The Anabaptists in Munster, 1534-1535

The 'Anabaptists' or 'wederdopers' were a religious movement which occurred throughout the whole of Europe during the first phase of the Reformation. They received their name because of their ritual of christening of adults, by which they believed to enter the community of Gods chosen people. In the catholic lands of the Habsburgs the Anabaptists were considered a heresy, and were therefore suppressed. In the Northern Netherlands they had a short but strong influence during the years 1533 - 1535, mainly because they managed to overcome the well protected city of Munster in Westphalia, from where they distributed their message of the end of times. In this article the author shows how a situation which started out as hopeless but nonviolent grew into a practice of structural violence. Many factors contributed to a building up of the pressure within the New Jerusalem. He argues that one of the reasons why the Anabaptists in Munster held out for almost one and a half year, was because of the strong leadership of their prophet, Jan van Leiden. Another important reason was the ruthlessness of the bishop of Munster, who had laid siege. If he had acted more humanely and more intelligently, he would have drawn many initial followers from the city. By doing so he would have had less difficulty in conquering Munster back. And he would have prevented the slaughter of many indigenous inhabitants of Munster, against whom most of the aggression of Jan van Leiden was directed. Jan van Leiden was as cruel a leader as he was clever. For this he deserves the black reputation he received from historians. But the author states that this dubious honour should be shared by Franz von Waldeck, bishop of Munster.