Johann Jetzer

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Woodcut illustration on the Jetzer trade by Urs Graf , 1509

Johann Jetzer (* around 1483 in Zurzach ; † probably 1515 there ) was a tailor's journeyman and between 1506 and 1508 a member of the Dominican Order in Bern . He became known through the Jetzer trade ("trade" here in the sense of "court process") named after him.

Jetzer trade

One of the major theological problems of the time was the question of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. While the Dominicans at that time, following the teaching of Thomas Aquinas, assumed that Mary was received in original sin , the Franciscans denied this based on the teaching of John Duns Scotus .

Shortly after Jetzer was accepted into the Bern Dominican Convention in Bern, he claimed to be haunted by spirits and apparitions - first a deceased sinful prior, then Saint Barbara, and finally the Holy Virgin. While he initially made theological blunders, the apparitions became more and more theologically adept over time. Eventually, he claimed that Mary had revealed to him that the Dominican teaching was true that she was conceived in original sin. Duns Scotus suffered great torments in purgatory because of his false teaching . Then Jetzer showed the marks of Jesus. The monks believed him (if, according to another point of view, they had not betrayed him themselves with great skill and effort), as did the people of Bern. The scandal came when the image of the Virgin wept bloody tears because of the French "pension money" (for the permission to recruit Bernese subjects) collected from the Bernese patricians, which led to a mass demonstration. At the same time doubts arose.

After an investigation had been started with papal approval, Jetzer initially claimed that the apparition of Mary had not commented on the question of the immaculate conception, while he insisted on the authenticity of his apparitions. When he was tortured, he finally stated that he had been played badly by his superiors. These would have staged the appearance with fraudulent intent. He himself initially believed in their authenticity, but later discovered the fraud, but was forced to continue playing. Based on Jetzer's testimony, the four Dominicans he accused were tortured until they confessed, then sentenced to death and publicly burned at the stake in Bern on May 31, 1509 . Jetzer was sentenced to pillory and expulsion from the country, but was able to escape from prison with the help of his mother.

The Jetzer trade deeply shook the trust of the Bernese people in the Catholic Church and made the people of Bern receptive to the ideas of the Reformation . The guilt of the four Dominicans has never been doubted for a long time ( Valerius Anshelm ) and has recently been taken for granted ( Kathrin Utz-Tremp ). However, it must not be forgotten that the conviction was ultimately based only on the statements of Jetzer, which he changed several times in the course of the trial, as well as on the confessions extorted through torture. From this point of view, it seems likely that the whole fraud came from Jetzer (Nicolaus Paulus, Rudolf Steck, Georg Schuhmann, Stephen Tree).

See also : Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Switzerland

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personal data
SURNAME Jetzer, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss journeyman tailor, member of the Dominican Order in Bern (1506–1508)
DATE OF BIRTH around 1483
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurzach
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: 1515
Place of death Zurzach