool merchant Bernhard Knipperdolling. The pamphlets at first denounced Catholicism from a radical Lutheran perspective, but soon started to proclaim that the Bible called for the absolute equality of man in all matters, including the distribution of wealth. The pamphlets, which were distributed throughout northern Germany, called upon the poor of the region to join the citizens of M;nster to share the wealth of the town and benefit spiritually from being the elect of Heaven.

With so many Anabaptist adherents in the town, Rothmann and his allies had little difficulty obtaining possession of it at the elections for the magistracy and placing Bernhard Knipperdolling as the mayor, after deposing the mainly Lutheran magistrates, who, until then, had seen him as an ally in their own distrust of, and dislike for, Catholics. Matthys was a follower of Melchior Hoffman, and after Hoffman's imprisonment at Strasbourg Matthys obtained a considerable following in the Low Countries, including Bockelson, who became known as John of Leiden. John of Leiden and Gerrit Boekbinder[1] had visited M;nster, and returned with a report that Bernhard Rothmann was in M;nster teaching doctrines similar to their own. Matthys identified M;nster as the "New Jerusalem", and on January 5, 1534, a number of his disciples entered the city and introduced adult baptism. Rothmann apparently accepted "rebaptism" that day, and well over 1000 adults were soon baptised. Vigorous preparations were made not only to hold what had been gained but to spread their beliefs to other areas. The many Lutherans who left were outnumbered by the arriving Anabaptists. There was an orgy of iconoclasm in cathedrals and monasteries, and rebaptism became compulsory. The property of emigrants was shared out with the poor, and soon a proclamation was issued that all property was to be held in common.[2]

Siege
The city was besieged by Franz von Waldeck, its expelled bishop. In April 1534, on Easter Sunday, Matthys, who had prophesied God's judgment to come on the wicked on that day, led a procession from the city with twelve followers, as he believed himself the second Gideon. He and his followers were cut off and taken. Matthys was killed, his head placed on a pole for all in the city to see, and his genitals nailed to the city gate.

The 25-year-old John of Leiden was subsequently recognized as Matthys' religious and political successor, justifying his authority and actions by claiming visions from heaven. His authority grew until eventually he proclaimed himself the successor of David and adopted royal regalia, honors, and absolute power in the new "Zion". There were now in the town at least three times as many women of marriageable age as men, so he made polygamy compulsory,[3] and he himself took sixteen wives. (John is said to have beheaded Elisabeth Wandscherer in the marketplace for refusing to marry him, though this act might have been falsely attributed to him after his death.) Meanwhile, most of the residents of M;nster were starving as a result of the year-long siege.

After lengthy resistance, the city was taken by the besiegers on June 24, 1535, and John of Leiden and several other prominent Anabaptist leaders were captured and imprisoned. In January 1536, John of Leiden, Bernhard Knipperdolling and one more prominent follower, Bernhard Krechting, were tortured and executed in the marketplace of M;nster. Their bodies were exhibited in cages which hung from the steeple of St. Lambert's Church. The bones were removed later, but the cages hang there still.

According to a contemporary source, about 3,000 people died during the siege.[4]

Aftermath

Cages of the leaders of the M;nster Rebellion at the steeple of St. Lambert's Church.
The M;nster Rebellion was a turning point for the Anabaptist movement. It never again had the opportunity of assuming political importance, as both Catholic and Lutheran civil powers adopted stringent measures to counter this. It is difficult to trace the subsequent history of the group as a religious body, through changes in the names used and beliefs held.

The Batenburgers under Jan van Batenburg preserved the violent millennialist stream of Anabaptism seen at M;nster. They were polygamous and believed force was justified against anyone not in their sect. Their movement went underground after the suppression of the M;nster Rebellion, with members posing as Catholics or Lutherans as necessary. Some nonresistant Anabaptists found leaders in Menno Simons and the brothers Obbe and Dirk Philips, Dutch Anabaptist leaders who repudiated the distinctive doctrines of the M;nster Anabaptists. This group eventually became known as the Mennonites after Simons. They rejected any use of violence and preached a faith based on compassion and love of enemy.

In August 1536, the leaders of Anabaptist groups influenced by Melchior Hoffman met in Bocholt in an attempt to maintain unity. The meeting included followers of Batenburg, survivors of M;nster, David Joris and his sympathisers, and the nonresistant Anabaptists.[5] At this meeting, the major areas of dispute between the sects were polygamous marriage and the use of force against non-believers. Joris proposed compromise by declaring the time had not yet come to fight against the authorities, and that it would be unwise to kill any non-Anabaptists. The gathered Anabaptists agreed to the compromise of no more force,[6] but the meeting did not prevent the fragmentation of Anabaptism.

Works of fiction

The Unfortunate Traveller (1594), first English picaresque novel by Thomas Nashe, reflects the cruelty issued by the Emperor and the Duke of Saxony
A Tale of a Tub (1704) by Jonathan Swift. His first major work, brother "Jack" is based on "Jack of Leyden".
Le proph;te (1849), opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer that highly fictionalizes the rebellion
The Friends of God (1963) by Peter Vansittart
The Abyss (French: L';uvre au noir) (1968) by Marguerite Yourcenar
The Golden City (1974), immersive drama written and performed by Strathclyde Theatre Group in Glasgow Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[citation needed]
Rules For a Film about Anabaptists (1976),[7] film by Georg Brintrup
Die Wiedert;ufer (The Anabaptists) (1980), play by Friedrich D;rrenmatt, translated by Lauren Friesen as The Anabaptists (unpublished manuscripts in various libraries, including the Graduate Theological Union)
K;nig der letzten Tage (King of the Last Days) (1993),[8][better source needed] German historical mini-series that portrays the events of the M;nster Rebellion
In Nomine Dei (In God's Name) (1993), play by Jos; Saramago
Divara – Wasser und Blut (Divara, Water and Blood) (1993), German-language opera by Azio Corghi to a libretto by the composer after the play by Saramago
The Garden of Earthly Delights (1994) by Nicholas Salaman, named after the painting by Hieronymus Bosch[9]
Q (1999) by Luther Blissett
Speak to Her Kindly: A Novel of the Anabaptists (2003) by Jonathan Rainbow[10]
Perfection (2003) by Anita Mason
Orfeo (2014), novel by Richard Powers, whose main character composes an opera retelling the story
J.S. Bach — Die Apokalypse (premiere 2022), the opera that Bach never wrote. An opera using the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and libretto by Thomas H;st about the M;nster rebellion
References
 Kl;tzer, Ralf (2007). "Chapter 6: The Melchoirites and M;nster". In Roth, John; Stayer, James (eds.). A Companion to Anabaptism and Spiritualism, 1521–1700. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 222. ISBN 978-90-04-15402-5.
 Cohn 1970, pp. 262–264.
 Marshall, Peter (2017). Reformaatio [The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction] (in Finnish). Translated by Kilpel;inen, Tapani. Tampere: niin & n;in. p. 123. ISBN 978-952-7189-11-5.
 Stiff, Ursula. 1990. The Anabaptists in M;nster. Slide 07, p. 28f. http://www.westfaelische-geschichte.de/lit308
 Williams 1992, p. 582.
 Williams 1992, p. 583.
 "Spielregel f;r einen Wiedert;uferfilm" [Playing rule for an Anabaptist film] (in German). Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
 Toelle, Tom (1993). K;nig der letzten Tage [King of the Last Days] (TV-series) (in German). Germany.
 Blake, Robin (August 6, 1994). "BOOK REVIEW / Paperbacks: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Nicholas Salaman, Flamingo pounds 6.99". The Independent. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
 Rainbow, Jonathan (2003). Speak to Her Kindly: A Novel of the Anabaptists. Pleasant Word. ISBN 1-57921-590-4.
Works cited
Cohn, Norman (1970). The Pursuit of the Millennium. London: Temple Smith (& Paladin).
Williams, George Hunston (1992). The Radical Reformation. Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers. ISBN 0-940474-15-8.
Further reading
Communism in Central Europe in the Time of the Reformation, by Karl Kautsky
The Friends of God (The Siege in the US), by Peter Vansittart
The Tailor King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, by Anthony Arthur, ISBN 0312205155
Bockelson, by Fritz Reck-Malleczewen
Freaks of Fanaticism and Other Strange Events, by Sabine Baring-Gould, Gutenberg, 1891
Ham, Paul (2018). New Jerusalem: The short life and terrible death of Christendom's most defiant sect. Sydney: Random House Australia. ISBN 978-0143781332.
Narrative of the Anabaptist Madness: The Overthrow of M;nster, the Famous Metropolis of Westphalia (Studies in the History of Christian Traditions; 132), by Hermann von Kerssenbroch. Translated with introduction and notes by Christopher S. Mackay. Brill Academic Publishers, 2007; ISBN 978-9004157217.
Haude, Sigrun (2000). In the Shadow of "Savage Wolves": Anabaptist M;nster and the German Reformation During the 1530s (Studies in Central European Histories). Boston: Humanities Press. ISBN 0391041002.
External links
icon Christianity portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M;nster Rebellion.
Z;rich: Seedbed of Radical Change Archived 2018-03-20 at the Wayback Machine offers a more in depth look at attempts to rehabilitate the Anabaptist label after M;nster
"Der wedderdoeper eidt" / oath of the M;nster Anabaptists
M;nster Anabaptists in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
"German Zion: The Anabaptist Rebellion at Munster"[usurped], Historical article about the Revolt.
BBC Radio 4. In Our Time: The Siege of M;nster.
"Hardcore History 48" Dan Carlin's podcast which addresses the subject of The M;nster Rebellion.
Conversations – ABC Radio: The blood-soaked history of the M;nster Anabaptists
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Anabaptism
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