Other major German sources included Horst Karasek’s 1977 collection of original documents and secondary commentary, edited with an East German perspective, as the title indicates: Die Kommune der Wiedertäuƒer; Ottheim Rammstedt’s often-cited 1966 Sekte und Soziale Bewegung (Sects and Social Movements), Gerhard Brendler’s 1966 account with a Marxist perspective, Das Täuferreich zu Münster: 1534/35, and Rolf Klötzer’s recent explication (1992) of the events in Münster as driven more by social and political dynamics than apocalypticism, Die Täuferherrschaft von Münster (The Anabaptist Rule in Münster).
Also useful were the works by Robert Stupperich, who in 1980 collected and edited three volumes of writings for and against the Anabaptists by Lutherans, Catholics, and Anabaptists, Die Schriften der Münsterischen Taüƒer und ihrer Gegner. In 1958 Professor Stupperich examined the current state of research and appraised earlier scholarship in Das Münsterische Täufertum: Ergebnisse und Probleme der Neuren Forschung (Opportunities and Problems of Current Research).
I benefited from two popular histories intended for general audiences in Germany. The title in English of Hermann Homann’s 1977 short book Auƒstieg und Fall des Wiedertäuƒerreiches in Münster 1534–1535 (The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster) seems to echo both the popular American history of the Nazi period by William Shirer, The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich, and perhaps Bertold Brecht’s The Rise and Fall oƒ the City oƒ Mahagonny. The second work, longer and usefully detailed, is Der König der Letzten Tage, the German translation of a 1981 book by two French journalists, Pierre Barret and Jean-Noel Gurgand, Le Roi des Derniers Jours.
A number of novels and plays have taken on the challenge of the Anabaptists in Münster. In addition to the English novel, The Siege, there was Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen’s Bockelson in 1946, originally published as a novel in 1937, now subtitled “An Investigation of Mass Hysteria.” The limitation of Reck’s book is suggested by its title; he can barely stand to refer to the subject of his book except in contemptuous and dismissive terms because he hates so much, and his passion often overcomes him. Nevertheless, Reck’s work is said to have inspired the great Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s first play, It Is Written (Es steht geschrieben), in 1947, a strange sort of existentialist comedy. Mary Eleanor Bender, in considering the literary merits of these two works, dislikes the first and praises the second. She also dislikes Helmut Paulus’s Die Tönernen Füsse (Feet of Clay). It is, admittedly, very long, nearly six hundred closely printed pages, and written entirely in the present tense. Told from as many as thirty different points of view, it lacks references to dates or places, and is often very confusing. However, Paulus was a professional librarian and seems to have drawn reliably on the original sources, and he frequently writes movingly about the things he describes; I found his book very useful and relied on it in several key instances, as acknowledged in the Notes.
Finally, a book that was not used as reference but deserves comment is Ulrike Halbe-Bauer’s 1995 novel, Propheten im Dunkel (Prophets in the Dark). Professor Kirchhoff provides a laudatory comment on the cover of this short novel for its representation of the Anabaptists in a more favorable way than usual—the twelve-year-old girl who narrates the story presents Knipperdolling as gruff but kindly and stresses the communal joy felt by the Company of Christ. Jan van Leyden barely appears in the story.
Interest in Münster continues in Germany. In 1985 a German living in England, Alexander Goehr, wrote an opera called Behold the Sun; the idea came to him after he read Norman Cohn’s book, In Pursuit of the Millennium, he said in an interview, and he was inspired in part by Jonestown and the Khomeini revolution in Iran. (There is also an earlier opera in French by Giacomo Meyerbeer, Le Prophète, 1849.) In 1993 there was a four-hour commercial German television production called Der König der Letzten Tage (The King of the Final Days) it was very loosely—“nominally” may be the better word—based on the Barret-Gurgand history described above. Knipperdolling in this version is closer to the kindly figure in Halbe-Bauer’s story, guilty of nothing more than bad judgment, and Jan’s atrocities are diminished in intensity and number, and by the Christ like manner of his death. The sets, costumes, and music are impressive.
BIBLIOGRAPY
I. ABOUT THE ANABAPTIST KINGDOM IN MÜNSTER
Works Cited in the Text
Baring-Gould, S. Freaks oƒ Fanaticism and Other Strange Events. London, 1891.
Barret, Pierre, and Jean-Noel Gurgand, Der König der Letzten Tage (The King of the Last Days). Hamburg, 1982; originally published as Le Roi des Derniers Jours. Paris, 1981.
Brendler, Gerhard. Das Täuƒerreich zu Münster 1534–35 (The Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster). Berlin, 1966.
Brecht, Martin. “Songs of the Anabaptists in Münster and Their Hymnbook.” MQR October 1985. (Vol 59), 362–66.
Clasen, Claus Peter. Anabaptism: A Social History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972.
Cohn, Norman. The Pursuit of the Millennium. Fairlawn, New Jersey: Essential Books, 1957.
Cornelius, C. A., ed Berichte der Augenzeugen über das Münsterische Wiedertauferreich. Die Gesichtsquellen des Bisthums Münster. (Eyewitness Reports of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster. Historical Sources of the Bishopric of Münster). Münster, 1923
Detlefs, Gerd. “Das Wiedertäuferreich in Münster 1534/35” (“The Kingdom of the Anabaptists in Münster”). In Die Wiedertäufer in Münster. Stadtmuseum Münster. Katalog der Eröƒƒnungsausstellung vom 1. Okt. 1982 bis 27. Feb. 1983, (Opening Show Catalog, October 1, 1982 to February 27, 1983). Münster: Aschendorff, 1983.
Detmer, Henry. Bilder aus den Religiosen und Socialen Unruhen in Münster während des 16. Jahrhunderts (Images of Religious and Social Unrest in Münster During the Sixteenth Century). Münster: Westƒalen, 1903.
Dorpius, Henry. Die Wiedertäufer in Münster (The Anabaptists in Münster). Magdeburg, 1847.
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich. Es steht geschrieben (It Is Written). Zurich: Arche, 1963. First published 1947.
Galen, Hans. ed. Die Wiedertäufer in Münster. Stadtmuseum Münster. Katalog der Eröƒƒnungsausstellung vom 1. Okt. 1982 bis 27. Feb. 1983 (Opening Show Catalog, October 1, 1982 to February 27, 1983). Münster: Aschendorff, 1983.
Grieser, Dale. “Seducers of the Simple Folk.” Harvard University, Theology Ph.D. Dissertation, 1996.
Homann, Hermann. Aufstieg und Fall des Wiedertäuferreiches in Münster 1534–35 (The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster, 1534–35). Münster: F. Coppenrath, 1977.
Karasek, Horst. Die Kommune der Wiedertäuƒer (The Commune of the Anabaptists). Berlin, 1977.
Kerssenbroch, Hermann von. Anabaptistici furoris: monasterium inclitam westphaliae metropolim evertentis historico narratio; im Auftrage des Vereins ƒür Vaterländische Geschichte und Altertumskunde herausgeben von H. Detmer (Historical Narrative of the Anabaptist Uproar in the Westphalian City of Münster; commissioned by the Association of National History and Archaeology, ed. H. Detmer), 2 vols. Münster: Theissing, 1899–1900.
Kirchhoff, Karl-Heinz. Die Belagerung und Eroberung, Munsters 1534/35 (The Siege and Conquest of Münster 1534/35). Westfalisches Zeitschrift 112. 1962.
——Die “Wiedertäuƒer-Käƒige” in Münster. (The “Anabaptist Cages” in Münster). Münster: Aschendorff, 1996.
——Personal interview, June 22, 1998.
Klötzer, Rolf. Die Täuƒerherrshaƒt von Münster: Stadtreƒormation und Welterneurung. (Anabaptist Rule in Münster: City Reform and World Renewal). Münster: Aschendorff, 1992.
——Personal interview, June 23, 1998.
Kobelt-Groch, Marion. Aufsässige Töchter Gottes: Frauen im Bauernkrieg und in der Täuƒerbewegung. (Rebellious Daughters of God: Women During the Peasants’ War and the Anabaptist Movement). Frankfurt: Campus, 1993.
Krahn, Cornelius. Dutch Anabaptism: Origin, Spread, Life and Thought (1450–1600). The Hague: Martinus Nijhott, 1968.
Löffler, Clemens. Die Wiedertäufer zu Münste
r 1534/35. Berichte, Aussagen, und Aktenstucke von Augenzeugen und Zeitgenossen. (Reports, Testimony, and Documents from Eyewitnesses and Contemporaries). Jena, 1923.
Paulus, Helmut. Die Tonernen Füsse. (Feet of Clay). Bonn: Vink, 1953.
Rammstedt, Otthein. Sekte und Soziale Bewegung. Soziologische Analyse der Täuƒer in Münster, 1534/35: (Sects and Social Movements: A Sociological Analysis of the Anabaptists in Münster). Cologne, 1966.
Reck-Malleczewen, Friedrich Percyval. Bockelson: Geschichte eines Massenwahns. (The Story of a Mass Hysteria). Stuttgart: Henry Goverts, 1968 (1946); first published 1937 as a novel, Bockelson.
Stayer, James M. Anabaptists and the Sword. Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press, 1972.
Stupperich, Robert. Das Munsterische Täufertrum Ergebnisse und Probleme der Neuren Forschung. (The Anabaptists in Münster: Opportunities and Problems of Current Research). Münster: Aschendorff. 1958.
——. Die Schriften der Münsterischen Täufer und ihrer Gegner (Writings of the Anabaptists in Münster and Their Opponents), 3 vols. Münster: Aschendorff, 1980.
VanSittart, Peter. The Siege. New York: Walker, 1962.
Williams, George Huntston. The Radical Reformation. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962.
Works Consulted
Halbe-Bauer, Ulrike. Propheten im Dunkel. (Prophets in the Dark). Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot, 1995.
Horsch, John. Society and Religion in Münster. New Haven, 1984 (mostly after 1535).
——“The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists of Münster.” MQR, IX, April and July 1935, 92–103, 129–43.
——“Menno Simons’ Attitude Toward the Anabaptists of Münster.” MQR, X, January 1936, 55–72.
Hsia, K. Po-Chia, and R. Po-Chia Hsia, eds. The German People and the Reformation. Ithaca, London: Cornell University Press, 1988. Contains essay by R. Po-Chia Hsia, “Münster and the Anabaptists,” 51–69.
Kirchhoff, Karl-Heinz. “Die Besetzung Warendorfs” (“The Occupation of Warendorf”), Westfalen 40, (1962), 117–22.
——Die Täufer im Münster 1534–35. Münster: Aschendorff, 1973.
——“Was There a Peaceful Anabaptist Congregation in Münster in 1535?” MQR, 44, Oct. 70, 359–70.
Kohl, Wilhelm. “Henry Roll: Beitrage zu seiner Biographie. Festschrift für Alois Schroer. “Henry Roll: A Contribution Towards His Biography.” Festschrift for Alois Schroer. Münster 1972, 185–94.
Stayer, James. “The Münsterite Rationalization of Bernhard Rothmann.” Journal of History of Ideas, XXVII, 1967.
——“Was Dr. Kuehler’s Conception of Early Dutch Anabaptism Historically Sound? The Historical Discussion of Münster 450 Years Later,” MQR, 60 #3, July 1986, 261–68.
Stupperich, Robert. “Landgraf Philip von Hessen und das Münsterische Täufertum.” Festgaber für W. F. Dankbaar. (“Count Philip of Hesse and the Anabaptist Rule in Münster.” A Collection in Honor of W. F. Dankbaar.) Amsterdam, 1977, 98–115.
——“Dr. Johann von der Wyck. Ein Munsterische Staatsmann der Reformationszeit.” Wesifalische Zeitschrift 123, 1–50. (“Dr. John von der Wyck: A Statesman of Münster During the Reformation.” Westphalian Magazine 123, 1–50.)
Warnke, Martin. “Durchbrochene Geschichte: Die Bilderstürrne der Wiedertäufer in Münster 1534–35.” Bilderstürm: Zerstörung der Kunstwerk. (Destroyed History: The Attack on Art by the Anabaptists in Münster 1534–35, in Attacks on Art: Destruction of Artworks.) Munich, 1973, 65–98.
II. BACKGROUND STUDIES
Works Cited
Anthony, Dick, and Thomas Robbins. “Religious Totalism, Exemplary Dualism, and the Waco Tragedy,” in Thomas Robbins and Susan J. Palmer, eds., Millennium, Messiahs, and Mnyhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements. New York and London: Routledge, 1997.
Bakhtin, Mikhael. Rabelais and His World. Cambridge, MA: 1968.
Bendix, Reinhard. Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait. Anchor/Doublday, 1960–1962.
Jones, Ernest. On the Nightmare. New York: Liveright, 1951.
“Judith and Holofernes”: The Anchor Biblejudith: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Carey A. Moore. New York: Doubleday, 1985.
Robbins, Thomas, and Susan J. Palmer, eds. Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements. New York and London: Routledge, 1997.
Scribner, R. W. Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany. London: Hambledon Press, 1978.
III. OTHER WORKS CONSULTED
Bainton, Roland. Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace: A Historical Survey and Critical Re-evaluation. Nashville: Abingdon, 1960.
Bender, Mary Eleanor. “The Sixteenth-Century Anabaptists as a Theme in Twentieth-Century German Literature.” Indiana University, German Ph.D. Dissertation, 1959.
Burke, Peter. Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1800. New York: Harper, 1978.
Contamine, Philippe. War in the Middle Ages. Translated by Michael Jones. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1993.
Grosso, Michael. The Millennium Myth: Love and Death at the End of Time. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 1994.
Oberman, Heiko A. Luther: Man Between God and the Devil. New York: Doubleday Image, 1992. Berlin: Severin und Seidler, 1982. Translated by E. Walliser-Schwarzbart.
Oman, Charles. A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century. London: Methuen, 1937.
Ozment, Steven E. Mysticism and Dissent. Religious Ideology and Social Protest in the Sixteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.
Prinz, Joseph. “Bernd Knipperdollinck und seine Sippe.” (“Bernard Knipperdolling and His Brothers.”) Westfalen 40, 1962, 96–116.
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages of your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Aa river
adultery
Albert, Tall
Amsterdam
Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster
contemporary views of
daily life in
defenders of, not professional soldiers
foreigners in, demands of
forerunner of modern totalitarian regimes
historical meaning of
its persistent hold on the imagination
Marxist view of
theories on the causes of (madness, Satan, etc.)
weapons and ammunition of
Anabaptists
beliefs and practices
held to be irrational, living in a topsy-turvy world
leadership of
morale of
numbers of, in Europe
origins of
persecution of, by contemporary rulers
present-day descendants of
as prototypes of later revolutionaries
support for
Anabaptists, Dutch
(1534) called to Münster
(1534) rounded up and executed
(1534) trek to Münster, disrupted
Anabaptists of Münster
secret pact of (1532)
survivors of, after the fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom
apocalyptic final battle, belief in imminence of
Arnheim, Henry von
artillery
Assola (maid)
authority
Anabaptists’ resistance to
resistance to, incited by the Protestant Reformation
Bakhtin, Michael
baptism
doctrine of
infant
mass, public
Baring-Gould, S., Freaks of Fanaticism and Other Strange Events
Barret, Pierre
Bast, Wilhelm
Bender, Mary Eleanor
Bentheim, Prince of
Berg, Jurgen tom, daughter of
Bevergen
Bible
Luther’s translation
Bill, Turban
&nbs
p; Bispinck, Herman
Bockelson, Jan. See Leyden, Jan van
book-burnings
booty
Boventorp, Johann
brainwashing
Branch Davidians, siege at Waco, Texas
Brand, Clara
Brand, Martha
Brecht, Bertold
Buren, Melchior von
house of
Burgundy
Busch, Sander
Bussenmeister, Tile
cages, legend that Jan van Leyden and others were exhibited live and traveled
cages, three iron, for displaying the bodies of Jan of Leyden, B. Knipperdolling, and B. Krechting
cannibalism
Capenberg
carnival time
Catholic Church
corruption of, by time of Luther
economic power and activities of
rituals and symbols of, mocked and desecrated by Protestants
universality of, in early modern Europe
Catholics of Münster
(Feb. 1534) depart from Münster
(Feb. 1534) expelled from Münster
forbidden to practice their beliefs
in modern Münster
protection of
urged to be killed by Matthias
cats and dogs, killed for food
cattle dealers, Waldeck’s confiscation of (1532)
Center for Millennial Studies
Cervantes, Miguel de
charismatic rule
Charles V, Emperor
(1529) decree against Anabaptists
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