21 januari 2025

On a Cold Winter Night, 500 Years Ago…

by Nina Schroeder-van ’t Schip & Gwendolyn Verbraak

Baptisms at a Bible Study in 1525

500 years ago, a group of Christians gathered secretly at night on January 21 for a Bible study in Zürich – most likely in the home of Anna Mantz. The ex-Catholic priest George Blaurock (ca. 1492-1529) asked  Conrad Grebel (ca. 1498-1526) to baptize him. Blaurock then in turn baptized Grebel, Felix Mantz (ca. 1498-1527), and the others there. Based on their study of the Bible, these former followers of Ulrich Zwingli ultimately felt that his reforms in collaboration with Swiss authorities did not go far enough – particularly with regard to matters like adult baptism and the separation of church and state. Different groups who practiced adult baptism emerged in Swiss and South-German networks and in Moravia in the 1520s. As of the 1530s, Anabaptist groups began to spread in the Low Countries, where there was also already an active climate of anti-clericalism and reforming sentiment. The movement grew even though those caught participating faced the death penalty. Among the earliest martyrs was Felix Mantz who was drowned in the Limmat River in 1527. The term Anabaptist (Wiedertäufer in German or wederdoper in Dutch), meaning “rebaptizer,” was first bestowed upon members of these groups by their enemies. However, in most contexts, this group name has since lost its negative connotations. The name is now used to connote a diverse grouping of global faith traditions including the Doopsgezinden here in the Netherlands and Mennonites all over the world, as well as the Amish, Hutterites, and Brethren in Christ.

Figure 1. Zaal Mennonitica at Allard Pierson. Shown here are the shelves of secondary sources from the Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek collection.

Anabaptist History and Material Heritage at the Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek

Allard Pierson houses the Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek (figure 1), a substantial collection of resources on Anabaptist history, which is on loan from the local congregation, Doopsgezind Amsterdam. The library holdings include rare early books, an extensive research library, and unique heritage items such as the only original handwritten letter by Menno Simons (figure 2) and a pear passed down within the family of Anabaptist martyr Mayke Boosers, who was burned at the stake in 1564. With approximately 16,500 primary and secondary sources and 100 meters of archives, the collection provides an overview of the 500-year history of Anabaptism. While the focus is on Dutch Mennonite history, rare works from other countries are also represented, particularly from the early period of the Anabaptist movement. Fascinating texts highlight these early years of reform and theological development, the practicalities of publishing in perilous times, and the different ways that various Anabaptists have understood and recounted their histories over the centuries.

Figure 2. A comforting letter that Menno Simons wrote to a widow, ca. 1549. Did you know that Menno, from whom the Mennonite movement got its name, only actually got involved with the Anabaptists in the later 1530s? He was one of several important early leaders of the Dutch branches of the movement. 

Risky Business: The First Dutch Translation of the Schleitheim Articles

In the first century of the movement, the Anabaptists were severely persecuted. For this reason, their texts were often published anonymously, without the names of the printers or the authors. The booklets were also produced in very small and unremarkable formats, so they could be easily hidden away or tucked into clothing in times of danger. The Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek has many of these volumes of hymns, tracts, and martyr stories, which are now extremely rare – or sometimes even the only copies left in the world. One such work published without printer’s details is the Broederlicke Vereeninge (1560), which is the earliest known Dutch translation of the so-called Schleitheim Articles from 1527 (figure 3). During a meeting in Schleitheim (Switzerland), seven important principles were formulated by the Anabaptists there. These focused on their understanding of adult baptism, communion, the ban, separation from worldliness, the roles and characteristics of pastors, nonviolence, and rejection of oath swearing. This constituted the first of many joint and individual confessions of faith that would be compiled by different Anabaptist groups in subsequent years. The articles were compiled and introduced by the organizer of the meeting, Michael Sattler. This former Roman Catholic monk had joined the Anabaptist movement in Zürich around 1525 and was executed for his faith in 1527.

Figure 3. Title page from the earliest known Dutch translation of the Schleitheim Articles, Broederlicke vereeninge, 1560. Published without place of publication or the name of a printer.

Different Roots, Intertwining Stories   

Like the tiny Sattler volume, the earliest published Dutch Mennonite martyrologies-editions of Het Offer des Heeren- which also date to the second half of the sixteenth century were hand-sized volumes. They featured  collected songs and stories of martyrs who heralded from present-day Netherlands and Belgium. By the late sixteenth century, the newly forming Dutch Republic afforded toleration for religious minorities that was unmatched in most other parts of Europe at that time, and this also -for the most part- extended to religious publishing. Over the next decades, many more martyrology editions were compiled by various Doopsgezind or Mennonite leaders including Hans de Ries, Pieter Jansz. Twisck, and finally Tieleman Jansz. van Braght with his Martelaerspiegel (the Martyrs Mirror) of 1660. The books got larger and larger; with each edition ever more stories were added – including stories of Anabaptist martyrdom from other regions, which were documented in sources like the Ausbund and the Hutterite Chronicles. The stories of Swiss Brethren like Felix Mantz, George Blaurock and Michael Sattler, among others, also find their place in the Dutch Mennonite martyr books (figure 4). 

Figure 4.  A second illustrated edition of Van Braght’s Martyrs Mirror was published in 1685 with the addition of 104 etchings by Jan Luyken. The photo at the beginning of this blog also comes from this volume (the story on that page incorrectly dates Mantz’s death to 1526). For size comparison, this photo includes the earliest edition of Het Offer des Heeren alongside van Braght’s large tome.

In contrast to the Dutch context, Swiss persecution of Anabaptists persisted well into the seventeenth century. Even once executions had stopped, imprisonment and restrictive policies limited Anabaptists’ livelihoods. Dutch Mennonites played an active role in providing funds and liaising with the Dutch and Swiss Governments to coordinate the safe extraction of Swiss Anabaptists to the Dutch Republic. A large immigration took place in 1711 for instance. Many of these newcomers went on to North America at that time, while some families stayed and settled in the Dutch Republic, becoming a part of the Mennonite story here.  

At present, Anabaptist World Fellowship Week is set each year on the Sunday closest to January 21 (the anniversary of the baptisms in Zürich). This year also marks the 500th anniversary of these baptisms. Many Anabaptist congregations and individuals here and around the world are therefore finding ways to reflect on this anniversary together. The Mennonite World Conference, which has been the global organizing body of participating Anabaptist conferences since its formation during the 400th anniversary year in 1925, is collaborating with officials in Zürich to plan a major international event on May 29, during Ascension Day. People from around the world will be travelling to town for this occasion. Historical anniversary dates, like this one, or Amsterdam’s 750th which is also this year, tend to prompt identity questions and fresh historical research. At their best, these moments are chances not only to celebrate, but also to ask critical questions, and welcome in new perspectives on old stories.

Are you interested in visiting the collection? Find out more about options by sending an email to Gwendolyn Verbraak.

About the Authors:

Nina Schroeder-van ’t Schip

Dr. Nina Schroeder van ’t Schip is an art historian based in the Netherlands. She researches and publishes on Mennonite involvement and representation in the Dutch art world, and she is also a contributing author for the Other Map of Amsterdam. Nina is presently employed by Doopsgezind Amsterdam where she is developing spaces for international community engagement and putting together a programme of history activities and resources in connection with the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism. Nina also contributes to heritage sector educational projects, creates bespoke history tours, and organizes arts programming via her business, Amsterdam Arts & Heritage.

Gwendolyn Verbraak

Gwendolyn Verbraak is a junior curator of church history and esotericism at the Allard Pierson. She previously worked as a bibliographer for the Biblia Sacra project and as a heritage cataloguer, later becoming a junior curator of early printed books at the Allard Pierson. She has published, among other topics, on the anonymous printer of the 1536 New Testaments in the translation of William Tyndale and on the sixteenth-century mystic Mathijs Wijer.

Gwendolyn Verbraak

Gwendolyn Verbraak is junior-conservator kerkgeschiedenis en esoterie bij het Allard Pierson. Eerder werkte ze als bibliograaf voor het project Biblia Sacra en als erfgoedcatalograaf en later als junior-conservator oude drukken bij het Allard Pierson. Ze publiceerde o.a. over de anonieme drukker van de Nieuwe Testamenten uit 1536 in de vertaling van William Tyndale en over de zestiende-eeuwse mysticus Mathijs Wijer. Alle artikelen van Gwendolyn Verbraak