Susanna Daucher

Susanna Daucher , also Doucher or Ducher (* around 1495 in Augsburg ; † in the 16th century), was the wife of the Augsburg sculptor Hans Daucher and a supporter of the Anabaptist movement .

Life

Susanna Daucher was born as Susanna Spitzmacher in Augsburg at the end of the 15th century. Further information about their origin and youth cannot be given due to the sources. All that is known is that she had at least one sister who had the first name Maxentia and whose later husband came from a Wisinger family. From 1527 onwards, both her sister and her mother belonged to the Augsburg Anabaptist community. Around 1515 she married the Stuttgart-born sculptor and medalist Hans Adolf Daucher , who ran a sculptor's workshop with his father Adolf Daucher († between 1523 and 1525). Both are now part of the so-called Ulm School and were already well-known representatives of their artistic craft during their lifetime. The marriage with Hans Daucher had at least two children who were three and six years old in the spring of 1528. A third child was on the way at the time. It is unknown whether Susanna gave birth to it alive. However, Hans Daucher was later introduced as the "father of three children".

The fact that Susanna Daucher is mentioned in the city history of Augsburg is related to her membership in the Augsburg Anabaptist Congregation, whose beginnings go back to 1525 and whose origins and supraregional significance are closely linked to the Anabaptist personalities Ludwig Hätzer , Balthasar Hubmaier , Hans Denck and Hans Hut are. How Susanna Daucher came into contact with the Anabaptist congregation is not known. However, it is documented that in November 1527 she was baptized together with her mother and with her sister Maxentia Wisinger against the will of her husband . The place of baptism was the house of the lace maker Huber. A certain Thomas or Thoman is mentioned as an Baptist. Probably it was the from Memmingen originating Thomas Waldhausen , who a few months earlier at the Martyrs' Synod had participated as a member of Hans Hut "faction". Susanna Daucher organized Bible reading groups for women and interpreted biblical texts. She took part in Anabaptist meetings outside of Augsburg, for example in Radegundis near Wellenburg Castle , which is now in the Bergheim district of Augsburg . She was also active in the diaconal field and supported poor women, especially widows.

In the days before Easter 1528, several Anabaptist meetings took place in Augsburg, which were held in private houses. So they met on the Saturday before Palm Sunday for a sacrament celebration in the basement of the house of the Baptist Barbara Schleifer and then for a meeting to which Georg Nespitzer had invited and which was about the clarification of theological doctrinal questions. At this point in time, Nespitzer was still completely under the influence of Hutsche theology, which was based on Thomas Münzer and was characterized by a "burning near expectation" of the second coming of Christ . Hut (and probably also Nespitzer) reckoned that the judgment of God against all wicked would begin with Pentecost in 1528. Another meeting took place on the Saturday before Easter (April 11, 1528) - this time in the house of the Augsburg citizen Gall Fischer , who was on a missionary trip at the time. Georg Nespitzer and Claus Schleifer chaired the worship service, at which some of the faithful were baptized. They agreed to meet for the Easter service on the following Sunday in the house at Schleifergasse 10 , the Daucher family's apartment. At that time, Hans Daucher was traveling in Austria for work.

House of the Daucher family at Hinteren Lech 2, today a monument in the Lechviertel district, eastern Ulrichsviertel

Memorial plaque on the house of the Daucher family

Those responsible in the city of Augsburg had already for a long time strictly forbidden the reception and hospitality of Anabaptists by resolution of the council. Susanna Daucher therefore covered the windows of her house with cloths as a precaution when preparing the service. The 100 or so people who had gathered in the Daucher-Haus for the service could not remain hidden in the confines of Augsburg's Lech district . The meeting was denounced to the city authorities. Nespitzer and his fellow elder Hans Leupold must have foreseen the impending danger. Both warned the congregation, but most of the worshipers stayed. The city council ordered armed police and had the house surrounded. Access took place after about an hour. 88 people were arrested, put in irons and taken to the town hall. Among them were 39 non-resident Anabaptists who were expelled from the city with the whip on the following day, some even after being marked with "the fire on their cheeks". The citizens of Augsburg were subjected to embarrassing interrogations . Susanna Daucher defended herself, among other things, with the argument that reading the Bible and praying together in a home environment could not be reprehensible. At the end of the judicial investigations, there was the so-called “disreputation” with which the pregnant Susanna Daucher was expelled from the city and which is now one of the exhibits at Lutherstiege Augsburg :

" Susanna Daucher, called Adolfin von Augsburg, has against the faithful warning that the honorable council of the city of Augsburg has proclaimed and posted, which says that no one should accept rebaptism, that it is forbidden for Anabaptists to come together and gather together or life punishments, the rebaptism is accepted. She has fed Anabaptists, provided them with food and drink, permitted a prohibited gathering in her home, and attended gatherings in other places. That is why this council has decided that she should be marked with the fire on her cheeks. But since she is pregnant, she was pardoned so that she could be taken out of town. She is not allowed to go to the same area in her life, not even within a radius of six miles. Everyone has to act accordingly. Given on April 21st, 1528. "

On the day the verdict was announced, Susanna Daucher was pilloried below the town hall oriel . The expulsion decision was then implemented immediately. Susanna Daucher had to leave the two children behind; they were placed under guardianship . When the husband, ignorant of what had happened, returned from Vienna , his existence was ruined by the loss of his family and the confiscation of his fortune. This ended his artistic activity; after this time - as far as is known - no more work was created by him. From 1530 Hans Daucher was listed in the city tax lists as "Habnit" (= have-nothing). He moved to Württemberg , where he found a job with Duke Ulrich for a low wage . Hans Daucher died around 1537 in an infirmary near Stuttgart . Whether he saw his wife again must remain an open question. Susanna Daucher's further path in life also remains in the dark. It is assumed that she - like other displaced Anabaptists - found a new home in Stuttgart.

Commemoration

On April 12, 2013, the commemoration day of the Anabaptist Easter service of 1528 , a memorial plaque was attached to the house of Hans and Susanna Daucher, which is located at the corner of Hinterer Lech 2 and the corner of Schleifergässchen . It contains the following text under the heading Place of Meeting of the Anabaptists :

“ On Easter morning, April 12, 1528, a congregation of the Anabaptists gathered in the house of the sculptor Hans Daucher and his wife Susanna. The city guard blew up the illegal "gathering" and arrested 88 people. They were interrogated, some of them under torture. Most of them were expelled by resolution of the city council. Dorothea Fröhlich , Scholastika Stierpaur and Thomas Paur were branded . Elisabeth Heggenmiller's tongue was cut out. Head Hans Leupold was executed on April 25, 1528. Susanna Daucher was expelled on April 21, 1527. Because she was pregnant, she was spared the branding. She had to leave her two little sons behind. "

literature

• GAMEO biography article Susanna Doucher ; Accessed May 20, 2013.
• Hans Guderian: The Anabaptists in Augsburg. Their history and their legacy. A contribution to the 2000 year celebration of the city of Augsburg. Ludwig, Pfaffenhofen 1984, ISBN 3-7787-2063-5 .
• Martina Berthold: The Reformation in Augsburg using the example of Susanna Daucher , in: Lebensformen - Habitat for women. Reformation as a social revolution? Documentation of the 19th annual conference "Miss Marple's Sisters - Network for Local Women's History" from June 13th to 15th, 2008 in Augsburg / Stadtbergen (publisher: Frauengeschichtskreis Augsburg), Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-933788-02-3 , p . 68 ff.

Web links

• Augsburger Allgemeine (April 15, 2013): Remembering the expulsion of the Anabaptist. Table for Susanna Daucher unveiled ; Accessed May 20, 2013.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The data and facts in this section are - unless otherwise noted - taken from the following article: Martina Berthold: The Reformation in Augsburg using the example of Susanna Daucher , in: Lebensformen - Lebensraum für Frauen. Reformation as a social revolution? Documentation of the 19th annual conference "Miss Marple's Sisters - Network on Local Women's History" from June 13th to 15th, 2008 in Augsburg / Stadtbergen (Ed. Frauengeschichtskreis Augsburg), Berlin 2008, p. 68 ff.
2. ↑ See on Adolf Daucher : Julius Baum:  Dauher, Adolf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 525 f. ( Digitized version ) .; to Hans Daucher Herbert Schindler: Augsburger Renaissance. Hans Daucher and the sculptors of the Fugger Chapel near St. Anna ; accessed on May 22, 2013.
3. ↑ On the history of the Augsburg Baptist see Hans Guderian: Die Anabaptist in Augsburg. Their history and their legacy. A contribution to the 2000 year celebration of the city of Augsburg. Ludwig, Pfaffenhofen 1984, ISBN 3-7787-2063-5 .
4. ↑ GAMEO: Susanna Doucher ; Accessed May 30, 2013.
5. ^ Hans Guderian: The Anabaptists in Augsburg. Their history and their legacy. A contribution to the 2000 year celebration of the city of Augsburg. Ludwig, Pfaffenhofen 1984, ISBN 3-7787-2063-5 , pp. 40-44.
6. ↑ Tina Saji: Christian Social Reformers , New Delhi 2005, ISBN 81-8324-008-9 , p. 294.
7. ↑ Gerhard Maier : The Revelation of John and the Church , Volume 25 in the series Scientific Studies on the New Testament , Tübingen 1981, ISBN 3-16-144132-X , p. 245.
8. ^ Hans Guderian: The Anabaptists in Augsburg. Their history and their legacy. A contribution to the 2000 year celebration of the city of Augsburg. Ludwig, Pfaffenhofen 1984, ISBN 3-7787-2063-5 , p. 75.
9. ^ Hans Guderian: The Anabaptists in Augsburg. Their history and their legacy. A contribution to the 2000 year celebration of the city of Augsburg. Ludwig, Pfaffenhofen 1984, ISBN 3-7787-2063-5 , p. 76.
10. ↑ Susanna Daucher's husband's full name was Hans Adolf Daucher .
11. ↑ Translated into the modern German language; quoted from Martina Berthold: The Reformation in Augsburg using the example of Susanna Daucher , in: Lebensformen - Lebensraum für Frauen. Reformation as a social revolution? Documentation of the 19th annual conference "Miss Marple's Sisters - Network for Local Women's History" from June 13th to 15th, 2008 in Augsburg / Stadtbergen (publisher: Frauengeschichtskreis Augsburg), Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-933788-02-3 , p 68.
12. ^ Commemoration of Susanna Daucher ( memento of October 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ); Mennonite Congregation Augsburg, accessed on May 27, 2013.
13. ↑ Unveiling of the memorial plaque for Susanna Daucher, April 12, 2013 ; Mennonite Congregation Augsburg, accessed on May 27, 2013.