Martyrs Mirror: Selections

Summary

The Martyrs Mirror, first published in Dutch in 1660 as The Bloody Theatre, or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians, is a massive collection of accounts of Christians who died for their faith, compiled by the Mennonite preacher Thieleman J. van Braght. The first part traces those van Braght regarded as faithful witnesses who held to believers' baptism from the time of Christ through the Middle Ages; the second and larger part records the Anabaptists executed in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries by both Catholic and Protestant authorities. Next to the Bible, it has long been one of the most important books in Mennonite and Amish homes. The Anabaptists, so called by opponents because they baptized adults who had been baptized as infants, emerged in Zurich in 1525. They taught that the church should consist of committed believers, that Christians should not swear oaths or bear the sword, and that church and state should be separate. Both Catholic and Protestant governments regarded them as dangerous, and thousands were executed. This library presents six complete accounts from the 1886 English translation. Felix Mantz, one of the first Zurich Anabaptists, was drowned in the Limmat by the Protestant city council; van Braght gives the year as 1526, though historians date his death to January 1527. George Wagner was burned in Munich in 1527. Michael Sattler, a former Benedictine prior and author of the Schleitheim Confession, was tried at Rottenburg and executed in 1527 after charges that included refusing oaths and teaching non-resistance. George Blaurock was burned in the Tyrol in 1529. Dirk Willems, fleeing arrest across the ice in Holland in 1569, turned back to rescue his pursuer who had fallen through, and was then recaptured and burned. Maeyken Wens was burned in Antwerp in 1573 with her tongue screwed to prevent her from speaking; the selection includes her letters to her son. The accounts are devotional as well as historical, and van Braght's commentary is sharp toward the 'papists' and other persecutors. Historians value the documents and letters while noting the compiler's purposes. The Dirk Willems story, illustrated in Jan Luyken's 1685 engraving, became a symbol of love for enemies.

Top Lessons

• Love of enemies

  Dirk Willems risked his freedom to save the man pursuing him.

• Persecution by fellow Christians

  The Anabaptists were executed by Catholics and Protestants alike.

• Faithfulness in families

  Maeyken Wens's letters show a mother's concern for her son even as she faced death.

• For the Christian reader

  Anabaptists were put to death by both Catholic and Protestant authorities in the sixteenth century, and the Martyrs Mirror is still kept in many Amish and Mennonite homes. The book's best-known story, of Dirk Willems, who turned back to rescue his pursuer from icy water and was then recaptured and executed, is a striking picture of love for enemies (Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:20).

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