Gerrit Hazenpoet

Gerrit Hazenpoet , also written Hasepoot (* unknown; † 1557 in Nijmegen ), was a Gelderland tailor. He gained fame as a supporter and martyr of the Anabaptist movement .

Life

There is only sparse information about Hazenpoet's origins and life. All that is documented is that he was married, had children and worked as a tailor in Nijmegen in Gelderland . In contrast, his martyrdom as a member of the persecuted Anabaptist movement is well documented.

martyrdom

Gerrit Hazenpoet says goodbye to his wife and child before his execution

Gerrit Hazenpoet initially fled Nijmegen because of the official persecution of the Anabaptists, but then secretly returned to his hometown to see his wife and children. In connection with this visit, he was recognized by a city police officer and imprisoned together with other Anabaptists. The prisoners were subjected to embarrassing interrogations for more than 20 days and ultimately sentenced to death at the stake for their beliefs . The execution was carried out as a public act of state . In this context, the delinquents had to sit down as "guests of honor" between the mayor of Nijmegen and the city's most distinguished cleric at a banquet before the execution. According to the report, Hazenpoet refused to give him the cup of wine on the grounds that he would "drink the new wine in the father's kingdom". To say goodbye, Gerrit Hazenpoet's wife came to the town hall with one of their children and suffered a mental breakdown due to the pain of parting. According to tradition, Hazenpoet sang a song of comfort for his fellow believers while still at the stake and thus went to death singing.

Execution costs

The costs of capture, detention and execution are meticulously documented. Thus, two were for the arrest Hazenpoets Gulden and 14 Stüber to the participating officials paid. For the torture before the execution of the received executioner twelve Stüber. This sum did not include the rope for the embarrassing interrogation (three stüber) and the obligatory wine for the executioner (three stüber). Hazenpoet's 24-day catering in prison cost a total of three guilders. The execution stake, the erection of the stake and the bundles of brushwood necessary to start the fire, as well as hay and straw for the same purpose, cost a total of five guilders, four stüber. The theologian Dr. Borchardt von den Berch received two guilders, eight stüber for his efforts to persuade Hazenpoet to withdraw, the prior of the Benedictine abbey received three guilders, twelve stüber for equal efforts. For the introduction to the court and to the place of execution by the city chairman, a total of eighteen rooms were calculated. The executioner received the same amount for carrying out the execution. Fourteen guilders, sixteen stüber, were paid to the councilors who presided over the execution. The sum of the individual items resulted in a total amount for Hazenpoet's execution of 37 guilders.

In addition to this special invoice for Gerrit Hazenpoet, other costs were incurred in connection with the imprisonment and execution of the entire Anabaptist group. The city of Arnhem received twelve liters of wine (two guilders, eight Stüber) for advice on how to deal with Anabaptists, and the mayor of Ubbergen even received twenty liters of wine (four guilders) for similar services. The officials charged with persecuting Anabaptists were rewarded with 95 liters of wine (four guilders, 15 stüber). For the visiting service of the Brotherhood Eight Masters by Sunter Claas , who, according to today's understanding, performed legal duties, another sixteen liters of wine (three guilders, four Stüber) were required. The sum of these costs is fourteen guilders, seven stüber.

literature

• Thieleman J. van Braght: The bloody scene or Martyrs Mirror of Tauffs-minded people or defenseless Christians ... . Volume II. H. Sweerts, J. ten Hoorn, J. Bouman en D. van den Dalen, Amsterdam 1685.
• John S. Oyer, Robert S. Kreider: Martyrs fates. Accounts of 16th century Anabaptists who gave their lives for their faith . Logos-Verlag, Lage 2002, ISBN 3-933828-84-8 .
• Richard van Dülmen : Theater of Terror. Judicial Practice and Punishment Rituals in the Early Modern Era . Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30548-2 .

Web links

• Martyrs Mirror Online ; viewed March 5, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thieleman J. van Braght: The bloody scene or martyrs mirror of the Tauffs-minded or defenseless Christians ... , Volume II, Amsterdam 1685, p. 173.
2. ^ Compare Richard van Dülmen: Theater des Schreckens. Judicial practice and punishment rituals in the early modern period , Munich 1985, pp. 85ff.
3. ^ ^{A b} John S. Oyer / Robert S. Kreider: Märtyrer-Schicksale. Reports of Anabaptists of the 16th century who gave their lives for their faith , Lage 2002, ISBN 3-933828-84-8 , pp. 20f.
4. ↑ The engraver Jan Luyken captured this scene on one of his 104 copper plates. These copper plates were made in 1685 to illustrate the martyr's mirror and were all considered lost after 1930. In 1975 30 copper plates were found again. See the documentation in John S. Oyer / Robert S. Kreider: Märtyrer-Schicksale. Reports on Anabaptists of the 16th century who gave their lives for their faith , Lage 2002, ISBN 3-933828-84-8 , pp. 86ff.
5. ↑ Gerrit Hazenpoet: Oorlof aen Broders en Sisters , in: Thieleman J. van Braght: The bloody scene or martyr mirror of the Tauffs-minded or defenseless Christians ... , Volume II, Amsterdam 1685, p. 187.
6. ↑ John S. Oyer / Robert S. Kreider: Martyrs fates. Reports of 16th-century Anabaptists who gave their lives for their faith , Lage 2002, ISBN 3-933828-84-8 , p. 22.
7. ↑ These lists are Brabant guilders. A guilder of this currency consisted of 20 stübern. - For a better understanding of the amounts listed: A liter of wine cost about 4 Stüber. Compare with John S. Oyer / Robert S. Kreider: Märtyrer-Schicksale. Reports of 16th-century Anabaptists who gave their lives for their faith , Lage 2002, ISBN 3-933828-84-8 , table p. 21.