Hans Schlaffer

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Hans Schlaffer († February 4, 1528 in Schwaz , Tyrol ) was a representative of the Austrian Anabaptist movement .

Life

Schlaffer probably became a Catholic pastor in 1511 , but adopted Lutheran positions in the early Reformation and began to preach in the Reformation spirit. In 1526 he finally resigned as a priest and turned to the radical Reformation Anabaptist movement . At that time he was staying at Weinberg Castle in Upper Austria , which was owned by the Protestant-minded Zelkingers . Probably the foundation of the Anabaptist congregation in nearby Freistadt goes back to Schlaffer. In 1527 Schaffer finally moved to the Moravian Nikolsburg for a short time , where he witnessed the inner-Anabaptist controversy between swordsmen and stabbers about the legitimacy of state power. In August 1527 he took part in the Augsburg Synod of Martyrs with Hans Hut and Jakob Widemann . He then turned to Nuremberg , where he met Hans Denck and Ludwig Hätzer in September 1527 . Via Regensburg , where he met Oswald Glait , he went to Brixlegg and finally to Rattenberg in Tyrol. It is possible that Schlaffer was also involved in founding the Rattenberg Anabaptist Congregation, which later appointed Leonhard Schiemer as a preacher. After a short stay, he continued on to Hall in Tirol , where he wanted to spend the winter. On the way to Hall in December 1527 he took part in a meeting of the local Anabaptist community in Schwaz and was finally arrested together with the Baptist Linhard Frick, imprisoned for several weeks at Freundsberg Castle and finally beheaded in February 1528 together with Frick .

While in custody, he wrote several writings that are known to this day, such as the defense he wrote under the title Responsibility , in which he rejected any accusation of rebellion and made it clear that his work was based solely on theological motives. The writing was sent to the city's magistrate and also to the Tyrolean provincial government in Innsbruck. He also wrote the Short Report of a Christian Life , Letter to a Weak Brother , Confession and Responsibility , The Other Responsibility, and A Simple Prayer .

Writings such as Confession and Responsibility give an impression of the world of ideas of the southern German Anabaptist movement as it had developed at that time. The other responsibility also contains numerous autobiographical information. Schlaffer wrote a simple prayer the night before his execution. In this he turned to God and talked about his life and thoughts shortly before his execution. Prayer is one of the most moving writings in the German-language Christian devotional literature . It can also be found in the history book of the Hutterite Brothers and in the art book , a collection of letters and writings by the Upper German Anabaptists. An early copy is also held in the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College .

Floppy composed with Ungnad desire I nit from you and God, my Eternal Father , two hymns . The first found entry under number 32 in the Anabaptist hymn book Ausbund and in the songs of the Hutterite brothers. It was also put into circulation as a brochure in 1527 and reprinted in Nuremberg in 1550 and 1551. The second song, like A Simple Prayer, was written in the last hours of his life.

Due to his theological and biographical proximity to Leonhard Schiemer, Schlaffer is often mentioned together with him. Both Schlaffer and Schiemer were Catholic pastors before they turned to the Anabaptist movement, both were in the tradition of the South German Anabaptists around Hans Hut and Hans Denck and both died as martyrs within a period of about three weeks, not far from each other Inn Valley . Theologically, Schlaffer took over Hut's mysticism of suffering, but pushed his apocalyptic into the background in favor of a collective Christocentrism . In his writings, Schlaffer speaks, among other things, of humility and following Christ .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Slacker, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian representative of the Anabaptist movement
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century or 16th century
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 1528
Place of death Schwaz , Tyrol