impious from the holy city, all opposition had disappeared. A
very considerable number of citizens, shopkeepers, and merchants,
rather than desert their houses, abandon their goods to pillage,
and lose their trade, had consented to be re-baptised. The
reign of the prophets was becoming to them daily more irksome. A
blacksmith, named Hubert Rüscher, or Trutling, had the courage to
oppose Matthisson, to charge him with being a false prophet, and an
impostor.[166] The prophet, feeling the danger of his position, saw
that a measure, decided and terrible, must be adopted to suppress
the murmurs, and frighten those who desired to shake off his yoke.
"Judgment must begin at the house of God," said Matthisson; and
he ordered the immediate execution of the smith. Tilbeck, the
burgomaster, and Redecker, a magistrate, interposed, but were, by
order of the prophet, cast into prison. Then Bockelson, bursting
through the crowd, announced with frantic gesture that the Father
had commissioned him to slay with the sword he bore all those
who withstood the will of Heaven as interpreted by the prophets
whom He had sent. Then brandishing his weapon, he rushed upon the
blacksmith, but Matthisson forestalled him, by running his halbert
through the body of the unfortunate man. Finding that he still
breathed, he despatched him with a carbine, crying, "So perish
all who are guilty of similar crimes." Then, at his command, the
multitude chanted a hymn of praise, and dispersed, silent and
trembling, to their homes.[167]
[166] Kerssenbroeck, p. 535 _et seq._; Monfortius, p. 19; Sleidan
and Dorpius call the man Truteling; Sleidan, p. 412; Dorpius, f.
395 b.
[167] Monfortius, p. 19.
Matthisson took immediate advantage of the power this bold stroke
had given him to deal another blow. When the treasure of the
enemies of Zion had been confided to the care of deacons, the
faithful had kept their own goods. But this was to be no longer
tolerated. The prophet issued a decree, requiring all, old and
young, male and female, under pain of death, to bring all their
possessions in gold and silver, under whatever form it might be,
into the treasury; "Because," said he, "such things profit not the
true Christian."
The majority of the citizens obeyed, in fear and trembling; but
many buried their vessels and ornaments of precious metal, and
declared that they possessed no jewels.[168] However, the amount of
money, chains, rings, brooches, and cups, brought together was very
considerable. It was placed in the chancery, and confided to four of
Matthisson's most devoted adherents.
[168] Kerssenbroeck, p. 538.
A few days after, he summoned all the inhabitants into the Cathedral
square, where, in a long discourse, he announced that the wrath
of God was excited against those who had allowed themselves to be
rebaptised on the 26th of February, out of human considerations,
because they did not desire to leave their homes and their effects,
or out of fear; and he advised them all to betake themselves to
the church of St. Lambert, to entreat the Father to pardon them
for having lied to the Holy Ghost, and soiled by their presence
the city of the children of God; "and if the Father does not remit
your offence," concluded he in a loud and terrible voice, "you must
perish by the sword of the Just One."
In an agony of terror, the unfortunate citizens crowded the church,
and the doors were fastened behind them. They passed several hours
within, weeping, groaning, and deploring their lot, a prey to
inexpressible terror.[169]
[169] Kerssenbroeck, p. 539.
At length Matthisson entered, accompanied by armed men, and the
prisoners, supposing they were about to be slaughtered, fell at his
feet and embraced his knees, entreating him, with tears, as the
favourite of God, to mediate with Him and obtain their pardon. The
prophet replied that he must consult the Father; he knelt down, and
fell into an ecstasy. After a few moments he rose, leaped with joy,
and declared that the Father, though greatly irritated, had granted
his prayer, and suffered the penitents to live. Then the poor
creatures were purified, hymns of praise were sung, and they were
pronounced admitted into the household of the true Israel. The doors
were thrown open, and they were allowed to disperse.
On the 15th of March, a new decree appeared, forbidding the faithful
to possess, read, or look at any books except the Bible, and
requiring all the books, in print or MS., and all legal documents
that were found in the town, to be brought to the Cathedral square,
and there to be consigned to the flames. Thus perished many a
treasure of inappreciable value.
In the meantime the appeal of Rottmann to the Anabaptists of the
Low Countries to come and deliver Zion had produced its effect.
Thousands assembled in the neighbourhood of Amsterdam, crossed the
Zuyder Zee, landed at Zwoll, and marched towards Münster, pillaging
and burning churches and convents. But Baron Schenk von Teutenburg,
imperial lieutenant, met them, utterly routed them, cut to pieces a
large number, and made many prisoners.[170]
[170] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 541, 542; Bullinger, ii. c. 10.
The prophets of Münster, warned of their advance, but ignorant
of their dispersion, reckoned on an approaching deliverance,
and continued their follies. On Good Friday, April 3, 1534,
they organised a general festival, with bells pealing, and a
mock procession carrying candles. The treaty concluded with the
prince-bishop, through the intervention of Philip of Hesse, was
attached to the tail of an old horse, and the beast was driven out
of the gate of St. Maurice in the direction of the enemy's camp.[171]
[171] _Ibid._ p. 542.
Easter approached, and with it great things were expected. A rumour
circulated that a mighty deliverance of Israel would be wrought on
the Feast of the Resurrection. Whether Matthisson started the report
or was carried away by it, it is impossible to decide; but it is
certain that, on the eve, he announced in an access of enthusiasm,
after a trance, that he had received orders from the Father to
put to flight the armies of the aliens with a handful of true
believers.[172]
[172] _Ibid._, 542; Hast, p. 348.
Accordingly, on the morrow, carrying a halbert, he headed a few
zealots who shared his confidence; the gate of St. Ludgar was thrown
open, and he rushed forth with his followers upon the army of the
prince-bishop; whilst the ramparts were crowded by the inhabitants
of Münster, shouting and praying, and expecting to see a miracle
wrought in his favour. But he had not advanced very far before a
troop of the enemy surrounded his little band, and, in spite of a
desperate resistance, he and his companions were cut to pieces.[173]
[173] Kerssenbroeck, 542; Sleidan, p. 413; Bullinger, lib. ii. c.
9; Heresbach, p. 138; Buissierre, p. 310.
John Bockelson, seeing that the confidence of the Anabaptists was
shaken by the failure of this prediction and the fall of the great
prophet, lost not a moment in establishing his own supremacy. He
called all the people together, and declared to them that Matthisson
had died by the just judgment of God, because he had disobeyed the
commandment of the Father to go forth with a very small handful, and
because he had relied on his own strength instead of on Divine aid.
"But," added he, "he neglected all those precautions he ought to
have taken, solemn prayer and fasting, after the example of Judith;
and he forgot that victory is in the hands of God; he was proud
and vain, therefore was he forsaken of the Lord. His terrible end
was revealed to me eight days ago by the Holy Ghost; for, as I was
sleeping in the house of Knipperdolling, after having meditated on
the Divine Law, Matthisson appeared to me pierced through by the
lance of an armed man, with all his bowels gushing forth. Then was
I frightened beyond measure at this terrible spectacle; but the
armed man said to me, 'Fear not, well-beloved son of the Father,
but be faithful to thy calling, for the judgment of God will fall
upon Matthisson; and when he is dead, marry his widow.' These words
cast me into profound amazement, for I have already a legitimate
wife at Leyden. Nevertheless, that I might have a witness worthy of
confidence to this extraordinary revelation, I trusted the secret to
Knipperdolling; he is present, let him be brought forth."[174]
[174] Kerssenbroeck, p. 543; Montfort., p. 24.
Thereupon Knipperdolling stepped forward and declared by oath that
Bockelson had spoken the truth, and he mentioned the place, the day,
and the hour when the revelation was confided to him.
From that moment Bockelson passed with the people not only as a
prophet, but as a favourite of Heaven, one specially chosen of the
Father, and was held in far higher estimation, accordingly, than
had been the fallen prophet. He was seized with inspiration. On
the 9th of April, he declared that "the Father ordered, under pain
of incurring his dire wrath, that every exalted thing should be
laid low, and that the work was to begin at the church steeples."
Consequently three architects of the town were ordered to demolish
them. They succeeded in pulling down all the spires in Münster. That
of Ueberwasser church was singularly beautiful. It was reduced to a
stump; and the modern visitor to the ancient Westphalian capital has
cause to deplore its loss. The towers were only saved to be used as
positions for cannon to play upon the besiegers.[175]
[175] Bullinger, ii. c. 8; Sleidan, p. 271; Dorpius, f. 396.
Bockelson had another vision, which served to consolidate his power.
"The Father," said he, "had appeared to him, and had commanded
him to appoint Knipperdolling to be the executioner of the new
republic."
This was not precisely satisfactory to Knipperdolling; he aimed at
a higher office, but he dissembled his irritation, and accepted the
sword offered him by John of Leyden with apparent transports of
joy.[176] Four under-executioners were named to assist him, and to
accompany him wherever he went.
[176] Kerssenbroeck, p. 545; Heresbach, p. 139; Sleidan, p. 413;
Dorpius, f. 396.
The nomination of Knipperdolling was the prelude to other important
changes. Bockelson aspired to exercise absolute power, without
opposition or control. To arrive at his ends, a wild prophetic
scene was enacted. He ran, during the night, through the streets of
Münster stark naked, uttering howls and crying, "Ye men of Israel
who inhabit this holy Zion! fear the Lord, and repent for your past
lives. Turn ye, turn ye! The glorious King of Zion, surrounded by
multitudes of angels, is about to descend and judge the world,
at the peal of His terrible trumpet. Turn, ye blind ones, and be
converted." [177]
[177] Kerssenbroeck, p. 596; Monfort, pp. 25, 26; Heresbach, p.
99 _et seq._
Exhausted with his run and his shouts, and satisfied with having
thoroughly alarmed the inhabitants, he returned to the house
of Knipperdolling, who was also in a paroxysm of inspiration,
foaming, leaping, rolling on the ground, and performing many other
extravagant actions. Bockelson, on entering, cast himself down in a
corner and pretended to have lost the power of speech; and as the
crowd, assembled round him, asked him the meaning of what had taken
place, he signed to them to bring him tablets, on which he wrote,
"By the order of the Father, I remain dumb for three days."
At the expiration of this period he convoked the people, and
declared to them that the Father had revealed to him that Israel
must have a new constitution, with new laws and new magistrates,
divinely appointed. The former magistracy had been elected by men,
but the new one was to be designated by the Holy Ghost. Bockelson
then dissolved the senate, and, as the mouthpiece of God, he
declared the names of the new officers, to the number of twelve,
who were to bear the title of The Elders of the Tribes of Israel,
in whose hands all power, temporal and spiritual, was to be placed.
Those appointed were, as might have been expected, the prophet's
most devoted adherents.[178] Hermann Tilbeck, the old burgomaster,
was brought out of prison, and it was announced to him that he was
to be of the number of elders; but perhaps a little cooled in this
enthusiasm by his sojourn in chains, he burst into tears, and in
accents of humility prayed, "Oh, Father! I am not worthy so great an
honour; give me strength and light to govern with wisdom."
[178] Dorpius, f. 396 b.
Rottmann, who, since the arrival of the prophet, had played but
a subordinate part, judged the occasion favourable for thrusting
himself into prominence. He therefore preached a long sermon, in
which he declared that God was the author of the new constitution,
and then, calling the elders before him by name, he committed to
each a drawn sword, with the words, "Receive with this weapon the
right of life or death, which the Father has ordered me to confer
upon you, and use the sword conformably to the Lord's will." Then
the proceedings closed with the multitude singing the _Gloria in
excelsis_ in German, on their knees.
The senate resigned its functions without apparent regret or
opposition, and the twelve elders assumed the plenitude of power.
They abolished the laws and formulated new ones, published edicts,
resolved difficulties, judged causes, subject to no control save the
will of the prophet; but that will they regarded as identical with
the Divine will, as superior to all law, and every one obeyed its
smallest requirements.
Immediately after the installation of the government, an edict in
ten parts was published.[179] The first part, divided into thirteen
articles, contained the moral law; the second part, in thirty-three
articles, contained the civil law.
[179] Kerssenbroeck, pt. ii. pp. 1-9; Monfortius, pp. 26, 27;
Hast, p, 352 _et seq._
The first part forbade thirteen crimes under pain of death:
blasphemy, disobedience, adultery, impurity, avarice, theft, fraud,
lying and slander, idle conversation, disputes, anger, envy, and
discontent against the government.
The second part required every citizen to conform his life and
belief to the Word of God; to fulfil exactly his duties to others
and to the State. It ordered a strict system of vigilance against
night surprises by the enemy, and required one of the elders to
sit in rotation every day as judge to try cases brought before
him; also, that whatsoever was decided by the elders as necessary
for the welfare of the New Jerusalem should be announced to the
assembly-general of Israel, by the prophet John of Leyden, servant
of the Most High; that Bernard Knipperdolling, the executioner,
should denounce to the elders the crimes committed within the holy
city; and that he might exercise his office with greater security he
was never to go forth unaccompanied by his four assistants.
It ordered that henceforth repasts should be taken publicly and in
common; that every one should accept what was set before him, should
eat it modestly, in silence; that the brothers and the sisters
should eat at separate tables; and that, during the meal, portions
of the Old Testament should be read to them.
The next articles named the individuals who were to execute the
offices of butcher, shoemaker, smith, tailor, brewer, and the like,
to the Lord's people. Two articles forbade the introduction of new
fashions, and the wearing of garments with holes in them. Article
XXIX. ordered every stranger belonging to another religion, who
should enter the city of Münster, to be examined by Knipperdolling.
No communication of any sort with strangers was permitted to the
children of Zion.
Article XXXII. forbade, under pain of death, desertion from the
military service, or exchange of companies without the sanction of
the elders.
Article XXXIII. required that in the event of a decease, all
the goods and chattels of the defunct should be taken to
Knipperdolling, who would convey them to the elders, and they would
distribute them as they judged fitting.
That some of these provisions were indicative of great prudence
is not to be doubted. All food having been seized upon and being
served out publicly to all the citizens alike, and in moderation,
the capabilities of prolonging the defence were greatly increased;
and the military dictatorship and strict discipline within the city
maintained by the prophet, enabled the Anabaptists to preserve an
invulnerable front to an enemy torn by faction and with divided
responsibilities.
To increase the disaffection and party strife in the hostile
camp, the people of Münster sent arrows amongst the besiegers, to
which were attached letters, one of which has been preserved by
Kerssenbroeck.[180] It is an exhortation to the enemy to beware lest
by attacking the people of the Lord, who held to the pure Word of
God, they should be regarded by him as in league with Antichrist,
and urging them to repentance.
[180] Kerssenbroeck, pt. ii. p. 9.
Besiegers and besieged heaped on each other reciprocal insults,
exhibiting themselves to one another in postures more expressive of
contempt than decent.[181]
[181] _Ibid._ pp. 11, 12.
A chimney-sweep, named William Bast, had about this time a vision
ordering him to burn the cities of the ungodly. Bast announced his
mission to the elders and to the prophet, and was bidden go forth in
the Lord's name. He accordingly left Münster, eluded the vigilance
of the enemy's sentinals, and reached Wollbeck, where was the
powder magazine of the Episcopal army. He fired several houses, and
the flames spread, but were fortunately extinguished before they
reached the powder. Bast had escaped to Dreusteindorf, where also he
attempted to execute his mission, but was caught, brought back to
Wollbeck, and burnt alive.
In the meantime various sorties had taken place, in which the
besiegers suffered, being caught off their guard. On May 22nd, the
prince-bishop, finding the siege much more serious than he had
anticipated, began to bombard the town; but as fast as the walls
gave way, they were repaired by the women and children at night.
A general assault was resolved on for the 26th May; of this the
besieged were forewarned by their spies. Unfortunately for the
investing army, the soldiers of Guelders got drunk on the preceding
day in anticipation of their victory, and marched reeling and
shouting against the city as the dusk closed in. The Anabaptists
manned the walls, and easily repulsed their tipsy assailants; but
in the meantime the rest of the army, observing the march of the
men of Guelders, and hearing the discharge of firearms, rushed to
their assistance, without order; the Münsterians rallied, repulsed
them with great carnage, and they fled in confusion to the camp.
The Anabaptists had only lost two officers and eight soldiers in
the fray; and their success convinced them that they were under the
special providence of God, which had rendered them invincible.[182]
They, therefore, repaired their walls with energy, erected several
additional bastions, and continued their sorties.
[182] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 15, 16; Sleidan, p. 413.
On the 30th May, a party of the fanatics issued from a subterraneous
passage upon the sentinels opposite the Judenfeld gate, spiked
nineteen cannon, and laid a train of gunpowder from the store, which
they reached, to the mouth of their passage. The troops stationed
within sight marched hastily to repulse the sortie, when the train
was fired, the store exploded, and a large number of soldiers were
destroyed.[183]
[183] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 15, 16.
The prince-bishop next adopted an antiquated expedient, which proved
singularly inefficacious. He raised a huge bank against the walls,
by requisitioning the services of the peasants of the country round.
The besieged poured a shower of bullets amongst the unfortunate
labourers, who perished in great numbers, and the mole remained
unfinished.[184]
[184] _Ibid._ p. 21.
Francis of Waldeck, discouraged, and at the end of his resources,
sent his deputies to the Diet of Neuss on the 25th June, to announce
to the Archbishop of Cologne and the Duke of Juliers his failures,
and to ask for additional troops. The two princes replied that they
would not abandon their ally in his difficulties, and they promised
to bear a part of the cost of the siege, advanced 40,000 florins
for the purchase of gunpowder, promised to despatch forces to his
assistance, and sent at once prudent advisers.[185] The prince
was, in fact, utterly incompetent as a general and incompetent as
a bishop. The pastoral staff has a crook at the head and a spike
at the bottom. Liturgiologists assure us that this signifies the
mode in which a bishop should exercise discipline--the gentle he
should restrain or direct with mercy, the rebellious he should
treat with severity. To the former he should be lenient, with the
latter prompt. Francis of Waldeck wielded gracefully and effectively
neither end of his staff.
[185] Hast, p. 357; Sleidan, p. 413.
He shortly incurred a risk, and but for the fidelity of one of his
subjects in Münster, he would have fallen a victim to assassination.
A young Anabaptist maiden, named Hilla Phnicon, of singular beauty,
conceived the notion that she had been called by God to be the
Judith of this new Bethulia, and was to take the head from off the
shoulders of the great, soft, bungling Holophernes, Francis of
Waldeck.[186]
[186] Kerssenbroeck, p. 26 _et seq._
Rottmann, Bockelson, and Knipperdolling encouraged the girl in
her delusion, and urged her not to resist the inspirations of the
Father. Accordingly, on the 16th June, Hilla dressed herself in
the most beautiful robes she could procure, adorned her hair with
pearls, and her arms with bracelets, selecting from the treasury of
the city whatever articles she judged most conducive to the end; the
treasury being for the purpose placed at her disposal by order of
the prophet. Furnished with a linen shirt steeped in deadly poison,
which she had herself made, as an offering to the prince, she left
Münster, and delivered herself up into the hands of the drossar of
Wollbeck, who, after having dispoiled her of her jewels, questioned
her as to her object in deserting the city. She replied with the
utmost composure, that she was a native of Holland, and that she had
lived in Münster with her husband, till the change of religion had
so disgusted her that she could endure it no longer, and that she
had fled on the first opportunity, and that her husband would follow
her on a suitable occasion. "It is to ask pardon for him that I am
come," said she; "and he will be able to indicate to his highness a
means of entering the city without loss."
The perfect self-possession of the lady convinced the drossar of her
sincerity, and he promised to introduce her to the prince at Iburg
within two days. Everything seemed to favour the adventuress; but
an unexpected event occurred on the 18th, the day appointed for the
audience, which spoiled the plot.
The secret had been badly kept, and it was a matter of conversation,
hope, and prayer in Münster. A citizen named Ramers, who had
remained in the city, and had been rebaptised rather than lose his
business and give up his house to pillage, having heard of it,
escaped from the town on the 18th, and revealed the projects of
Hilla to one of the generals of the besieging army. The unfortunate
young woman was thereupon put to the question, and confessed. She
was conducted to Bevergern and decapitated. At the moment when
she was being prepared for execution, she assured the bystanders
that they would not be able to take her life, for the prophet John
"chosen friend of the Father, had assured her that she would return
safe and sound to Zion."
The bishop sent for Ramers, provided for his necessities, and
ordered that his house and goods should be spared in the event of
the capture of Münster.
As soon as one danger disappeared, another rose up in its place. The
letters attached to arrows fired by the Anabaptists into the hostile
camp, as well as their secret agents, had wrought their effect. The
Lutheran auxiliaries from Meissen complained that they were called
to fight against the friends of the Gospel, and on the night of the
30th June they deserted in a body.[187] Other soldiers escaped into
Münster and offered their arms to the Anabaptists. Disaffection was
widely spread. Disorder, misunderstandings, and ill-concealed hatred
reigned in the camp. The besieged reckoned among their assailants
numerous and warm friends, and were regularly informed of all the
projects of the general. Their emissaries bearing letters to the
Anabaptists in other territories easily traversed the ranks of the
investing army, and when they had accomplished their mission they
returned with equal ease to the gates of Münster, which opened to
receive them.
[187] Kerssenbroeck, p. 36.