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diff --git a/43601-0.txt b/43601-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f1b1c31 --- /dev/null +++ b/43601-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11098 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43601 *** + + FREAKS OF FANATICISM + AND + OTHER STRANGE EVENTS + + + + + FREAKS OF FANATICISM + + AND + + OTHER STRANGE EVENTS + + BY + + S. BARING-GOULD, M.A. + + AUTHOR OF "MEHALAH," "OLD COUNTRY LIFE," "HISTORIC ODDITIES," + "SONGS OF THE WEST," ETC. + + + Methuen & Co. + + 18, BURY STREET, LONDON, W.C. + 1891 + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This Volume, that originally appeared as a Second Series to +"Historic Oddities and Strange Events," is now issued under a new +title which describes the peculiar nature of the majority of its +contents. Several of the articles are concerned with the history of +mysticism, a phase of human nature that deserves careful and close +study. Mysticism is the outbreak in man of a spiritual element +which cannot be ignored, cannot be wholly suppressed, and is man's +noblest element when rightly directed and balanced. It is capable +of regulation, but unregulated, it may become even a mischievous +faculty. + +When the Jews are being expelled from Russia, and are regarded with +bitter hostility in other parts of Eastern Europe, the article on +the accusations brought against them may prove not uninstructive +reading. + +There is political as well as religious and racial fanaticism, and +the story of the "Poisoned Parsnips" illustrates the readiness +with which false accusations against political enemies are made +and accepted without examination. "Jean Aymon" exhibits the same +unscrupulousness where religious passions are concerned. The curious +episode to "The Northern Raphael" shows the craving after notoriety +that characterises so much of sentimental, hysterical piety. + + S. BARING GOULD. + + LEW TRENCHARD, DEVON, + _September 1st, 1891_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + + A SWISS PASSION PLAY 1 + + A NORTHERN RAPHAEL 39 + + THE POISONED PARSNIPS 67 + + THE MURDER OF FATHER THOMAS IN DAMASCUS 86 + + SOME ACCUSATIONS AGAINST JEWS 107 + + THE COBURG MAUSOLEUM 120 + + JEAN AYMON 129 + + THE PATARINES OF MILAN 146 + + THE ANABAPTISTS OF MÜNSTER 195 + + + + +FREAKS OF FANATICISM. + + + + +A Swiss Passion Play. + + +We are a little surprised, and perhaps a little shocked, at the +illiberality of the Swiss Government, in even such Protestant +cantons as Geneva, Zürich, and Berne, in forbidding the performances +on their ground of the "Salvation Army," and think that such +conduct is not in accordance with Protestant liberty of judgment +and democratic independence. But the experiences gone through in +Switzerland as in Germany of the confusion and mischief sometimes +wrought by fanaticism, we will not say justify, but in a measure +explain, the objection the Government has to a recrudescence of +religious mysticism in its more flagrant forms. The following story +exemplifies the extravagance to which such spiritual exaltation runs +occasionally--fortunately only occasionally. + +About eight miles from Schaffhausen, a little way on one side of +the road to Winterthür, in a valley, lies the insignificant hamlet +of Wildisbuch, its meadows overshadowed by leafy walnut trees. The +hamlet is in the parish of Trüllikon. Here, at the beginning of this +century, in a farmhouse, standing by itself, lived John Peter, a +widower, with several of his children. He had but one son, Caspar, +married in 1812, and divorced from his wife; he was, however, +blessed with five daughters--Barbara, married to a blacksmith in +Trüllikon; Susanna, Elizabeth, Magdalena married to John Moser, a +shoemaker; and Margaretta, born in 1794, his youngest, and favourite +child. Not long after the birth of Margaretta, her mother died, +and thenceforth the child was the object of the tenderest and most +devoted solicitude to her sisters and to her father. Margaretta grew +up to be a remarkable child. At school she distinguished herself by +her aptitude in learning, and in church by the devotion with which +she followed the tedious Zwinglian service. The pastor who prepared +her for confirmation was struck by her enthusiasm and eagerness to +know about religion. She was clearly an imaginative person, and to +one constituted as she was, the barnlike church, destitute of every +element of beauty, studiously made as hideous as a perverse fancy +could scheme, and the sacred functions reduced to utter dreariness, +with every element of devotion bled out of them, were incapable of +satisfying the internal spiritual fire that consumed her. + +There is in every human soul a divine aspiration, a tension after +the invisible and spiritual, in some more developed than in others, +in certain souls existing only in that rudimentary condition in +which, it is said, feet are found in the eel, and eyes in the +oyster, but in others it is a predominating faculty, a veritable +passion. Unless this faculty be given legitimate scope, be +disciplined and guided, it breaks forth in abnormal and unhealthy +manifestations. We know what is the result when the regular action +of the pores of the skin is prevented, or the circulation of the +blood is impeded. Fever and hallucination ensue. So is it with the +spiritual life in man. If that be not given free passage for healthy +discharge of its activity, it will resolve itself into fanaticism, +that is to say it will assume a diseased form of manifestation. + +Margaretta was far ahead of her father, brother and sisters in +intellectual culture, and in moral force of character. Susanna, +the second daughter of John Peter, was an amiable, industrious, +young woman, without independence of character. The third daughter, +Elizabeth, was a quiet girl, rather dull in brain; Barbara was +married when Margaretta was only nine, and Magdalena not long after; +neither of them, however, escaped the influence of their youngest +sister, who dominated over their wills almost as completely as she +did over those of her two unmarried sisters, with whom she consorted +daily. + +How great her power over her sisters was may be judged from what +they declared in after years in prison, and from what they endured +for her sake. + +Barbara, the eldest, professed to the prison chaplain in Zürich, in +1823, "I am satisfied that God worked in mighty power, and in grace +through Margaret, up to the hour of her death." The father himself +declared after the ruin of his family and the death of two of his +daughters, "I am assured that my youngest daughter was set apart by +God for some extraordinary purpose." + +When Margaret was six, she was able to read her Bible, and would +summon the family about her to listen to her lectures out of the +sacred volume. She would also at the same time pray with great +ardour, and exhort her father and sisters to lead God-fearing +lives. When she read the narrative of the Passion, she was unable +to refrain from tears; her emotion communicated itself to all +assembled round her, and the whole family sobbed and prayed aloud. +She was a veritable "ministering child" to her household in all +things spiritual. As she had been born at Christmas, it was thought +that this very fact indicated some special privilege and grace +accorded to her. In 1811, when aged seventeen, she received her +first communion and edified all the church with the unction and +exaltation of soul with which she presented herself at the table. +In after years the pastor of Trüllikon said of her, "Unquestionably +Margaretta was the cleverest of the family. She often came to thank +me for the instructions I had given her in spiritual things. Her +promises to observe all I had taught her were most fervent. I had +the best hopes for her, although I observed somewhat of extravagance +in her. Margaretta speedily obtained an absolute supremacy in her +father's house. All must do what she ordered. Her will expressed by +word of mouth, or by letter when absent, was obeyed as the will of +God." + +In personal appearance Margaretta was engaging. She was finely +moulded, had a well-proportioned body, a long neck on which her head +was held very upright; large, grey-blue eyes, fair hair, a lofty, +well-arched brow. The nose was well-shaped, but the chin and mouth +were somewhat coarse. + +In 1816, her mother's brother, a small farmer at Rudolfingen, +invited her to come and manage his house for him. She went, and was +of the utmost assistance. Everything prospered under her hand. Her +uncle thought that she had brought the blessing of the Almighty on +both his house and his land. + +Whilst at Rudolfingen, the holy maiden was brought in contact with +the Pietists of Schaffhausen. She attended their prayer-meetings and +expositions of Scripture. This deepened her religious convictions, +and produced a depression in her manner that struck her sisters +when she visited them. In answer to their inquiries why she was +reserved and melancholy, she replied that God was revealing Himself +to her more and more every day, so that she became daily more +conscious of her own sinfulness. If this had really been the case +it would have saved her from what ensued, but this sense of her own +sinfulness was a mere phrase, that meant actually an overweening +self-consciousness. She endured only about a twelve month of the +pietistic exercises at Schaffhausen, and then felt a call to preach, +testify and prophesy herself, instead of sitting at the feet of +others. Accordingly, she threw up her place with her uncle, and +returned to Wildisbuch, in March, 1817, when she began operations as +a revivalist. + +The paternal household was now somewhat enlarged. The old farmer had +taken on a hand to help him in field and stable, called Heinrich +Ernst, and a young woman as maid called Margaret Jäggli. Ernst was a +faithful, amiable young fellow whom old Peters thoroughly trusted, +and he became devoted heart and soul to the family. Margaret +Jäggli was a person of very indifferent character, who, for her +immoralities, had been turned out of her native village. She was +subject to epileptic fits, which she supposed were possession by the +devil, and she came to the farm of the Peter's family in hopes of +being there cured by the prayers of the saintly Margaretta. + +Another inmate of the house was Ursula Kündig, who entered it at the +age of nineteen, and lived there as a veritable maid-of-all-work, +though paid no wages. This damsel was of the sweetest, gentlest +disposition. Her parish pastor gave testimony to her, "She was +always so good that even scandal-mongers were unable to find +occasion for slander in her conduct." Her countenance was full of +intelligence, purity, and had in it a nobility above her birth and +education. Her home had been unhappy; she had been engaged to be +married to a young man, but finding that he did not care for her, +and sought only her small property, she broke off the engagement, +to her father's great annoyance. It was owing to a quarrel at home +relative to this, that she went to Wildisbuch to entreat Margaretta +Peter to be "her spiritual guide through life into eternity." +Ursula had at first only paid occasional visits to Wildisbuch, but +gradually these visits became long, and finally she took up her +residence in the house. The soul of the unhappy girl was as wax in +the hands of the saint, whom she venerated with intensest admiration +as the Elect of the Lord; and she professed her unshaken conviction +"that Christ revealed Himself in the flesh through her, and that +through her many thousands of souls were saved." The house at +Wildisbuch became thenceforth a great gathering place for all the +spiritually-minded in the neighbourhood, who desired instruction, +guidance, enlightenment, and Margaretta, the high priestess of +mysticism to all such as could find no satisfaction for the deepest +hunger of their souls in the Zwinglian services of their parish +church. + +Man is composed of two parts; he has a spiritual nature which he +shares with the angels, and an animal nature that he possesses in +common with the beasts. There is in him, consequently, a double +tendency, one to the indefinite, unconfined, spiritual; the other +to the limited, sensible and material. The religious history of +all times shows us this higher nature striving after emancipation +from the law of the body, and never succeeding in accomplishing +the escape, always falling back, like Dædalus, into destruction, +when attempting to defy the laws of nature and soar too near to +the ineffable light. The mysticism of the old heathen world, the +mysticism of the Gnostic sects, the mysticism of mediæval heretics, +almost invariably resolved itself into orgies of licentiousness. God +has bound soul and body together, and an attempt to dissociate them +in religion is fatally doomed to ruin. + +The incarnation of the Son of God was the indissoluble union of +Spirit with form as the basis of true religion. Thenceforth, Spirit +was no more to be dissociated from matter, authority from a visible +Church, grace from a sacramental sign, morality from a fixed law. +All the great revolts against Catholicism in the middle-ages, were +more or less revolts against this principle and were reversions to +pure spiritualism. The Reformation was taken advantage of for the +mystic aspirations of men to run riot. Individual emotion became +the supreme and sole criticism of right and wrong, of truth and +falsehood, and sole authority to which submission must be tendered. + +In the autumn of 1817, Margaretta of Wildisbuch met a woman who +was also remarkable in her way, and the head of another revivalist +movement. This was Julianne von Krüdner; about whom a word must now +be said. + +Julianne was born in 1766, at Riga, the daughter of a noble and +wealthy family. Her father visited Paris and took the child with +him, where she made the acquaintance of the rationalistic and +speculative spirits of French society, before the Revolution. +In a Voltairean atmosphere, the little Julianne grew up without +religious faith or moral principle. At the age of fourteen she was +married to a man much older than herself, the Baron von Krüdner, +Russian Ambassador at Venice. There her notorious immoralities +resulted in a separation, and Julianne was obliged to return to her +father's house at Riga. This did not satisfy her love of pleasure +and vanity, and she went to St. Petersburg and then to Paris, +where she threw herself into every sort of dissipation. She wrote +a novel, "Valérie," in which she frankly admitted that woman, when +young, must give herself up to pleasure, then take up with art, and +finally, when nothing else was left her, devote herself to religion. +At the age of forty she had already entered on this final phase. +She went to Berlin, was admitted to companionship with the Queen, +Louise, and endeavoured to "convert" her. The sweet, holy queen +required no conversion, and the Baroness von Krüdner was obliged to +leave Berlin. She wandered thenceforth from place to place, was now +in Paris, then in Geneva, and then in Germany. At Karlsruhe she met +Jung-Stilling; and thenceforth threw herself heart and soul into the +pietistic revival. Her mission now was--so she conceived--to preach +the Gospel to the poor. In 1814 she obtained access to the Russian +Court, where her prophecies and exhortations produced such an effect +on the spirit of the Czar, Alexander I., that he entreated her to +accompany him to Paris. She did so, and held spiritual conferences +and prayer meetings in the French capital. Alexander soon tired of +her, and she departed to Basel, where she won to her the Genevan +Pastor Empeytaz and the Basel Professor Lachenal. Her meetings for +revival, which were largely attended, caused general excitement, +but led to many domestic quarrels, so that the city council gave +her notice to leave the town. She then made a pilgrimage along the +Rhine, but her proceedings were everywhere objected to by the police +and town authorities, and she was sent back under police supervision +first to Leipzig, and thence into Russia. + +Thence in 1824 she departed for the Crimea, where she had resolved +to start a colony on the plan of the Moravian settlements, and there +died before accomplishing her intention. + +It was in 1817, when she was conducting her apostolic progress along +the Rhine, that she and Margaretta of Wildisbuch met. Apparently the +latter made a deeper impression on the excitable baroness than had +the holy Julianne on Margaretta. The two aruspices did not laugh +when they met, for they were both in deadly earnest, and had not +the smallest suspicion that they were deluding themselves first, and +then others. + +The meeting with the Krüdner had a double effect. In the first +place, the holy Julianne, when forced to leave the neighbourhood +by the unregenerate police, commended her disciples to the blessed +Margaret; and, in the second place, the latter had the shrewdness +to perceive, that, if she was to play anything like the part of +her fellow-apostle, she must acquire a little more education. +Consequently Margaret took pains to write grammatically, and to +spell correctly. + +The result of the commendation by Saint Julianne of her disciples +to Margaret was that thenceforth a regular pilgrimage set in to +Wildisbuch of devout persons in landaus and buggies, on horse and on +foot. + +Some additional actors in the drama must now be introduced. + +Magdalena Peter, the fourth daughter of John Peter, was married to +the cobbler, John Moser. The influence of Margaret speedily made +itself felt in their house. At first Moser's old mother lived with +the couple, along with Conrad, John Moser's younger brother. The +first token of the conversion of Moser and his wife was that they +kicked the old mother out of the house, because she was worldly and +void of "saving grace." Conrad was a plodding, hard-working lad, +very useful, and therefore not to be dispensed with. The chosen +vessels finding he did not sympathise with them, and finding him too +valuable to be done without, starved him till he yielded to their +fancies, saw visions, and professed himself "saved." Barbara, also, +married to the blacksmith Baumann, was next converted, and brought +all her spiritual artillery to bear on the blacksmith, but in vain. +He let her go her own way, but he would have nothing himself to say +to the great spiritual revival in the house of the Peters. Barbara, +not finding a kindred soul in her husband, had taken up with a man +of like soaring piety, a tailor, named Hablützel. + +Another person who comes into this story is Jacob Ganz, a tailor, +who had been mixed up with the movement at Basel under Julianne the +Holy. + +Margaret's brother Caspar was a man of infamous character; he was +separated from his wife, whom he had treated with brutality; had +become the father of an illegitimate child, and now loafed about the +country preaching the Gospel. + +Ganz, the tailor, had thrown aside his shears, and constituted +himself a roving preacher. In one of his apostolic tours he had made +the acquaintance of Saint Margaret, and had been deeply impressed by +her. He had an elect disciple at Illnau, in the Kempthal, south of +Winterthür. This was a shoemaker named Jacob Morf, a married man, +aged thirty; small, with a head like a pumpkin. To this shoemaker +Ganz spoke with enthusiasm of the spiritual elevation of the holy +Margaret, and Morf was filled with a lively desire of seeing and +hearing her. + +Margaretta seems after a while to have wearied of the monotony of +life in her father's house, or else the spirit within her drove her +abroad to carry her light into the many dark corners of her native +canton. She resolved to be like Ganz, a roving apostle. Sometimes +she started on her missionary journeys alone, sometimes along with +her sister Elizabeth, who submitted to her with blind and stanch +obedience, or else with Ursula Kündig. These journeys began in 1820, +and extended as far Zürich and along the shores of that lovely lake. +In May of the same year she visited Illnau, where she was received +with enthusiasm by the faithful, who assembled in the house of a +certain Ruegg, and there for the first time she met with Jacob Morf. +The acquaintance then begun soon quickened into friendship. When +a few weeks later he went to Schaffhausen to purchase leather, he +turned aside to Wildisbuch. After this his visits there became not +only frequent, but were protracted. + +Margaret was the greatest comfort to him in his troubled state of +soul. She described to him the searchings and anxieties she had +undergone, so that he cried "for very joy that he had encountered +one who had gone through the same experience as himself." + +In November, 1820, Margaret took up her abode for some time in the +house of a disciple, Caspar Notz, near Zürich, and made it the +centre whence she started on a series of missionary excursions. Here +also gathered the elect out of Zürich to hear her expound Scripture, +and pray. And hither also came the cobbler Morf seeking ease for his +troubled soul, and on occasions stayed in the house there with her +for a week at a time. At last his wife, the worthy Regula Morf, came +from Illnau to find her husband, and persuaded him to return with +her to his cobbling at home. + +At the end of January in 1821, Margaret visited Illnau again, and +drew away after her the bewitched Jacob, who followed her all the +way home, to Wildisbuch, and remained at her father's house ten days +further. + +On Ascension Day following, he was again with her, and then she +revealed to him that it was the will of heaven that they should +ascend together, without tasting death, into the mansions of the +blessed, and were to occupy one throne together for all eternity. +Throughout this year, when the cobbler, Jacob, was not at +Wildisbuch, or Saint Margaretta at Illnau, the pair were writing +incessantly to each other, and their correspondence is still +preserved in the archives of Zürich. Here is a specimen of the style +of the holy Margaret. "My dear child! your dear letter filled me +with joy. O, my dear child, how gladly would I tell you how it fares +with me! When we parted, I was forced to go aside where none might +see, to relieve my heart with tears. O, my heart, I cannot describe +to you the distress into which I fell. I lay as one senseless for +an hour. For anguish of heart I could not go home, such unspeakable +pains did I suffer! My former separation from you was but a shadow +of this parting. O, why are you so unutterably dear to me, &c.," and +then a flow of sickly, pious twaddle that makes the gorge rise. + +Regula Morf read this letter and shook her head over it. She had +shaken her head over another letter received by her husband a month +earlier, in which the holy damsel had written: "O, how great is my +love! It is stronger than death. O, how dear are you to me. I could +hug you to my heart a thousand times." And had scribbled on the +margin, "These words are for your eye alone." However, Regula saw +them, shook her head and told her husband that the letter seemed +to her unenlightened mind to be very much like a love-letter. +"Nothing of the sort," answered the cobbler, "it speaks of spiritual +affection only." + +We must now pass over a trait in the life of the holy maid which +is to the last degree unedifying, but which is merely another +exemplification of that truth which the history of mysticism +enforces in every age, that spiritual exaltation runs naturally, +inevitably, into licentiousness, unless held in the iron bands of +discipline to the moral law. A mystic is a law to himself. He bows +before no exterior authority. However much he may transgress the +code laid down by religion, he feels no compunction, no scruples, +for his heart condemns him not. It was so with the holy Margaret. +Her lapse or lapses in no way roused her to a sense of sin, but +served only to drive her further forward on the mad career of +self-righteous exaltation. + +She had disappeared for many months from her father's house, along +with her sister Elizabeth. The police had inquired as to their +whereabouts of old John Peter, but he had given them no information +as to where his daughters were. He professed not to know. He was +threatened unless they were produced by a certain day that he would +be fined. The police were sent in search in every direction but the +right one. + +Suddenly in the night of January 11th, 1823, the sisters +re-appeared, Margaret, white, weak, and prostrate with sickness. + +A fortnight after her return, Jacob Morf was again at Wildisbuch, +as he said afterwards before court, "led thither because assured by +Margaret that they were to ascend together to heaven without dying." + +From this time forward, Margaretta's conduct went into another +phase. Instead of resuming her pilgrim's staff and travelling round +the country preaching the Gospel, she remained all day in one room +with her sister Elizabeth, the shutters closed, reading the Bible, +meditating, and praying, and writing letters to her "dear child" +Jacob. The transgressions she had committed were crosses laid on her +shoulder by God. "Oh! why," she wrote in one of her epistles, "did +my Heavenly Father choose _that_ from all eternity in His providence +for me? There were thousands upon thousands of other crosses He +might have laid on me. But He elected that one which would be +heaviest for me, heavier than all the persecutions to which I am +subjected by the devil, and which all but overthrow me. From the +foundation of the world He has never so tried any of His saints as +He has us. It gives joy to all the host of heaven when we suffer to +the end." Again, "the greater the humiliation and shame we undergo, +and have to endure from our enemies here below"--consider, brought +on herself by her own scandalous conduct--"the more unspeakable our +glorification in heaven." + +In the evening, Margaretta would come downstairs and receive +visitors, and preach and prophesy to them. The entire house +was given over to religious ecstasy that intensified as Easter +approached. Every now and then the saint assembled the household +and exhorted them to watch and pray, for a great trial of their +faith was at hand. Once she asked them whether they were ready to +lay down their lives for Christ. One day she said, in the spirit of +prophecy, "Behold! I see the host of Satan drawing nearer and nearer +to encompass me. He strives to overcome me. Let me alone that I may +fight him." Then she flung her arms about and struck in the air with +her open hands. + +The idea grew in her that the world was in danger, that the devil +was gaining supremacy over it, and would carry all souls into +captivity once more, and that she--and almost only she--stood in his +way and was protecting the world of men against his power. + +For years she had exercised her authority, that grew with every +year, over everyone in the house, and not a soul there had thought +of resisting her, of evading the commands she laid on them, of +questioning her word. + +The house was closed against all but the very elect. The pastor of +the parish, as "worldly," was not suffered to cross the threshold. +At a tap, the door was opened, and those deemed worthy were +admitted, and the door hastily barred and bolted behind them. +Everything was viewed in a spiritual light. One evening Ursula +Kündig and Margaretta Jäggli were sitting spinning near the stove. +Suddenly there was a pop. A knot in the pine-logs in the stove had +exploded. But up sprang Jäggli, threw over her spinning-wheel, and +shrieked out--"Hearken! Satan is banging at the window. He wants +me. He will fetch me!" She fell convulsed on the floor, foaming +at the mouth. Margaret, the saint, was summoned. The writhing +girl shrieked out, "Pray for me! Save me! Fight for my soul!" and +Margaretta at once began her spiritual exercises to ban the evil +spirit from the afflicted and possessed servant maid. She beat with +her hands in the air, cried out, "Depart, thou murderer of souls, +accursed one, to hell-fire. Wilt thou try to rob me of my sheep that +was lost? My sheep--whom I have pledged myself to save?" + +One day, the maid had a specially bad epileptic fit. Around her bed +stood old John Peter, Elizabeth and Susanna, Ursula Kündig, and John +Moser, as well as the saint. Margaret was fighting with the Evil One +with her fists and her cries, when John Moser fell into ecstasy and +saw a vision. His account shall be given in his own words: "I saw +Christ and Satan, and the latter held a book open before Christ and +bade Him see how many claims he had on the soul of Jäggli. The book +was scored diagonally with red lines on all the pages. I saw this +distinctly, and therefore concluded that the account was cancelled. +Then I saw all the saints in heaven snatch the book away, and tear +it into a thousand pieces that fell down in a rain." + +But Satan was not to be defeated and driven away so easily. He +had made himself a nest, so Margaret stated, under the roof of +the house, and only a desperate effort of faith and contest with +spiritual arms could expel him. For this Armageddon she bade all +prepare. It is hardly necessary to add that it could not be fought +without the presence of the dearly beloved Jacob. She wrote to him +and invited him to come to the great and final struggle with the +devil and all his host, and the obedient cobbler girded his loins +and hastened to Wildisbuch, where he arrived on Saturday the 8th +March, 1823. + +On Monday, in answer, probably, to her summons, came also John Moser +and his brother Conrad. Then also Margaret's own and only brother, +Caspar. + +Before proceeding to the climax of this story we may well pause to +ask whether the heroine was in her senses or not; whether she set +the avalanche in motion that overwhelmed herself and her house, +with deliberation and consciousness as to the end to which she was +aiming. The woman was no vulgar impostor; she deceived herself to +her own destruction. In her senses, so far, she had set plainly +before her the object to which she was about to hurry her dupes, but +her reason and intelligence were smothered under her overweening +self-esteem, that had grown like a great spiritual cancer, till +it had sapped common-sense, and all natural affection, even the +very instinct of self-preservation. Before her diseased eyes, the +salvation of the whole world depended on herself. If she failed in +her struggle with the evil principle, all mankind fell under the +bondage of Satan; but she could not fail--she was all-powerful, +exalted above every chance of failure in the battle, just as she was +exalted above every lapse in virtue, do what she might, which to +the ordinary sense of mankind is immoral. Every mystic does not go +as far as Margaret Peter, happily, but all take some strides along +that road that leads to self-deification and _anomia_. In Margaret's +conduct, in preparation for the final tragedy, there was a good +deal of shrewd calculation; she led up to it by a long isolation +and envelopment of herself and her doings in mystery; and she +called her chosen disciples to witness it. Each stage in the drama +was calculated to produce a certain effect, and she measured her +influence over her creatures before she advanced another step. On +Monday all were assembled and in expectation; Armageddon was to be +fought, but when the battle would begin, and how it would be carried +through, were unknown. Tuesday arrived; some of the household went +about their daily work, the rest were gathered together in the room +where Margaret was, lost in silent prayer. Every now and then the +hush in the darkened room was broken by a wail of the saint: "I am +sore straitened! I am in anguish!--but I refresh my soul at the +prospect of the coming exaltation!" or, "My struggle with Satan is +severe. He strives to retain the souls which I will wrest from his +hold; some have been for two hundred, even three hundred years in +his power." + +One can imagine the scene--the effect produced on those assembled +about the pale, striving ecstatic. All who were present afterwards +testified that on the Tuesday and the following days they hardly +left the room, hardly allowed themselves time to snatch a hasty +meal, so full of expectation were they that some great and awful +event was about to take place. The holy enthusiasm was general, and +if one or two, such as old Peter and his son, Caspar, were less +magnetised than the rest, they were far removed from the thought +of in any way contesting the will of the prophetess, or putting +the smallest impediment in the way of her accomplishing what she +desired. + +When evening came, she ascended to an upper room, followed by the +whole company, and there she declared, "Lo! I see Satan and his +first-born floating in the air. They are dispersing their emissaries +to all corners of the earth to summon their armies together." +Elizabeth, somewhat tired of playing a passive part, added, "Yes--I +see them also." Then the holy maid relapsed into her mysterious +silence. After waiting another hour, all went to bed, seeing that +nothing further would happen that night. Next day, Wednesday, she +summoned the household into her bedroom; seated on her bed, she bade +them all kneel down and pray to the Lord to strengthen her hands for +the great contest. They continued striving in prayer till noon, and +then, feeling hungry, all went downstairs to get some food. When +they had stilled their appetites, Margaret was again seized by the +spirit of prophecy, and declared, "The Lord has revealed to me what +will happen in the latter days. The son of Napoleon" (that poor, +feeble mortal the Duke of Reichstadt) "will appear before the world +as anti-Christ, and will strive to bring the world over to his side. +He will undergo a great conflict; but what will be the result is +not shown me at the present moment; but I am promised a spiritual +token of this revelation." And the token followed. The dearly-loved +Jacob, John Moser, and Ursula Kündig cried out that they saw two +evil spirits, one in the form of Napoleon, pass into Margaret +Jäggli, and the other, in that of his son, enter into Elizabeth. +Whereupon Elizabeth, possessed by the spirit of that poor, little, +sickly Duke of Reichstadt, began to march about the room and assume +a haughty, military air. Thereupon the prophetess wrestled in spirit +and overcame these devils and expelled them. Thereat Elizabeth gave +up her military flourishes. + +From daybreak on the following day the blessed Margaret "had +again a desperate struggle," but without the assistance of the +household, which was summoned to take their share in the battle in +the afternoon only. She bade them follow her to the upper chamber, +and a procession ascended the steep stairs, consisting of Margaret, +followed by Elizabeth and Susanna Peter, Ursula Kündig and Jäggli, +the old father and his son, Caspar, the serving-man, Heinrich Ernst, +then Jacob Morf, John Moser, and the rear was brought up by the +young Conrad. As soon as the prophetess had taken her seat on the +bed, she declared, "Last night it was revealed to me that you are +all of you to unite with me in the battle with the devil, lest he +should conquer Christ. I must strive, lest your souls and those +of so many, many others should be lost. Come, then! strive with +me; but first of all, kneel down, lay your faces in the dust and +pray." Thereupon, all prostrated themselves on the floor and prayed +in silence. Presently the prophetess exclaimed from her throne on +the bed, "The hour is come in which the conflict must take place, +so that Christ may gather together His Church, and contend with +anti-Christ. After Christ has assembled His Church, 1260 days will +elapse, and then anti-Christ will appear in human form, and with +sweet and enticing words will strive to seduce the elect; but all +true Christians will hold aloof." After a pause, she said solemnly, +"In verity, anti-Christ is already among us." + +Then with a leap she was off the bed, turning her eyes about, +throwing up her hands, rushing about the room, striking the chairs +and clothes-boxes with her fists, crying, "The scoundrel, the +murderer of souls!" And, finding a hammer, she began to beat the +wall with it. + +The company looked on in breathless amaze. But the epileptic Jäggli +went into convulsions, writhed on the ground, groaned, shrieked and +wrung her hands. Then the holy Margaretta cried, "I see in spirit +the old Napoleon gathering a mighty host, and marching against me. +The contest will be terrible. You must wrestle unto blood. Go! fly! +fetch me axes, clubs, whatever you can find. Bar the doors, curtain +all the windows in the house, and close every shutter." + +Whilst her commands were being fulfilled in all haste, and the +required weapons were sought out, John Moser, who remained behind, +saw the room "filled with a dazzling glory, such as no tongue could +describe," and wept for joy. The excitement had already mounted to +visionary ecstasy. It was five o'clock when the weapons were brought +upstairs. The holy Margaretta was then seated on her bed, wringing +her hands, and crying to all to pray, "Help! help! all of you, that +Christ may not be overcome in me. Strike, smite, cleave--everywhere, +on all sides--the floor, the walls! It is the will of God! smite on +till I bid you stay. Smite and lose your lives if need be." + +It was a wonder that lives were not lost in the extraordinary scene +that ensued; the room was full of men and women; there were ten of +them armed with hatchets, crowbars, clubs, pick-axes, raining blows +on walls and floors, on chairs, tables, cupboards and chests. This +lasted for three hours. Margaret remained on the bed, encouraging +the party to continue; when any arm flagged she singled out the +weary person, and exhorted him, as he loved his soul, to fight more +valiantly and utterly defeat and destroy the devil. "Strike him! +cut him down! the old adversary! the arch-fiend! whoso loseth his +life shall find it. Fear nothing! smite till your blood runs down +as sweat. There he is in yonder corner; now at him," and Elizabeth +served as her echo, "Smite! strike on! He is a murderer, he is the +young Napoleon, the coming anti-Christ, who entered into me and +almost destroyed me." + +This lasted, as already said, for three hours. The room was full +of dust. The warriors steamed with their exertions, and the sweat +rolled off them. Never had men and women fought with greater +enthusiasm. The battle of Don Quixote against the wind-mills was +nothing to this. What blows and wounds the devil and the young +Duke of Reichstadt obtained is unrecorded, but walls and floor and +furniture in the room were wrecked; indeed pitchfork and axe had +broken down one wall of the house and exposed what went on inside to +the eyes of a gaping crowd that had assembled without, amazed at the +riot that went on in the house that was regarded as a very sanctuary +of religion. + +No sooner did the saint behold the faces of the crowd outside than +she shrieked forth, "Behold them! the enemies of God! the host of +Satan, coming on! But fear them not, we shall overcome." + +At last the combatants were no longer able to raise their arms or +maintain themselves on their feet. Then Margaret exclaimed, "The +victory is won! follow me!" She led them downstairs into the common +sitting-room, where close-drawn curtains and fastened shutters +excluded the rude gaze of the profane. Here a rushlight was kindled, +and by its light the battle continued with an alteration in the +tactics. + +In complete indifference to the mob that surrounded the house and +clamoured at the door for admission, the saint ordered all to throw +themselves on the ground and thank heaven for the victory they had +won. Then, after a pause of more than an hour the same scene began +again, and that it could recommence is evidence how much a man can +do and endure, when possessed by a holy craze. + +It was afterwards supposed that the whole pious community was drunk +with schnaps; but with injustice. Their stomachs were empty; it was +their brains that were drunk. + +The holy Margaret, standing in the midst of the prostrate +worshippers, now ordered them to beat themselves with their fists +on their heads and breasts, and they obeyed. Elizabeth yelled, "O, +Margaret! Do thou strike me! Let me die for Christ." + +Thereupon the holy one struck her sister repeatedly with her +fists, so that Elizabeth cried out with pain, "Bear it!" exclaimed +Margaret; "It is the wrath of God!" + +The prima-donna of the whole comedy in the meanwhile looked well +about her to see that none of the actors spared themselves. When +she saw anyone slack in his self-chastisement, she called to him to +redouble his blows. As the old man did not exhibit quite sufficient +enthusiasm in self-torture, she cried, "Father, you do not beat +yourself sufficiently!" and then began to batter him with her own +fists. The ill-treated old man groaned under her blows, but she +cheered him with, "I am only driving out the old Adam, father! It +does not hurt you," and redoubled her pommelling of his head and +back. Then out went the light. + +All this while the crowd listened and passed remarks outside. No +one would interfere, as it was no one's duty to interfere. Tidings +of what was going on did, however, reach the amtmann of the parish, +but he was an underling, and did not care to meddle without higher +authority, so sent word to the amtmann of the district. This latter +called to him his secretary, his constable and a policeman, and +reached the house of the Peter's family at ten o'clock. In his +report to the police at Zürich he says: "On the 13th about 10 +o'clock at night I reached Wildisbuch, and then heard that the noise +in the house of the Peter's family had ceased, that all lights were +out, and that no one was stirring. I thought it advisable not to +disturb this tranquillity, so left orders that the house should +be watched," and then he went into the house of a neighbour. At +midnight, the policeman who had been left on guard came to announce +that there was a renewal of disturbance in the house of the Peters. +The amtmann went to the spot and heard muffled cries of "Save us! +have mercy on us! Strike away! he is a murderer! spare him not!" +and a trampling, and a sound of blows, "as though falling on soft +bodies." The amtmann knocked at the window and ordered those within +to admit him. As no attention was paid to his commands, he bade +the constable break open the house door. This was done, but the +sitting-room door was now found to be fast barred. The constable +then ascended to the upper room and saw in what a condition of +wreckage it was. He descended and informed the amtmann of what he +had seen. Again the window was knocked at, and orders were repeated +that the door should be opened. No notice was taken of this; +whereupon the worthy magistrate broke in a pane of glass, and thrust +a candle through the window into the room. + +"I now went to the opened window, and observed four or five men +standing with their backs against the door. Another lay as dead on +the floor. At a little distance was a coil of human beings, men and +women, lying in a heap on the floor, beside them a woman on her +knees beating the rest, and crying out at every blow, 'Lord, have +mercy!' Finally, near the stove was another similar group." + +The amtmann now ordered the sitting-room door to be broken open. +Conrad Moser, who had offered to open to the magistrate, was rebuked +by the saint, who cried out to him: "What, will you give admission +to the devil?" + +"The men," says the magistrate in his report, "offered resistance +excited thereto by the women, who continued screaming. The holy +Margaret especially distinguished herself, and was on her knees +vigorously beating another woman who lay flat on the floor on her +face. A second group consisted of a coil of two men and two women +lying on the floor, the head of one woman on the body of a man, +and the head of a man on that of a girl. The rest staggered to +their feet one after another. I tried remonstrances, but they were +unavailing in the hubbub. Then I ordered the old Peter to be removed +from the room. Thereupon men and women flung themselves upon him, +in spite of all our assurances that no harm would be done him. With +difficulty we got him out of the room, with all the rest hanging +on him, so that he was thrown on the floor, and the rest clinging +to him tumbled over him in a heap. I repeated my remonstrance, and +insisted on silence, but without avail. When old Peter prepared to +answer, the holy Margaret stayed him with, 'Father, make no reply. +Pray!' All then recommenced the uproar. Margaret cried out: 'Let us +all die! I will die for Christ!' Others called out, 'Lord, save us!' +and others, 'Have mercy on us!'" + +The amtmann gave orders that the police were to divide the party +and keep guard over some in the kitchen, and the rest in the +sitting-room, through the night, and not to allow them to speak to +each other. The latter order was, however, more than the police +could execute. In spite of all their efforts, Margaretta and the +others continued to exhort and comfort one another through the night. + +Next morning each was brought before the magistrate and subjected +to examination. All were sullen, resolute, and convinced that they +were doing God's will. As the holy Margaretta was led away from +examination, she said to Ursula and the servant Heinrich, "The world +opposes, but can not frustrate my work." + +Her words came true, the world was too slow in its movements. The +amtmann did not send in his report to the authorities of Zürich till +the 16th, whereupon it was taken into consideration, and orders were +transmitted to him that Margaret and Elizabeth were to be sent to an +asylum. It was then too late. + +After the investigation, the amtmann required the cobbler, John +Morf, to march home to Illnau, John and Conrad Moser to return to +their home, and Ursula Kündig to be sent back to her father. This +command was not properly executed. Ursula remained, and though +John Moser obeyed, he was prepared to return to the holy Margaret +directly he was summoned. + +As soon as the high priestess had come out of the room where she had +been examined by the amtmann, she went to her own bed-chamber, where +boards had been laid over the gaps between the rafters broken by the +axes and picks, during the night. Elizabeth, Susanna, Ursula, and +the maid sat or stood round her and prayed. + +At eight o'clock, the father and his son, Caspar, rejoined her, also +her eldest sister, Barbara, arrived from Trüllikon. The servant, +Heinrich, formed one more in the re-assembled community, and the +ensuing night was passed in prayer and spiritual exercises. These +were not conducted in quiet. To the exhortations of Margaret, +both Elizabeth and the housemaid entreated that the devil might be +beaten out of them. But now Ursula interfered, as the poor girl +Elizabeth had been badly bruised in her bosom by the blows she had +received on the preceding night. When the Saturday morning dawned, +Margaret stood up on her bed and said, "I see the many souls seeking +salvation through me. They must be assisted; would that a sword were +in my hand that I might fight for them." A little later she said, +with a sigh of relief, "The Lamb has conquered. Go to your work." + +Tranquillity lasted for but a few hours. Magdalena, Moser's wife, +had arrived, together with her husband and Conrad. The only one +missing was the dearly beloved Jacob, who was far on his way +homeward to Illnau and his hardly used wife, Regula. + +At ten o'clock, the old father, his five daughters, his son, the two +brothers, John and Conrad Moser, Ursula Kündig, the maid Jäggli, and +the man Heinrich Ernst, twelve in all, were assembled in the upper +room. + +Margaret and Elizabeth sat side by side on the bed, the latter +half stupified, looking fixedly before her, Margaret, however, in +a condition of violent nervous surrexitation. Many of the weapons +used in wrecking the furniture lay about; among these were the +large hammer, and an iron wedge used for splitting wood. All there +assembled felt that something extraordinary was about to happen. +They had everyone passed the line that divides healthy common-sense +from mania. + +Margaretta now solemnly announced, "I have given a pledge for many +souls that Satan may not have them. Among these is the soul of my +brother Caspar. But I cannot conquer in the strife for him without +the shedding of blood." Thereupon she bade all present recommence +beating themselves with their fists, so as to expel the devil, and +they executed her orders with wildest fanaticism. + +The holy maid now laid hold of the iron wedge, drew her brother +Caspar to her, and said, "Behold, the Evil One is striving to +possess thy soul!" and thereupon she began to strike him on head +and breast with the wedge. Caspar staggered back; she pursued him, +striking him and cutting his head open, so that he was covered with +blood. As he afterwards declared, he had not the smallest thought of +resistance; the power to oppose her seemed to be taken from him. At +length, half stunned, he fell to the ground, and was carried to his +bed by his father and the maid Jäggli. The old man no more returned +upstairs, consequently he was not present at the terrible scene +that ensued. But he took no steps to prevent it. Not only so, but +he warded off all interruption from without. Whilst he was below, +someone knocked at the door. At that moment Susanna was in the room +with him, and he bade her inquire who was without. The man gave his +name as Elias Vogal, a mason, and asked leave to come in. Old Peter +refused, as he said the surgeon was within. Elias endeavoured to +push his way in but was resisted, and the door barred against him. +Vogel went away, and meeting a policeman told him what had taken +place, and added that he had noticed blood-stains on the sleeves of +both old Peter and Susanna. The policeman, thinking that Peter's +lie was truth, and that the surgeon was really in the house, and had +been bleeding the half-crazy people there, took no further notice of +what he had heard, and went his way. + +Meanwhile, in the upper room the comedy had been changed into a +ghastly tragedy. As soon as the wounded Caspar had been removed, the +three sisters, Barbara, Magdalena, and Susanna left the room, the +two latter, however, only for a short while. Then the holy Margaret +said to those who remained with her, "To-day is a day of great +events. The contest has been long and must now be decided. Blood +must flow. I see the spirit of my mother calling to me to offer up +my life." After a pause she said, "And you--all--are you ready to +give your lives?" They all responded eagerly that they were. Then +said Margaret, "No, no; I see you will not readily die. But I--I +must die." + +Thereupon Elizabeth exclaimed, "I will gladly die for the saving of +the souls of my brother and father. Strike me dead, strike me dead!" +Then she threw herself on the bed and began to batter her head with +a wooden mallet. + +"It has been revealed to me," said Margaret, "that Elizabeth will +sacrifice herself." Then taking up the iron hammer, she struck her +sister on the head. At once a spiritual fury seized on all the +elect souls, and seizing weapons they began to beat the poor girl +to death. Margaret in her mania struck at random about her, and +wounded both John Moser and Ursula Kündig. Then she suddenly caught +the latter by the wrist and bade her kill Elizabeth with the iron +wedge. Ursula shrank back, "I cannot! I love her too dearly!" "You +must," screamed the saint; "it is ordained." "I am ready to die" +moaned Elizabeth. "I cannot! I cannot!" cried Ursula. "You must," +shouted Margaret. "I will raise my sister again, and I also will +rise again after three days. May God strengthen your arm." + +As though a demoniacal influence flowed out of the holy maid, and +maddened those about her, all were again seized with frenzy. John +Moser snatched the hammer out of her hand, and smote the prostrate +girl with it again, and yet again, on head and bosom and shoulders. +Susanna brought down a crow-bar across her body, the servant-man +Heinrich belaboured her with a fragment of the floor planking, +and Ursula, swept away by the current, beat in her skull with the +wedge. Throughout the turmoil, the holy maid yelled: "God strengthen +your arms! Ursula, strike home! Die for Christ, Elizabeth!" The +last words heard from the martyred girl were an exclamation of +resignation to the will of God, as expressed by her sister. + +One would have supposed that when the life was thus battered out +of the unfortunate victim, the murderers would have come to their +senses and been filled with terror and remorse. But it was not so. +Margaret sat beside the body of her murdered sister, the blaze of +spiritual ecstasy in her eyes, the blood-stained hammer in her +right hand, terrible in her inflexible determination, and in the +demoniacal energy which was to possess her to the last breath she +drew. Her bosom heaved, her body quivered, but her voice was firm +and her tone authoritative, as she said, "More blood must flow. I +have pledged myself for the saving of many souls. I must die now. +You must crucify me." John Moser and Ursula, shivering with horror, +entreated, "O do not demand that of us." She replied, "It is better +that I should die than that thousands of souls should perish." + +So saying she struck herself with the hammer on the left temple. +Then she held out the weapon to John Moser, and ordered him and +Ursula to batter her with it. Both hesitated for a moment. + +"What!" cried Margaret turning to her favourite disciple, "will you +not do this? Strike and may God brace your arm!" Moser and Ursula +now struck her with the hammer, but not so as to stun her. + +"And now," said she with raised voice, "crucify me! You, Ursula, +must do the deed." + +"I cannot! I cannot!" sobbed the wretched girl. + +"What! will you withdraw your hand from the work of God, now the +hour approaches? You will be responsible for all the souls that will +be lost, unless you fulfil what I have appointed you to do." + +"But O! not I--!" pleaded Ursula. + +"Yes--you. If the police authorities had executed me, it would not +have fallen to you to do this, but now it is for you to accomplish +the work. Go, Susan, and fetch nails, and the rest of you make ready +the cross." + +In the meantime, Heinrich, the man-servant, frightened at what had +taken place, and not wishing to have anything more to do with the +horrible scene in the upper chamber, had gone quietly down into +the wood-house, and was making stakes for the vines. There Susanna +found him, and asked him for nails, telling him for what they were +designed. He composedly picked her out nails of suitable length, and +then resumed his work of making vine stakes. Susanna re-ascended to +the upper room, and found Margaret extended on the bed beside the +body of Elizabeth, with the arms, breast, and feet resting on blocks +of wood, arranged, whilst Susanna was absent, by John Moser and +Ursula, under her in the fashion of a cross. + +Then began the horrible act of crucifixion, which is only +conceivable as an outburst of religious mania, depriving all who +took part in it of every feeling of humanity, and degrading them +to the level of beasts of prey. At the subsequent trial, both +Ursula and John Moser described their condition as one of spiritual +intoxication. + +The hands and feet of the victim were nailed to the blocks of wood. +Then Ursula's head swam, and she drew back. Again Margaret called +her to continue her horrible work. "Go on! go on! God strengthen +your arm. I will raise Elizabeth from the dead, and rise myself in +three days." Nails were driven through both elbows and also through +the breasts of Margaret; not for one moment did the victim express +pain, nor did her courage fail her. No Indian at the stake endured +the cruel ingenuity of his tormentors with more stoicism than did +this young woman bear the martyrdom she had invoked for herself. +She impressed her murderers with the idea that she was endowed with +supernatural strength. It could not be otherwise, for what she +endured was beyond the measure of human strength. That in the place +of human endurance she was possessed with the Berserker strength +of the _furor religiosus_, was what these ignorant peasants could +not possibly know. Conrad Moser could barely support himself from +fainting, sick and horror-struck at the scene. He exclaimed, "Is +not this enough?" His brother, John, standing at the foot of the +bed, looked into space with glassy eyes. Ursula, bathed in tears, +was bowed over the victim. Magdalena Moser had taken no active part +in the crucifixion; she remained the whole time, weeping, leaning +against a chest. + +The dying woman smiled. "I feel no pain. Be yourselves strong," she +whispered. "Now, drive a nail or a knife through my heart." + +Ursula endeavoured to do as bidden, but her hand shook and the knife +was bent. "Beat in my skull!" this was the last word spoken by +Margaret. In their madness Conrad Moser and Ursula Kündig obeyed, +one with the crowbar, the other with the hammer. + +It was noon when the sacrifice was accomplished--dinner-time. +Accordingly, all descended to the sitting-room, where the meal that +Margaret Jäggli had been in the meantime preparing was served and +eaten. + +They had scarce finished before a policeman entered with a paper for +old Peter to sign, in which he made himself answerable to produce +his daughters before the magistrates when and where required. +He signed it with composure, "I declare that I will cause my +daughters, if in good health, to appear before the Upper Amtsmann in +Andelfingen when so required." Then the policeman departed without +a suspicion that the two girls were lying dead in the room above. +On Sunday the 16th, the servant Heinrich was sent on horseback to +Illnau to summon Jacob Morf to come to Wildisbuch and witness a +great miracle. Jacob came there with Heinrich, but was not told the +circumstances of the crucifixion till he reached the house. When he +heard what had happened, he was frightened almost out of his few +wits, and when taken upstairs to see the bodies, he fainted away. +Nothing--no representations would induce him to remain for the +miraculous resurrection, and he hastened back to Illnau, where he +took to his bed. In his alarm and horror he sent for the pastor, and +told him what he had seen. + +But the rest of the holy community remained stead-fast in their +faith. On the night of Sunday before Monday morning broke, Ursula +Kündig and the servant man Heinrich went upstairs with pincers and +drew out the nails that transfixed Margaretta. When asked their +reason for so doing, at the subsequent trial, they said that they +supposed this would facilitate Margaretta's resurrection. _Sanctus +furor_ had made way for _sancta simplicitas_. + +The night of Monday to Tuesday was spent in prayer and +Scripture-reading in the upper chamber, and eager expectation of the +promised miracle, which never took place. The catastrophe could no +longer be concealed. Something must be done. On Tuesday, old John +Peter pulled on his jacket and walked to Trüllikon to inform the +pastor that his daughter Elizabeth had died on the Saturday at 10 +a.m., and his daughter Margaretta at noon of the same day. + +We need say little more. On Dec. 3rd, 1823, the trial of all +incriminated in this frightful tragedy took place at Zürich and +sentence was pronounced on the following day. Ursula Kündig was +sentenced to sixteen years' imprisonment, Conrad Moser and John +Peter to eight years, Susanna Peter and John Moser to six years, +Heinrich Ernst to four years, Jacob Morf to three, Margaret Jäggli +to two years, Barbara Baumann and Casper Peter to one year, and +Magdalena Moser to six months with hard labour. The house at +Wildisbuch was ordered to be levelled with the dust, the plough +drawn over the foundation, and that no house should again be erected +on the spot. + +Before the destruction, however, a pilgrimage of Pietists and +believers in Margaret Peter had visited the scene of her death, and +many had been the exclamations of admiration at her conduct. "Oh, +that it had been I who had died!" "Oh, how many souls must she have +delivered!" and the like. _Magna est stultitia et prævalebit._ + +At a time like the present, when there is a wave of warm, mystic +fever sweeping over the country, and carrying away with it +thousands of ignorant and impetuous souls, it is well that the +story--repulsive though it be--should be brought into notice, as +a warning of what this spiritual excitement may lead to--not, +indeed, again, maybe, into bloodshed. It is far more likely to lead +to, as it has persistently, in every similar outbreak, into moral +disorders, the record of which, in the case of Margaretta Peter, we +have passed over almost without a word. + + Authority: Die Gekreuzigte von Wildisbuch, von J. Scherr, 2nd + Edit., St. Gall. 1867. Scherr visited the spot, collected + information from eye-witnesses, and made copious extracts from + the records of the trial in the Zürich archives, where they are + contained in Vol. 166, folio 1044, under the heading: "Akten + betreffened die Gräuel--Scenen in Wildisbuch." + + + + +A Northern Raphael. + + +Here and there in the galleries of North Germany and Russia may +be seen paintings of delicacy and purity, delicacy of colour and +purity of design, the author of which was Gerhard von Kügelgen. +The majority of his paintings are in private hands; but an Apollo, +holding the dying Hyacinthus in his arms, is in the possession of +the German Emperor; Moses on Horeb is in the gallery of the Academy +of Fine Arts at Dresden; a St. Cæcilia and an Adonis, painted in +1794 and 1795, were purchased by the Earl of Bristol; a Holy Family +is in the Gallery at Cassel; and some of the sacred subjects have +found their way into churches. + +In 1772, the wife of Franz Kügelgen, a merchant of Bacharach on the +Rhine, presented her husband with twin sons, the elder of whom by +fifteen minutes is the subject of this notice. His brother was named +Karl. Their resemblance was so great that even their mother found a +difficulty in their early childhood in distinguishing one from the +other. + +Bacharach was in the Electorate of Cologne, and when the +Archbishop-Elector, Maximilian Franz, learned that the twins were +fond of art, in 1791 he very liberally gave them a handsome sum +of money to enable them to visit Rome and there prosecute their +studies. + +Gerhard was at once fascinated by the statuary in the Vatican, and +by the pictures of Raphael. The ambition of his life thenceforward +was to combine the beauty of modelling of the human form that he +saw in the Græco-Roman statues with the beauty of colour that he +recognised in Raphael's canvases. Karl, on the other hand, devoted +himself to landscapes. + +In 1795 the brothers separated, Gerhard that he might visit Munich. +Thence, in the autumn, he went to Riga with a friend, and there he +remained rather over two years, and painted and disposed of some +fifty-four pictures. Then he painted in St. Petersburg and Revel, +and finally settled into married life and regular work at Dresden +in 1806. There he became a general favourite, not only on account +of his artistic genius, but also because of the fascination of +his modest and genial manner. He was honoured by the Court, and +respected by everyone for his virtues. Orders flowed in on him, and +his paintings commanded good prices. The king of Saxony ennobled +him, that is to say, raised him out of the bürger-stand, by giving +him the privilege of writing a _Von_ before his patronymic. + +Having received an order from Riga for a large altar picture, he +bought a vineyard on the banks of the Elbe, commanding a charming +prospect of the river and the distant blue Bohemian mountains. Here +he resolved to erect a country house for the summer, with a large +studio lighted from the north. The construction of this residence +was to him a great pleasure and occupation. In November, 1819, +he wrote to his brother, "My house shall be to us a veritable +fairy palace, in which to dwell till the time comes, when through +a little, narrow and dark door we pass through into that great +habitation of the Heavenly Father in which are many mansions, and +where our whole family will be re-united. Should it please God to +call me away, then Lily (his wife) will find this an agreeable +dower-house, in which she can supervise the education of the +children, as the distance from the town is only an hour's walk." + +The words were written, perhaps, without much thought, but they +foreshadowed a terrible catastrophe. Kügelgen would pass, before his +fairy palace was ready to receive him, through that little, narrow +door into the heavenly mansions. + +The holy week of 1820 found him in a condition of singularly deep +religious emotion. He was a Catholic, but had, nevertheless, allowed +his son to be confirmed by a Protestant pastor. The ceremony had +greatly affected him, and he said to a friend, who was struck at the +intensity of his feeling, "I know I shall never be as happy again +till I reach Heaven." + +On March 27th, on the very day of the confirmation, he went in +the afternoon a walk by himself to his vineyard, to look at his +buildings. He invited one of his pupils to accompany him, but the +young man had some engagement and declined. + +At 5 p.m. he was at the new house, where he paid the workmen, gave +some instructions, and pointed out where he would do some planting, +so as to enchance the picturesqueness of the spot. At some time +between six and seven he left, to walk back to Dresden, along the +road from Bautzen. + +Every one who has been at the Saxon capital knows that road. The +right bank of the Elbe above Dresden rises in picturesque heights +covered with gardens and vineyards, from the river, and about a +mile from the bridge is the Linkes Bad, with its pleasant gardens, +theatre, music and baths. That road is one of the most charming, +and, therefore, the most frequented outside the capital. On the +evening in question the Easter moon was shining. + +Kügelgen did not return home. His wife sent his son, the just +confirmed boy, aged 17 years, to the new house, to inquire for her +husband. The boy learned there that he had left some hours before. +He returned home, and found that still his father had not come +in. The police were communicated with, and the night was spent in +inquiries and search, but all in vain. On the following morning, +at 9 a.m., as the boy was traversing the same road, along with a +gensdarme, he deemed it well to explore a footpath beside the river, +which was overflown by the Elbe, and there, finally, amongst some +reeds they discovered the dead body of the artist, stripped of his +clothes to his shirt and drawers, lying on his face. + +Gerhard von Kügelgen had been murdered. His features were cut and +bruised, his left temple and jaw were broken. Footsteps, as of two +persons, were traceable through the river mud and across a field +to the highway. Apparently the artist had been murdered on the +road, then carried or dragged to the path, stripped there, and then +cast among the rushes. About twenty-four paces from where he lay, +between him and the highway, his cap was found. + +The excitement, the alarm, aroused in Dresden was immense. Not only +was Kügelgen universally respected, but everyone was in dismay at +the thought that his own safety was jeopardised, if a murder such as +this could be perpetrated on the open road, within a few paces of +the gates. Indeed, the place where the crime was committed was but a +hundred strides from the Linkes Bad, one of the most popular resorts +of the Dresdeners. + +It was now remembered that only a few months before, near the +same spot, another murder had been committed, that had remained +undiscovered. In that case the victim had been a poor carpenter's +apprentice. + +On the same day as the body of Kügelgen was found, the Government +offered a sum equal to £150 for the discovery of the murderer. A +little later, some children found among the rubbish, outside the +Black Gate of the Dresdener Vorstadt, a blue cloth cloak, folded +up and buried under some stones. It was recognised as having +belonged to Kügelgen. Moreover, in the pocket was the little +"Thomas-à-Kempis" he always carried about with him. + +It was concluded that the murderer had not ventured to bring all +the clothing of Kügelgen into the town, through the gate, and had, +therefore, hidden portions in places whence he could remove them one +by one, unobserved. The murderer was, undoubtedly, an inhabitant of +the city. + +From March 29th to April 4th the police remained without any clue, +although a description of the garments worn by the murdered man, and +of his watch, was posted up at every corner, and sent round to the +nearest towns and villages. + +The workmen who had been engaged on Kügelgen's house were brought +before the police. They had left after his departure, and had +received money from him; but they were discharged, as there was no +evidence against them. + +As no light seemed to fall on this mysterious case, the police +looked up the circumstances of the previous murder. On December +29th, 1819, a carrier on the highroad had found a body on the way. +It was ascertained to be that of a carpenter's apprentice, named +Winter. His skull had been broken in. Not a trace of the murderer +was found; not even footprints had been observed. However, it was +learned that the wife of a labourer had been attacked almost at the +same spot, on the 28th December, by a man wearing a military cap and +cloak; and she had only escaped him by the approach of a carriage, +the sound of the wheels having alarmed him, and induced him to fly. +He had fled in the direction of the Black Gate and the barracks. + +The anxiety of the Dresdeners seemed justified. There was some +murderous ruffian inhabiting the Vorstadt, who hovered about the +gates, waylaying, not wealthy men only, but poor charwomen and +apprentices. + +The military cloak and cap, the direction taken by the assailant in +his flight, gave a sort of clue--and the police suspected that the +murderer must be sought among the soldiers. + +On April 4th two Jewish pawnbrokers appeared before the police, and +handed over a silver watch which had been left with them at 9 a.m. +on the 20th March--that is to say on the morning after the murder +of Kügelgen--and which agreed with the advertised description of +the artist's lost watch. It was identified at once. The man who had +pawned it, the Jews said, wore the uniform of an artillery soldier. + +At the request of the civil authorities, the military officers held +an inquisition in the barracks. All the artillery soldiers were made +to pass before the Jew brokers, but they were unable to identify the +man who had deposited the watch with them. Somewhat later in the day +one of these Jews, as he was going through the street, saw a man in +civil dress, whom he thought he recognised as the fellow who had +given him the watch. He went up to him at once and spoke about the +watch. The man at first acknowledged that he had pawned one, then +denied, and threatened the Jew when he persevered in clinging to +him. A gendarme came up, and hearing what the controversy was about, +arrested the man, who gave his name as Fischer, a gunner. + +Fischer was at once examined, and he doggedly refused to allow that +he had given up a watch to the Jew. + +Suspicion against him was deepened by his declaring that he +had heard nothing of the murder--a matter of general talk in +Dresden--and that he had not seen the notices with the offer of +reward for the discovery of the murderer. On the following day, +April 5th, however, he admitted having pawned the watch, which he +pretended to have found outside the Black Gate. A few hours later he +withdrew this confession, saying that he was so bewildered with the +questions put to him, and so alarmed at his arrest, that he did not +well know what he said. It was observed that Fischer was a man of +very low intellectual power. + +The same day he was invested in his uniform, and presented before +the pawnbrokers. Both unanimously declared that he was _not_ the man +who had entered their shop and deposited the watch with them. They +both declared that though Fischer had the same height and general +build as the man in question, and the same fair hair, yet that the +face was different. + +With this, the case against Fischer broke down; nevertheless, though +he had been handed over by the military authorities to the civil +power, he remained under arrest. The public was convinced of his +guilt, and the police hoped by keeping him in prison to draw from +him later some information which might prove serviceable. + +And, in fact, after he had been a fortnight under arrest, he +volunteered a statement. He was conducted at once before the +magistrate, and confessed that he had murdered Von Kügelgen. He, +however, stoutly denied having laid hands on the carpenter Winter. +Nevertheless, on the way back to his cell he told his gaoler that +he had committed this murder as well. Next day he was again brought +before the magistrate, and confessed to both murders. He was taken +to the spots where the two corpses had been found, and there he +renewed his confession, though without entering into any details. + +But on the next morning, April 21, he begged to be again heard, and +he then asserted that his former confessions were false. He had +confessed merely because he was weary of his imprisonment and the +poor food he was given, and decided to die. When spoken to by the +magistrates seriously, and remonstrated with for his contradictions, +he cried out that he was innocent. Let them torture him as much as +they pleased, he wished to die. + +But hardly was he back in his prison than he told the gaoler that it +was true that he was the murderer of both Kügelgen and Winter. Again +he confessed before the magistrate, and again, on the 27th, withdrew +his confession and protested his innocence. + +On the 21st April a new element in the case came to light, that +perplexed the question not a little. + +A Jewish pawnbroker, Löbel Graff, announced that on February 3, +1820, he had received from the gunner Kaltofen, a green coat, and +on the 4th April a dark-blue cloth coat, stained with spots of +oil, also a pair of cloth trousers. As both coats seemed to him +suspicious, and to resemble those described in the advertisements, +he had questioned Kaltofen about them, but had received equivocal +answers, and Kaltofen at last admitted that he had bought them from +the gunner Fischer. + +John Gottfried Kaltofen was a young man of 24 years, servant to +one of the officers, and therefore did not live in the barracks. +He was now taken up. His manner and appearance were in his favour. +He was frank, and at once admitted that he had disposed of the +two coats to Graff, and that he had bought them of Fischer. On +confrontation with the latter he repeated what he had said. Fischer +fell into confusion, denied all knowledge of Kaltofen, protested his +innocence, and denied the sale of the coats, one of which had in the +meantime been identified as having belonged to Winter, and the other +to Kügelgen. + +On April 27th a search was made in the lodgings of Kaltofen, and +three keys were found there, hidden away, and these proved to have +belonged to Kügelgen. At first Kaltofen declared that he knew +nothing of these keys, but afterwards said that he remembered on +consideration that he had found them in the pocket of the blue +coat he had purchased from Fischer, and had put them away before +disposing of the coat, and had given them no further thought. Not +many minutes after Fischer had been sent back to prison, he begged +to be brought before the magistrate again, and now admitted that it +was quite true that he had sold both coats to Kaltofen. + +Whilst this confession was being taken down, however, he again +hesitated, broke down, and denied having sold them to Kaltofen, or +any one else. "I can't say anything more," he cried out; "my head is +dazed." + +By this statement he remained, protesting his innocence, and he +declared that he had only confessed his guilt because he was +afraid of ill-treatment in the prison if he continued to assert +his innocence. It must be remembered that the gaolers were as +convinced of his guilt as were the public of Dresden; and it is +noticeable that under pressure from them Fischer always acknowledged +his guilt; whereas, when before the magistrates he was ready to +proclaim that he was innocent. At this time it was part of the duty +of a gaoler, or was supposed to be such, to use every possible +effort to bring a prisoner to confession. And now, on April 27th, +a third gunner appeared on the scene. His name was Kiessling, and +he asked the magistrate to take down his statement, which was to +the effect that Kaltofen, who had been discharged, had admitted +to him that he had murdered Kügelgen with a cudgel, and that he +had still got some of his garments hidden in his lodgings. But--so +said Kiessling--Kaltofen had jauntily said he would lay it all on +Fischer. Kiessling, moreover, produced a pair of boots, that he said +Kaltofen had left with him to be re-soled, as he was regimental +shoemaker. And these boots were at once recognised as having been +those worn by Kügelgen when he was murdered. + +Kaltofen was at once re-arrested, and brought into confrontation +with Kiessling. He retained his composure, and said that it was +quite true that he had given a pair of boots to Kiessling to +re-sole, but they were a pair that he had bought in the market. But, +in the meantime, another investigation of his lodgings had been +made, and a number of articles found that had certainly belonged +to the murdered men, Winter and Kügelgen. They were ranged on the +table, together with the pair of boots confided to Kiessling, and +Kaltofen was shown them. Hitherto, the young man had displayed +phlegmatic composure, and an openness of manner that had impressed +all who saw him in his favour. His intelligence, had, moreover, +contrasted favourably with that of Fischer. But the sight of all +these articles, produced before him, staggered Kaltofen, and, losing +his presence of mind, he turned in a fury upon his comrade, the +shoemaker, and swore at him for having betrayed his confidence. Only +after he had poured forth a torrent of abuse, could the magistrate +bring him to say anything about the charge, and then--still hot +and panting from his onslaught on Kiessling--he admitted that he, +not Fischer, was the murderer in both cases. Fischer, he said, was +wholly innocent, not only of participation in, but of knowledge of +the crimes. The summary of his confession, oft repeated and never +withdrawn, was as follows:--Being in need of money, he had gone +outside the town thrice in one week, at the end of December, 1819, +with the intent of murdering and robbing the first person he could +attack with security. For this purpose, he had provided himself +with a cudgel under his cloak. On the 29th December he selected +Winter as his first victim. He allowed him to pass, then stole +after him, and suddenly dealt him a blow on the back of his head, +before the young man turned to see who was following him. Winter +dropped, whereupon he, Kaltofen, had struck him twice again on the +head. Then he divested his victim of collar, coat, hat, kerchief, +watch, and a little money--not more than four shillings in English +coins, and a few tools. He was engaged on pulling off his boots and +trousers, when he was alarmed by hearing the tramp of horses and the +sound of wheels, and he ran off across the fields with his spoil. +He got Kiessling to dispose of the hat for him, the other articles +he himself sold to Jews. Whether it was he also who assaulted the +poor woman we are not informed. In like manner Kaltofen proceeded +with Kügelgen. He was again in want of money. He had been gambling, +and had lost what little he had. On the Monday in Holy Week, 1820, +he took his cudgel again and went out along the Bautzen Road. The +moon shone brightly, and he met a gentleman walking slowly towards +Dresden, in a blue cloak. He allowed him to pass, then followed +him. As a woman was walking in the same direction, but at a quicker +rate, he delayed his purpose till she had disappeared behind the +first houses of the suburb. Then he hastened on, walking lightly, +and springing up behind Kügelgen, struck him on the right temple +with his cudgel from behind. Kügelgen fell without uttering a +cry. Kaltofen at once seized him by the collar and dragged him +across a field to the edge of the river. There he dealt him +several additional blows, and then proceeded to strip him. Whilst +thus engaged, he remembered that the dead man had dropped his +walking-stick on the high road when first struck. Kaltofen at once +desisted from what he was about, to return to the road and recover +the walking-stick. On coming back to his victim, he thought there +was still life in him; Kügelgen was moving and endeavouring to rise. +Whereupon, with his cudgel, Kaltofen repeatedly struck him, till all +signs of life disappeared. He now completed his work of spoliation, +pulled off the boots, untied the neckerchief, and ransacked the +pockets. He found in addition to the watch the sum of about +half-a-guinea. He then stole away among the rushes till he reached +the Linkes Bad, where he returned to the main road. He concealed +the cloak at the Black Gate, but carried the rest of his plunder to +his lodgings. + +His confession was confirmed by several circumstances. Kiessling was +again required to repeat what he had heard from Kaltofen, and the +story as told by him agreed exactly with that now confessed by the +murderer. Kiessling added that Kaltofen had told him he was puzzled +to account for Fischer's self-examination, as he knew that the man +had nothing to do with the murder. A third examination of Kaltofen's +lodgings resulted in the discovery of all the rest of the murdered +man's effects. Moreover, when Kaltofen was confronted with the two +Jews who had taken the silver watch on the 24th, they immediately +recognised him as the man who had disposed of it to them. + +Finally, he confessed to having been associated with Kiessling in +two robberies, one of which was a burglarious attack on his own +master. + +The case was made out clearly enough against Kaltofen, and it +seemed equally clear that Fischer was innocent. Moreover, from the +24th April onwards, Fischer never swerved from his protestation of +complete innocence. When questioned why he had confessed himself +guilty, he said that he had been pressed to do so by the gaoler, who +had several times fastened him for a whole night into the stocks, +and had threatened him with severer measures unless he admitted +his guilt. The gaoler admitted having so treated Fischer once, but +Fischer insisted that he had been thus tortured on two consecutive +nights. + +It was ascertained that Fischer had not only known about the murder +of Kügelgen, but had attended his funeral, and yet he had pretended +entire, or almost entire, ignorance when first arrested. When asked +to explain this, he replied that he was so frightened that he took +refuge in lies. That he was a dull-minded, extremely ignorant man, +was obvious to the judges and to all who had to do with him; he was +aged thirty, and had spent thirteen years in the army, had conducted +himself well, but had never been trusted with any important duties +on account of his stupidity. He had a dull eye, and a heavy +countenance. Kaltofen, on the other hand, was a good-looking, +well-built young fellow, of twenty-four, with a bright, intelligent +face; his education was above what was ordinary in his class. It +was precisely this that had excited in him vanity, and craving for +pleasures and amusements which he could not afford. His obliging +manners, his trimness, and cheerfulness, had made him a favourite +with the officers. + +As already intimated, he was fond of play, and it was this that had +induced him to commit his murders. He admitted that he had felt +little or no compunction, and he said frankly that it was as well +for society that he was taken, otherwise the death of Kügelgen +would have been followed by others. He spoke of the crimes he had +committed with openness and indifference, and maintained this +condition of callousness to the end. It seems to have been customary +on several occasions for the Lutheran pastors who attended the last +hours of criminals to publish their opinions as to the manner in +which they prepared for death, and their ideas as to the motives +for the crimes committed, an eminently indecent proceeding to +our notions. In this case, the chaplain who attended on Kaltofen +rushed into the priest after the execution. He said, "Play may have +occasioned that want of feeling which will commit the most atrocious +crime, without compunction, for the gratification of a temporary +requirement. Kaltofen, without being rude and rough towards his +fellows, but on the contrary obliging and courteous, came to regard +them with brutal indifference." Only twice did he feel any twinge +of conscience, he said, once before his first murder, and again at +the funeral of his second victim, which he attended. The criminal +was now known, had confessed, and had confessed that he had no +accomplice. Moreover, he declared that Fischer was wholly innocent. +Not a single particle of evidence was forthcoming to incriminate +Fischer, apart from his own retracted confessions. Nevertheless he +was not liberated. + +The police could not believe that Kaltofen had been without an +accomplice. There were stabs in the face and body of Kügelgen, and +Kaltofen had professed to have used no other weapon than a cudgel. +The murderer said that he had dragged the body over the field to +the rushes, and it was agreed that there must have been evidence of +this dragging. Some witnesses had, indeed, said they had seen such, +but others protested that there were footprints as of two men. This, +however, could be explained by Kaltofen's admission that he had gone +back to the road for the walking-stick. + +Then, again, Fischer, when interrogated, had given particulars which +agreed with the circumstances in a remarkable manner. He was asked +to explain this. "Well," said he, "he had heard a good deal of talk +about the murders, and he was miserable at the thought of spending +long years in prison, and so had confessed." When asked how he knew +the particulars of the murder of Winter, he said that he had been +helped to it by the gaoler. He had said first, "I went to his left +side"--whereupon the gaoler had said, "Surely you are wrong, it was +on the right," thereat Fischer had corrected himself and said, "Yes, +of course--on the right." + +The case was now ready for final sentence, and for this purpose +all the depositions were forwarded on September 12th to the +Judicial Court at Leipzig. But, before judgment was pronounced, +the depositions were hastily sent for back to Dresden--for, in the +meantime, the case had passed into a new phase. On October 5th, +the gaoler--the same man who had brought about the confession of +Fischer--announced that Kaltofen had confided to him that Fischer +really had been his accomplice in both the murders. Kaltofen at +once was summoned before the magistrate, and he calmly, and with +emphasis, declared that Fischer had assisted him on both occasions, +and that he had not allowed this before, because he and Fischer +had sworn that neither would betray the other. Fischer had never +mentioned his name, and he had accordingly done his utmost to +exculpate Fischer. + +According to his account, he and Fischer had been walking together +on the morning of March 26th, between 9 and 10, when they planned a +murder together for the following day. However, there was rebutting +evidence to the effect that on the morning in question Fischer had +been on guard, at the hour named, before the powder magazine; he had +not been released till noon. Other statements of Kaltofen proved to +be equally untrue. + +What could have induced Kaltofen to deliberately charge a comrade in +arms with participation in the crime, if he were guiltless? There +was no apparent motive. He could gain no reprieve by it. It did not +greatly diminish his own guilt. + +It was necessary to enter into as close investigation as was +possible into the whereabouts of Fischer at the time of the two +murders. It was not found possible to determine where he was at +the time when Winter was killed, but some of his comrades swore +that on March 27th he had been present at the roll-call at 6 p.m., +and had come into barrack before the second roll-call at half-past +eight. The murder of Kügelgen had taken place at eight o'clock, and +the distance between the barrack and the spot where it had been +committed was 3487 paces, which would take a man about 25 minutes to +traverse. If, as his comrades asserted, Fischer had come in shortly +after eight, then it was quite impossible that he could have been +present when Kügelgen was murdered; but not great reliance can +be placed on the testimony of soldiers as to the hour at which a +comrade came into barrack just seven months before on a given day. + +The case was perplexing. The counsel for Fischer--his name was +Eisenstück--took a bold line of defence. He charged the gaoler +with having manipulated Kaltofen, as he had Fischer. This gaoler's +self-esteem was wounded by the discovery that Kaltofen and not +Fischer was the murderer, and his credit was damaged by the +proceedings which showed that he had goaded an unhappy man, confided +to his care, into charging himself with a crime he had never +committed. Eisenstück asserted that this new charge was fabricated +in the prison by the gaoler in concert with Kaltofen for his own +justification. But, whatever may be thought of the character and +conduct of this turnkey, it is difficult to understand how he could +prevail on a cool-headed man like Kaltofen thus to take on himself +the additional guilt of perjury, and such perjury as risked the life +of an innocent man. Kaltofen never withdrew this assertion that +Fischer was an accomplice. He persisted in it to his last breath. + +The depositions were again sent to the faculty at Leipzig, on Dec. +18th, to give judgment on the following points. + + 1. The examination of the body of Kügelgen had + revealed stabs made with a sharp, two-edged instrument, as well + as blows dealt by a blunt weapon. Kaltofen would admit that he + had used no other instrument than a cudgel. + + 2. It would have been a difficult matter for one man to drag a + dead body from the road to the bed of rushes, without leaving + unmistakable traces on the field traversed; and such were not, + for certain, found. It was therefore more probable that the + dead man had been carried by two persons to the place where + found. + +It must be observed that crowds poured out of Dresden to see the +place where the body lay as soon as it was known that Kügelgen had +been discovered, and consequently no accurate and early examination +of tracks across the field had been made. + + 3. That it would have been difficult for Kaltofen alone to strip + the body. This may be doubted; it would be difficult possibly, + but not impossible, whilst the body was flexible. + + 4. A witness had said that she had met two men outside the Black + Gate on the evening of the 27th March, of whom one was wrapped + in a cloak and seemed to be carrying something under it. We + should much like to know when the woman gave this evidence. + Unfortunately, that is what is not told us. + + 5. Kaltofen, in a letter to his parents, had stated that he had + an accomplice, but had not named him. + +These were the points that made it appear that Kaltofen had an +accomplice. An accomplice in some of his crimes he had--Kiessling. + +There were other points that made it appear that Fischer had +assisted him in the murders. + + 6. Fischer's denial that he knew anything about the murder of + Kügelgen when he was arrested, whereas it was established that + he had attended the funeral of the murdered man. + + 7. His repeated confessions that he had assisted at the + murders, and his acquaintance with the particulars and with the + localities. + + 8. Kaltofen's asseverations that Fischer was his associate in + the murders. + +In favour of Fischer it may be said that his conduct in the army had +for thirteen years been uniformly good, and there was no evidence +that he had been in any way guilty of dishonesty. Nor was he a +man of extravagant habits like Kaltofen, needing money for his +pleasures. He was a simple, inoffensive, and very stupid man. His +confessions lose all their effect when we consider how they were +extorted from him by undue influence. + +Against Kaltofen's later accusation must be set his repeated +declaration, during six months, that Fischer was innocent. Not +only this, but his assertion in confidence to Kiessling that he +was puzzled what could have induced Fischer to avow himself guilty +of a crime, of which he--Kaltofen--knew him to be innocent. When +Kiessling gave this evidence on April 24th, Kaltofen did not deny +that he had said this, but flew into a paroxysm of fury with his +comrade for betraying their private conversation. + +Again, not a single article appertaining to either of the murdered +men was found with Fischer. All had been traced, without exception, +to Kaltofen. It was the latter who had concealed Kügelgen's coat, +and had given his watch to the Jews. It was he who had got Kiessling +to dispose of Winter's hat for him, and had given the boots of the +last victim to Kiessling to be repaired. + +On January 4th, 1821, the Court at Leipzig issued its judgment; +that Kaltofen, on account of two murders committed and confessed, +was to be put to death on the wheel; "but that John George Fischer +be discharged on account of lack of evidence of complicity in the +murders." The gaoler was discharged his office. + +Kaltofen appealed against the sentence, but in vain. The sentence +was confirmed. The ground of his appeal was, that he was not alone +guilty. The King commuted the penalty of the wheel into execution by +the sword. + +The sentence of the court produced the liveliest commotion in +Dresden. The feeling against Fischer was strong and general; the +gaoler had but represented the universal opinion. Fischer--who +had confessed to the murder--Fischer, whom Kaltofen protested was +as deeply stained in crime as himself, was to go scot free. The +police authorities did not carry out the sentence of discharge in +its integrity; they indeed released him from prison, but placed him +under police supervision, and he was discharged from the Artillery +on the plea that he had forsworn himself. The pastor Jaspis was +entrusted with the preparation of Kaltofen for death; and we +know pretty well what passed between him and the condemned man, +as he had the indecency to publish it to the world. Jaspis had, +indeed, visited him in prison when he was first arrested, and then +Kaltofen had asserted that he had committed the murders entirely +unassisted. On Jaspis remarking to him in April, 1820, that there +were circumstances that rendered this eminently improbable, Kaltofen +cut him short with the answer, "I was by myself." Afterwards, +when he had changed his note, Jaspis reminded him of his previous +declaration, but Kaltofen pretended not to remember ever having +made it. + +Towards the end of his days, Kaltofen was profoundly agitated, +and was very restless. When Jaspis gave him a book of prayers and +meditations for such as were in trouble, he put it from him, and +said the book was unsuitable, and was adapted only to the innocent. +He had visitors who combined piety with inquisitiveness, and came +to discuss with him the state of his soul. Kaltofen's vanity was +inflamed, and he was delighted to pose before these zealots. When he +heard that Jaspis had preached about him in the Kreuz Kirche on the +Sunday before his execution, he was greatly gratified, and said, "He +would really like to hear what had been said about him." + +Jaspis thereupon produced his sermon, and read it over to the +wretched man--but tells us that even the most touching portions of +the address failed to awake any genuine compunction in his soul. +Unless he could play the saint, before company, he was cold and +indifferent. His great vanity, however, was hurt at the thought that +his assertion was disbelieved, that Fischer was his associate in his +crimes. He was always eager and inquisitive to know what rumours +circulated in the town concerning him, and was gratified to think +that he was the topic of the general conversation. + +On the night before his execution he slept soundly for five +hours, and then lit his pipe and smoked composedly. His condition +was, however, not one of bluntness of sense, for he manifested +considerable readiness and consciousness up to the last. He had +drawn up a dying address which he handed to pastor Jaspis, and on +which he evidently placed great importance, as when his first copy +had caught fire when he was drying it, he set to work to compose a +second. He knew his man--Jaspis--and was sure he would publish it +after the execution. The paper was a rigmarole in which he posed to +the world. + +On reaching the market-place where the execution was to take place, +he repeated his confession, but on this occasion without mention +of a confederate. His composure gave way, and he began to sob. +On reaching the scaffold, however, the sight of the vast crowd +assembled to see him die restored to him some of his composure, +as it pleased his vanity; but he again broke down, as he made his +last confession to the Lutheran pastor. His voice trembled, and the +sweat broke out on his brow. Then he sprang up and shouted, so that +all could hear--"Gentlemen, Fischer deserved the same punishment as +myself." In another moment his head fell from his body. + +The words had been audible throughout the market-place by everyone. +Who could doubt that his last words were true? + +Fischer happened that very day (July 12th) to be in Dresden. He had +been seen, and had been recognised. + +He had come to Dresden to see his counsel, and ask him to use his +influence to obtain his complete discharge from police supervision, +and restoration to his rights as an honest man and a soldier, with a +claim to a pension. + +A vast crowd of people rolled from the place of execution to the +house of Eisenstück, shouting, and threatening to tear Fischer to +pieces. + +But Eisenstück was not the man to be terrified. He summoned a +carriage, entered it along with Fischer, and drove slowly, with the +utmost composure, through the angry crowd. + +On August 26th, 1822, by command of the king, Fischer's name was +replaced in the army list, and he received his complete discharge +from all the consequences of the accusations made against him. He +was guaranteed his pension for his "faithful services through 16 +years, and in the campaigns of 1813, 1814, and 1815, in which he had +conducted himself to the approval of all his officers." + +How are we to explain the conduct of Kaltofen? The simplest way is +to admit that he spoke the truth; but against this is to be opposed +his denial that Fischer was guilty during the first six months +that he was under arrest. And it is impossible to believe that +Fischer was guilty, on the sole testimony of Kaltofen, without any +confirmatory evidence. + +It is rather to be supposed that the inordinate vanity of the young +culprit induced him to persist in denouncing his innocent brother +gunner, so as to throw off his own shoulders some of the burden +of that crime, which, he felt, made him hateful in the eyes of +his fellow-citizens, and perhaps to induce them to regard him as +misled by an older man, more hardened and experienced in crime, thus +arousing their pity and sympathy in place of their disgust. + +Jaspis, the pastor, did not himself believe in the criminality of +Fischer, and proposes a solution which he gives conjecturally only. +He suggests that Kaltofen was misled by the confession of Fischer +into the belief that he really had committed a murder or two, +though not those of Winter and Kügelgen, and that when he declared +on the scaffold that "Fischer deserved to die as much as himself," +he spoke under this conviction. This explanation is untenable, for +the miserable man had repeatedly charged Fischer with assisting +him in committing these two particular crimes. The explanation +must be found in his self-conceit and eagerness to present himself +in the best and most affecting light before the public. And he +gained his point to some extent. The mob believed him, pitied him, +became sentimental over him, wept tears at his death, and cursed +the unfortunate Fischer. The apparent piety, the mock heroics, the +graceful attitudes, and the good looks of the murderer had won their +sympathies, and the general opinion of the vulgar was that they had +assisted at the sublimation of a saint to the seventh heaven, and +not at the well-deserved execution of a peculiarly heartless and +brutal murderer. + +A month had hardly passed since Kaltofen's execution before Dresden +was shocked to hear of another murder--on this occasion by a young +woman. On August 12th, 1821, this person, who had been in a state +of excitement ever since the edifying death of Kaltofen, invited to +her house a young girl, just engaged to be married, and deliberately +murdered her; then marched off to the police and confessed her +crime--the nature of which she did not disguise. She desired to make +the same affecting and edifying end as Kaltofen. Above all, she +wanted to get herself talked about by all the mouths in Dresden. The +police on visiting her house found the murdered girl lying on the +bed. On the door in large letters the murderer had inscribed the +date of Kaltofen's martyrdom, July 12th, and she had committed her +crime on the same day one month after, desirous to share his glory. + +Such was one consequence of this execution. A small farce also +succeeded it. Influenced by the general excitement provoked by the +murder of Kügelgen, the Jews had assembled and agreed, should any +of them be able to discover the murderer, that they would decline +the £150 offered by Government for information that might lead to +the apprehension of the guilty. But Hirschel Mendel, the Jew who had +produced the watch, put in his claim; whereupon Löbel Graff, who had +produced the coat, put in a counter claim. This occasioned a lawsuit +between the two Jews for the money. A compromise was finally patched +up, by which each received half. + +Gerhard von Kügelgen had been buried in the Catholic cemetery at +Dresden on Maundy Thursday evening by moonlight. A great procession +of art students attended the funeral cortège with lighted torches, +and an oration was pronounced over his grave by his friend +Councillor Böttiger. + +His tomb may still be seen in the cemetery; on it is inscribed:-- + + FRANZ GERHARD VON KÜGELGEN. + Born 6 Feb., 1772. + Died 27 March, 1820. + +On the other side is the text, St. John xiv. 27. + +Kügelgen left behind him two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, +Wilhelm, pursued his father's profession as an artist, and the +Emperor of Russia sent an annual grant of money to assist him in his +studies. There is a pleasant book, published anonymously by him, "An +Old Man's Youthful Reminiscences," the first edition of which was +issued in 1870, and which had reached its eighth edition in 1876. + +Kügelgen's twin brother, Karl Ferdinand, after spending some years +in St. Petersburg and in Livonia, settled at Reval, and died in +1832. He was the author of a "Picturesque Journey in the Crimea," +published in 1823. + + Authority:--F. Ch. A. Hasse: Das Leben Gerhards von Kügelgen. + Leipzig, 1824. He gives in the Supplement an excerpt from the + records of the trial. As frontispiece is a portrait of the + artist by himself, very Raphaelesque. + + + + +The Poisoned Parsnips. + + +At the time when the banished Bourbons were wandering about +Europe seeking temporary asylums, during the period of Napoleon's +supremacy, a story circulated in 1804 relative to an attempt made +in Warsaw, which then belonged to Prussia, upon the life of the +Royal Family then residing there. It was said that a plot had been +formed, that was well nigh successful, to kill Louis XVIII., his +wife, the Duke and Duchess of Angoulême, and such of the Court as +sat at the Royal table, with a dish of poisoned parsnips. It was, +moreover, whispered that at the bottom of the plot was no other than +Napoleon himself, who sought to remove out of his way the legitimate +claimants to the Gallic throne. + +The article in which the account of the attempt was made public was +in the _London Courier_ for August 20th, 1804, from which we will +now take the leading facts. + +The Royal Family was living in Warsaw. Napoleon Bonaparte employed +an agent of the name of Galon Boyer at Warsaw to keep an eye on +them, and this man, it was reported, had engaged assassins at the +instigation of Napoleon to poison Louis XVIII. and the rest of +the Royal Family. The _Courier_ of August 21st, 1804, says: "Some +of the daily papers, which were not over anxious to discredit the +conspiracy imputed to Mr. Drake,[1] affect to throw some doubt +upon the account of the attempt upon the lives of the Royal Family +at Warsaw. They seem to think that had Bonaparte desired such a +plan, he could have executed it with more secrecy and effect. +Undoubtedly his plans of assassination have hitherto been more +successful, because his hapless victims were within his power--his +wounded soldiers at Jaffa, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Pichegru, and +the Duke D'Enghien. He could send his bloodhounds into Germany to +seize his prey; but Warsaw was too remote for him; he was under +the necessity of having recourse to less open means of sending his +assassins to act secretly. But it is deemed extraordinary that the +diabolical attempt should have failed. Why is it extraordinary that +a beneficent Providence should interpose to save the life of a just +prince? Have we not had signal instances of that interposition +in this country? For the accuracy of the account we published +yesterday, we pledge ourselves[2] that the fullest details, +authenticated by all Louis XVIII.'s Ministers--by the venerable +Archbishop of Rheims--by the Abbé Edgeworth, who administered the +last consolation of religion to Louis the XVI., have been received +in this country. All those persons were present when the poisoned +preparation was analysed by very eminent physicians, _who are the +subjects of the King of Prussia_. + + [1] Drake was envoy of the British Government at Munich; he and + Spencer Smith, Chargé d'Affaires at Würtemberg, were accused by + Napoleon of being at the bottom of a counter revolution, and an + attempt to obtain his assassination. It was true that Drake and + Smith were in correspondence with parties in France with the + object of securing Hagenau and Strassburgo and throwing discord + among the troops of the Republic, but they never for a moment + thought of obtaining the assassination of the First Consul, as + far as we can judge from their correspondence that fell into the + hands of the French police. + + [2] Unfortunately the British Museum file is imperfect, and does + not contain the Number for August 20th. + +"The two wretches who attempted to corrupt the poor Frenchman were +openly protected by the French Consul or Commercial Agent. + +"The Prussian Governor would not suffer them to be arrested in order +that their guilt or innocence might be legally investigated. Is it +to be believed that had there been no foundation for the charge +against them, the French agent would have afforded them less open +protection, and thereby strengthened the charge brought against +them? If they were protected and paid by the French agent, is it +probable that he paid them out of his own pocket, employed them in +such a plot of his own accord, and without order and instructions +from his own Government, from Bonaparte? Besides, did not the +President Hoym acknowledge his fears that some attempt would be made +upon the life of Louis the XVIII.? + +"The accounts transmitted to this country were sent from Warsaw one +hour after the king had set out for Grodno." + +The _Courier_ for August 24th, 1804, has the following note:--"We +have another strong fact which is no slight evidence in our minds +of Bonaparte's guilt. The plot against Louis the XVIII. was to be +executed at the end of July--it would be known about the beginning +of August. At that very period Bonaparte prohibits the importation +of all foreign journals without exception--that is, of all the means +by which the people could be informed of the diabolical deed. Why +does he issue this prohibition at the present moment, or why does +he issue it at all? Fouché says in his justification of it that it +is to prevent our knowing when the expedition sails. Have we ever +received any news about the expedition from the French papers? No, +no! the prohibition was with a view to the bloody scene to be acted +at Warsaw." + +The _Courier_ of August 22nd contained full particulars. We will now +tell the whole story, from beginning to end, first of all as dressed +out by the fancy of Legitimists, and then according to the real +facts of the case as far as known. + +Napoleon, it will be remembered, had been appointed First Consul for +life on August 2nd, 1802, but the Republic came to an end, and the +French Empire was established by the Senate on May 18th, 1804. + +It was supposed--and we can excuse the excitement and intoxication +of wrath in the minds of all adherents of the Bourbons which could +suppose it--that Napoleon, who was thus refounding the Empire of +Charlemagne, desired to secure the stability of this new throne by +sweeping out of his way the legitimate claimants to that of France. +The whole legend of the attempt to assassinate Louis XVIII. by means +of a dish of poisoned parsnips is given us in complete form by the +author of a life of that prince twenty years after the event.[3] It +is to this effect: + +When the King (Louis XVIII.) was preparing for his journey from +Warsaw to Grodno an atrocious attempt to assassinate him was brought +to light, which leaves no manner of doubt that it was the purpose +of those who were the secret movers in the plot to remove by poison +both the King and Queen and also the Duke of Angoulême and his wife. +Two delegates of Napoleon had been in Warsaw seeking for a man who +could execute the plan. A certain Coulon appeared most adapted to +their purpose, a man indigent and eager for money. He had previously +been in the service of one of the emigré nobles, and had access to +the kitchen of the Royal Family. + + [3] A. de Beauchamp, Vie de Louis XVIII. Paris, 1824. + +The agents of Napoleon gave Coulon drink, and as he became friendly +and lively under the influence of punch, they communicated to him +their scheme, and promised him money, the payment of his debts, and +to effect his escape if he would be their faithful servant in the +intrigue. Coulon pretended to yield to their solicitations, and a +rendezvous was appointed where the plans were to be matured. But +no sooner was Coulon at liberty than he went to his former master, +the Baron de Milleville, master of horse to the Queen, and told him +all. The Baron sought the Duc de Pienne, first gentleman of the +Royal household, and he on receiving the information communicated +it to the Count d'Avaray, Minister of Louis XVIII. Coulon received +orders to pretend to be ready to carry on the plot. He did this +with reluctance, but he did it. He told the agents of Napoleon that +he was in their hands and would blindly execute their orders. They +treated him now to champagne, and revealed to him the details of +the attempt. He was to get into the kitchen of the Royal household, +and was to pour the contents of a packet they gave him into one of +the pots in which the dinner for the Royal table was being cooked. +Coulon then demanded an instalment of his pay, and asked to be given +400 louis d'or. One of the agents then turned to the other and asked +if he thought Boyer would be disposed to advance so much--this was +Galon Boyer, the head agent sent purposely to Warsaw as spy on the +Royal Family, and the principal mover in the attempt. + +The other agent replied that Boyer was not at the moment in Warsaw, +but he would be back in a couple of days. Coulon stuck to his point, +like a clever rascal, and refused to do anything till he felt gold +in his palm, and he was bidden wait till Boyer had been communicated +with. He was appointed another meeting on the moors at Novawies +outside the city. + +As, next evening, Coulon was on his way to the place named, he +observed that he was followed by a man. Suddenly out of the corn +growing beside the road started a second. They were the agents. +They paid him a few dollars, promised to provide handsomely for +him in France, by giving him 400 louis d'or and a situation under +Government; and handed him a bottle of liquor that was to stimulate +his courage at the crucial moment, and also a paper packet that +contained three parsnips, that had been scooped out and filled with +poison. These he was to insinuate into one of the pots cooking for +dinner, and induce the cook to overlook what he had done, and serve +them up to the Royal Family. + +The King then lived in a chateau at Lazienki, about a mile out of +Warsaw. Thither hastened Coulon as fast as his legs could carry +him, and he committed the parsnips to the Baron de Milleville. The +Count d'Avaray and the Archbishop of Rheims put their seals on the +parcel; after that the parsnips had first been shown to the Prussian +authorities, and they had been asked in all form to attest the +production of the poisoned roots, and to order the arrest of the +two agents of Napoleon, and to confront them with Coulon--and had +declined. Louis, when informed of the attempt, showed his wonted +composure. He wrote immediately to the Prussian President, Von Hoym, +and requested him to visit him at Lazienki, and consult what was to +be done. + +Herr Von Hoym did not answer; nor did he go to the King, but +communicated with his superiors. Finally there arrived a diplomatic +reply declining to interfere in the matter, as it was the concern +of the police to investigate it, and it should be taken up in the +ordinary way. + +Thereupon the King requested that Coulon and his wife should be +secured, and that specialists should be appointed who, along with +the Royal physician, might examine the parsnips alleged to be +poisoned. + +But the Prussian Courts declined again to take any steps. The policy +of the Prussian Cabinet under Count Haugwitz was favourable to a +French alliance, and the King of Prussia was among the first of the +greater Powers which had formally recognised the French Emperor. +On condition that the French troops occupying Hanover should not +be augmented, and that war, if it broke out with Russia, should +be so carried on as not to inconvenience and sweep over Prussian +territory, Prussia had undertaken to observe a strict neutrality. +In return for these concessions, which were of great moment to +Napoleon, he openly proclaimed his intention to augment the strength +of Prussia, and it was hoped at Berlin that the price paid would be +the incorporation of Hanover with Prussia. + +At this moment, consequently, the Prussian Government was most +unwilling to meddle in an investigation which threatened to lead to +revelations most compromising to the character of Napoleon, and most +inconvenient for itself. + +As the Prussian courts would not take up the matter of the parsnips, +a private investigation was made by the Count d'Avaray, with +the Royal physician, Dr. Lefèvre, and the Warsaw physician, Dr. +Gagatkiewicz, together with the Apothecary Guidel and a certain Dr. +Bergozoni. The seals were broken in their presence, and the three +roots were examined. It was ascertained that they were stuffed +with a mixture of white, yellow, and red arsenic. This having been +ascertained, and a statement of the fact duly drawn up, and signed, +the president of the police, Herr von Tilly, was communicated with. +He, however, declined to interfere, as had the President von Hoym. +"Thus," says M. Beauchamp, "one court shuffled the matter off on +another, backwards and forwards, so as not to have to decide on the +matter, a specimen of the results of the system adopted at this time +by the Prussian Cabinet." + +No other means of investigation remained but for Count d'Avaray +to have the matter gone into by the court of the exiled King. They +examined Coulon, who held firmly to his story as told to the Baron +de Milleville, and all present were convinced that he spoke the +truth. + +As the King could obtain no justice from the hands of Prussia, he +suffered the story to be made public in order that the opinion of +all honourable men in Europe might be expressed on the conduct of +both Napoleon and of the Prussian Ministry. "The impression made," +says M. Beauchamp, "especially in England, was deep. Men recalled +Bonaparte's former crimes that had been proved--the poisoning at +Jaffa, the--at the time--very fresh indignation provoked by the +murder of the Count de Frotté, of Pichegru, of Captain Wright, of +the Duke d'Enghien, of Toussaint l'Ouverture; they recalled the lack +of success he had experienced in demanding of Louis XVIII. a formal +renunciation of his claims, and weighed well the determination of +his character. Even the refusal of the Prussian courts to go into +the charge (for if it had been investigated they must needs have +pronounced judgment on it)--encouraged suspicion. Hardly an English +newspaper did not condemn Napoleon as the instigator of an attempt +that providentially failed." + +Such is the legend as formulated by M. de Beauchamp. Fortunately +there exists documentary evidence in the archives of the courts at +Berlin that gives an altogether different complexion to the story, +and entirely clears the name of Napoleon from stain of complicity in +this matter. It throws, moreover, a light, by no means favourable, +on those of the Legitimist party clustered about the fallen monarch. + +Louis XVIII., obliged to fly from one land to another before the +forces of Napoleon, was staying for a while at Warsaw, in the year +1804, under the incognito of the Count de l'Isle. His misfortunes +had not broken his spirit or diminished his pretensions. He was +surrounded by a little court in spite of his incognito; and as +this little court had no affairs of State to transact, it played a +niggling game at petty intrigue. This court consisted of the Count +d'Avaray, the Archbishop of Rheims, the Duke de Pienne, the Marquis +de Bonney, the Duke d'Avré de Croy, the Count de la Chapelle, the +Counts Damas Crux and Stephen de Damas, and the Abbés Edgeworth and +Frimont. Louis had assured Napoleon he would rather eat black bread +than resign his pretensions. At Warsaw he maintained his pretensions +to the full, but did not eat black bread; he kept a very respectable +kitchen. The close alliance between Prussia and France forced him to +leave Warsaw and migrate into Russia. + +At this time there lived in Warsaw a certain Jean Coulon, son of +a small shopkeeper at Lyons, who had led an adventurous life. At +the age of nine he had run away from home and attached himself +to a wandering dramatic company; then had gone into service to +a wigmaker, and had lived for three years at Barcelona at his +handicraft. But wigs were going out of fashion, and he threw up an +unprofitable trade, and enlisted in a legion of emigrés, but in +consequence of some quarrel with a Spaniard was handed over to the +Spanish authorities. He purchased his pardon by enlisting in the +Spanish army, but deserted and joined the French Republican troops, +was in the battle of Novi, ran away, and joined the corps raised at +Naples by Cardinal Ruffo. When this corps was dispersed, he went +back to Spain, again enlisted, and was shipped for St. Lucia. The +vessel in which he was, was captured by an English cruiser, and +he was taken into Plymouth and sent up to Dartmoor as prisoner of +war. After two years he was exchanged and was shipped to Cuxhaven. +Thence he went to Altona, where he asked the intervention of the +Duke d'Avré in his favour. The Duke recommended him to the Countess +de l'Isle, and he was taken into the service of her master of horse, +the Baron de Milleville, and came to Warsaw in September, 1803. +There he married, left his service and set up a café and billiard +room that was frequented by the retainers and servants of the emigré +nobility that hovered about the King and Queen. He was then aged +32, could speak Italian and Spanish as well as French, and was a +thorough soldier of fortune, impecunious, loving pleasure, and +wholly without principles, political or religious. + +The French Chargé d'Affaires at Warsaw was Galon Boyer; he does +not appear in the documents relative to the _Affaire Coulon_, not +because the Prussian Government shirked its duty, but because he +was in no way mixed up with the matter of the parsnips. It is quite +true that, as M. de Beauchamp asserts, the Court of Louis XVIII. did +endeavour to involve the Prussian authorities in the investigation, +but it was in such a manner that it was not possible for them to +act. On July 23rd, when the Count de l'Isle was determined to leave +Warsaw, Count d'Avaray called on the President von Hoym, and told +him in mysterious language that he was aware of a conspiracy in +which were involved several Frenchmen and as many as a dozen Poles +that sought the life of his august master. Herr von Hoym doubted. +He asked for the grounds of this assertion, and was promised +full particulars that same evening at eight o'clock. At the hour +appointed, the Count appeared breathless before him, and declared +that now he was prepared with a complete disclosure. However, he +told nothing, and postponed the revelation to 10 o'clock. Then +Avaray informed him that the keeper of the Café Coulon had been +hired by some strangers to meet him that same night on the road +to Novawies, to plan with him the murder, by poison, of the Count +de l'Isle. The whole story seemed suspicious to von Hoym. It was +now too late for him to send police to watch the spot where the +meeting was to take place, which he might have done had d'Avaray +condescended to tell him in time, two hours earlier. He asked +d'Avaray where Coulon lived that he might send for him, and the +Count professed he did not know the address. + +Next day Count d'Avaray read to the President von Hoym a document, +which he said had been drawn up by members of the court of the Count +de l'Isle, showed him a paper that contained twelve small parsnips, +and requested him to subscribe the document and seal the parcel of +parsnips. Naturally, the President declined to do this. He had not +seen Coulon, he did not know from whom Coulon had received the +parcel, and he mistrusted the whole story. However, he requested +that he might be furnished with an exact description of the two +mysterious strangers, and when he had received it, communicated with +the police, and had inquiry made for them in and about Warsaw. No +one had seen or heard of any persons answering to the description. + +Presently the Marquis de Bonney arrived to request the President, in +the name of the Count de l'Isle, to have the parsnips examined by +specialists. He declined to do so. + +On July 26th, the Count d'Avaray appeared before the head of the +Police, the President von Tilly, and showed him an attestation +made by several doctors that they had examined three parsnips that +had been shown them, and they had found in them a paste composed +of arsenic and orpiment. Von Tilly thought the whole story so +questionable that he refused to meddle with it. Moreover, a notary +of Warsaw, who had been requested to take down Coulon's statement, +had declined to testify to the genuineness of the confession, +probably because, as Coulon afterwards insinuated, he had been +helped to make it consistent by those who questioned him. + +Louis XVIII. left Warsaw on July 30, and as the rumour spread +that Coulon's wife had bought some arsenic a week before at an +apothecary's shop in the place, the police inspector ordered her +arrest. She was questioned and declared that she had, indeed, bought +some rat poison, without the knowledge of her husband. Coulon was +now taken up and questioned, and he pretended that he had given +his wife orders to buy the rat poison, because he was plagued with +vermin in the house. + +Then the authorities in Warsaw sent all the documents relating to +this matter, including the _procès verbal_ drawn up by the courtiers +of Louis XVIII., to Berlin, and asked for further instructions. + +According to this _procès verbal_ Coulon had confessed as follows: +On the 20th July two strangers had entered his billiard room, and +had assured him that, if he were disposed to make his fortune, they +could help him to it. They made him promise silence, and threatened +him with death if he disclosed what they said. After he had sworn +fidelity and secrecy, they told him that he was required to throw +something into the pot in which the soup was being prepared for +the King's table. For so doing they would pay him 400 louis d'or. +Coulon considered a moment; then the strangers promised they would +provide a situation for his wife in France. After that one of them +said to his fellow in Italian, "We must be off. We have no time +to lose." Next day, in the evening, a third stranger appeared at +his door, called him forth into the street, walked about with him +through the streets of old and new Warsaw, till he was thoroughly +bewildered, and did not know where he was, and, finally, entered +with him a house, where he saw the two strangers who had been with +him previously. Champagne was brought on the table, and they all +drank, and one of the strangers became tipsy. When Coulon promised +to do what was required of him, he was told to secure some of the +mutton-chops that were being prepared for the Royal table, and to +manipulate them with the powder that was to be given him. That the +cook might not notice what he was about, he was to treat him to +large draughts of brandy. Coulon agreed, but asked first to touch +the 400 louis d'or. Then the tipsy man shouted out, "That is all +right, but will Boyer consent to it?" The other stranger tried to +check him, and said, "What are you saying? Boyer is not here, he has +gone out of town and will not be back for a couple of days." After +Coulon had insisted on prepayment, he had been put off till the next +evening, when he was to meet the strangers at 11 o'clock on the road +to Novawies. There he was to receive money, and the powder for the +King. He was then given one ducat, and led home at one o'clock in +the morning. On the following night, at 11 o'clock, he went on the +way to Novawies, and then followed what we have already given from +the story of the man, as recorded by M. de Beauchamp. He received +from the men a packet containing the parsnips, and some money--only +six dollars. They put a kerchief under the earth beneath a tree, +and bade him, if he had accomplished his task, come to the tree and +remove the kerchief, as a token to them; if, however, he failed, +the kerchief was to be left undisturbed. The tree he had marked +well, it was the forty-fifth along the road to Novawies. A small end +of the kerchief peeped out from under the soil. The strangers had +then given him a bottle of liqueur to stimulate his courage for the +undertaking. + +After that Coulon was left alone, he said that he staggered +homewards, but felt so faint that he would have fallen to the ground +had not a Prussian officer, who came by, noticed his condition and +helped him home. At the conclusion of the _procès verbal_ came +an exact description of the conspirators. Such was the document +produced originally by the Count d'Avaray, and we can hardly wonder +that, on hearing it, the Prussian civil and police authorities had +hesitated about taking action. The so-called confession of Coulon +seemed to them to be a rhodomontade got up for the purpose of +obtaining money out of the ex-King and his Court. + +From Berlin orders were sent to Warsaw to have the matter thoroughly +sifted. Coulon and his wife were now again subjected to examination. +He adhered at first to his story, but when he endeavoured to explain +the purchase of the arsenic, and to fit it into his previous tale, +he involved himself in contradictions. + +The President at this point addressed him gravely, and warned +him of the consequences. His story compromised the French chargé +d'affaires, M. Galon Boyer, and this could not be allowed to +be passed over without a very searching examination that must +inevitably reveal the truth. Coulon was staggered, and hastily +asked how matters would stand with him if he told the truth. Then, +after a little hesitation, he admitted that "he thought before the +departure of the Count de l'Isle he would obtain for himself a sum +of money, with which to escape out of his difficulties. He had +reckoned on making 100 ducats out of this affair." He now told quite +a different tale. With the departure of the court of the emigrés, +he would lose his clientelle, and he was concerned because he owed +money for the café and billiard table. He had therefore invented +the whole story in hopes of imposing on the court and getting from +them a little subvention. But he said he had been dragged on further +than he intended by the Count d'Avaray, who had swallowed his lie +with avidity, and had urged him to go on with the intrigue so as to +produce evidence against the conspirators. + +That was why he had made up the figment of the meeting with the +strangers on the road and their gift to him of the parsnips, which +he admitted that he had himself scooped out and filled with the rat +poison paste he had bought at the apothecary's. + +So far so good. What he now said was precisely what the cool heads +of the Prussian authorities had believed from the first. But Coulon +did not adhere to this second confession. After a few days in prison +he professed his desire to make another. He was brought before the +magistrate, and now he said that the whole story was got up by the +Count d'Avaray, M. de Milleville, and others of the surroundings +of the exiled King, for the purpose of creating an outbreak of +disgust in Europe against Napoleon, and of bringing about a revolt +in France. He declared that he had been promised a pension of six +ducats monthly, that when he gave his evidence M. de Milleville had +paid him 35 ducats, and that he had been taken into the service, +along with his wife, of the ex-Queen, as reward for what he had done. + +There were several particulars which gave colour to this last +version of Coulon's story. It was true that he had been given some +money by Milleville; it was perhaps true that in their eagerness to +prove a case of attempted assassination, some of those who conducted +the inquiry had helped him to correct certain discrepancies in his +narrative. Then, again, it was remarkable that, although the Count +d'Avaray knew about the projected murder, he would not tell the +Prussian President the facts till 10 o'clock at night, when it was +too late to send the police to observe the pretended meeting on the +Novawies road; and when Herr von Hoym asked for directions as to +where Coulon lived that the police might be sent to arrest him on +his return, and during his absence to search the house, the Count +had pretended to be unable to say where Coulon lived. It was also +true that de Milleville had repeatedly visited Coulon's house during +the course of the intrigue, and that it was immediately after Coulon +had been at Milleville's house that his wife was sent to buy the rat +poison. + +Coulon pretended to have heard M. de Milleville say that "This +affair might cause a complete change in the situation in France, +when tidings of what had been done were published." Moreover, he +said that he had been despatched to the Archbishop of Rheim's with +the message "Le coup est manqué." + +But it is impossible to believe that the emigré court can have +fabricated such a plot by which to cast on the name of Napoleon the +stain of attempted assassination. The whole story reads like the +clumsy invention of a vulgar adventurer. Coulon's second confession +is obviously that of his true motives. He was in debt, he was losing +his clientelle by the departure of the Count, and it is precisely +what such a scoundrel would do, to invent a lie whereby to enlist +their sympathies for himself, and obtain from them some pecuniary +acknowledgment for services he pretended to have rendered. The +little court was to blame in its gullibility. Its blind hatred of +Napoleon led it to believe such a gross and palpable lie, and, if +doubts arose in any of their minds as to the verity of the tale told +them, they suppressed them. + +Coulon was found guilty by the court and was sentenced to five +years' imprisonment. The judgment of the court was that he had acted +in concert with certain members of the retinue of the Count de +l'Isle, but it refrained from naming them. + + + + +The Murder of Father Thomas in Damascus. + + +The remarkable case we are about to relate awoke great interest +and excitement throughout three quarters of the world, and stirred +up that hatred of the Jews which had been laid asleep after the +persecutions of the Middle Ages, just at the time when in all +European lands the emancipation of the Jew was being recognised as +an act of justice. At the time the circumstances were imperfectly +known, or were laid before the public in such a partial light that +it was difficult to form a correct judgment upon them. Since then, +a good deal of light has been thrown on the incident, and it is +possible to arrive at a conclusion concerning the murder with more +unbiased mind and with fuller information than was possible at the +time. + +The Latin convents of Syria stand under the immediate jurisdiction +of the Pope, and are, for the most part, supplied with recruits +from Italy. They are very serviceable to travellers, whom they +receive with genial hospitality, and without distinction of creed. +They are nurseries of culture and of industry. Every monk and friar +is required to exercise a profession or trade, and the old charge +against monks of being drones is in no way applicable to the busy +members of the religious orders in Palestine. + +In the Capuchin Convent at Damascus dwelt, in 1840, a friar named +Father Thomas, a Sardinian by birth. For thirty-three years he had +lived there, and had acted as physician and surgeon, attending to +whoever called for his services, Mussulman or Christian, Turk, Jew +or Frank alike. He set limbs, dosed with quinine for fever, and +vaccinated against smallpox. Being well known and trusted, he was +in constant practice, and his practice brought him, or, at all +events, his order, a handsome annual income. His manners were, +unfortunately, not amiable. He was curt, even rude, and somewhat +dictatorial; his manners impressed as authoritative in the sickroom, +but were resented in the market-place as insolent. + +On February 5th, 1840, Father Thomas disappeared, together with his +servant, a lay brother who always attended him. This disappearance +caused great commotion in Damascus. + +France has been considered in the East as the protector of +Christians of the Latin confession. The French Consul, the Count +Ratti-Menton, considered it his duty to investigate the matter. + +Father Thomas had been seen to enter the Jews' quarter. Several +Israelites admitted having seen him there. No one saw him leave it: +consequently, it was concluded he had disappeared, been made away +with, there. As none but Jews occupied the Ghetto, it was argued +that Father Thomas had been murdered by Israelites. That was settled +as a preliminary. But in the meantime the Austrian Consul had been +making investigation as well as the Count Ratti-Menton, and he had +obtained information that Father Thomas and his servant had been +noticed engaged in a violent quarrel and contest of words with some +Mohammedans of the lowest class, in the market-place. No weight was +attached to this, and the French Consul pursued his investigations +in the Jews' quarter, and in that quarter alone. + +Sheriff Pacha was Governor of Syria, and Count Ratti-Menton required +him to allow of his using every means at his disposal for the +discovery of the criminal. He also requested the Austrian Consul to +allow a domiciliary visitation of all the Jews' houses, the Austrian +Government being regarded as the protector of the Hebrews. In both +cases consent was given, and the search was begun with zeal. + +Then a Turk, named Mohammed-el-Telli, who was in prison for +non-payment of taxes, sent word to the French Consul that, if he +would obtain his release, he would give such information as would +lead to the discovery of the murderer or murderers. He received +his freedom, and denounced, in return, several Jews' houses as +suspicious. Count Ratti-Menton at the head of a troop of soldiers +and workmen, and a rabble assembled in the street, invaded all these +houses, and explored them from attic to cellar. + +One of the first names given by Mohammed-el-Telli was that of a +Jewish barber, Negrin. He gave a confused and contradictory account +of himself, but absolutely denied having any knowledge of the +murder. In vain were every means used during three days at the +French Consulate to bring him to a confession; after that he was +handed over to the Turkish authorities. They had him bastinadoed, +then tortured. During his torture, Mohammed-el-Telli was at his +side urging him to make a clean breast. Unable to endure his +sufferings longer, the barbar declared his readiness to tell all. +Whether what he said was based on reports circulating in the town, +or was put into his mouth by his tormentors, we cannot tell. +According to his story, on the evening of February the 5th a servant +of David Arari summoned him into his house. He found the master of +the house along with six other Israelitish rabbis and merchants, to +wit, Aaron and Isaac Arari, Mussa Abul Afia, Moses Salonichi, and +Joseph Laniado. In a corner of the room lay or leaned against the +wall Father Thomas, gagged and bound hand and foot. The merchants +urged Negrin to murder the Capuchin in their presence, but he +stedfastly refused to do so. Finally finding him inflexible, they +bought his silence with 600 piastres (hardly £6) and dismissed him. + +Thereupon, the governor ordered the arrest of David Arari and the +other Jews named, all of whom were the richest merchants in the +town--at all events the richest Jewish merchants. They, with one +consent, solemnly protested their innocence. They, also, were +subjected to the bastinado; but as most of them were aged men, and +it was feared that they might succumb under the blows, after a few +lashes had been administered, they were raised from the ground and +subjected to other tortures. For thirty-six hours the unhappy men +were forced to stand upright, and were prevented from sleeping. They +still persisted in denial, whereupon some of them were again beaten. +At the twentieth blow they fainted. The French Consul complained +that the beating was inefficient--so the Austrian Consul reported, +and at his instigation they were again bastinadoed, but again +without bringing them to confession. + +In the meantime, David Arari's servant, Murad-el-Fallat, was +arrested, the man who was said to have been sent for the barber. +He was dealt with more sharply than the others. He was beaten most +cruelly, and to heighten his pain cold water was poured over his +bruised and mangled flesh. Under the anguish he confessed that he +had indeed been sent for the barber. + +That was an insufficient confession. He was threatened with the +bastinado again, and promised his release if he would reveal all he +knew. Thereupon he repeated the story of the barber, with additions +of his own. He and Negrin, said he, had by command of the seven rich +merchants put the Father to death, and had then cut up the body and +hidden the remains in a remote water conduit. + +The barber, threatened with fresh tortures, confessed to the murder. + +Count Ratti-Menton explored the conduit where the two men pretended +the mutilated body was concealed, in the presence of the servant and +barber, both of whom were in such a condition through the barbarous +treatment to which they had been subjected, that they could not +walk, and had to be carried to the spot. And actually there some +bones were found, together with a cap. A surgeon pronounced that +these were human bones. It was at once concluded that these were the +remains of Father Thomas, and as such were solemnly buried in the +cemetery of the Capuchin Convent. + +David Arari's servant. Murad-el-Fallet, had related that the blood +of Father Thomas had been collected in a copper vessel and drawn +off and distributed among the Jews for religious purposes. It was +an old and favourite belief among the ignorant that the Jews drank +the blood of Christians at Easter, or mingled it with the Paschal +unleavened dough. At the same time the rumour spread that the rich +Hebrew Picciotto, a young man, nephew of the Austrian Consul at +Aleppo, had sent his uncle a bottle of blood. + +The seven merchants were led before the bones that had been +discovered. They persisted in the declaration of their innocence. +From this time forward, all scruple as to their treatment vanished, +and they were tortured with diabolical barbarity. They received the +bastinado again, they were burned where their flesh was tenderest +with red hot pincers. Red hot wires were passed through their flesh. +A German traveller, present at the time, declares that the first +to acknowledge the truth of the charge was brought to do so by +immersing him after all these torments for several hours in ice cold +water; after which the other six were lashed with a scourge made of +hippopotamus hide, till half unconscious, and streaming with blood, +they were ready to admit whatever their tormentors strove to worry +out of them. + +The Protestant missionary, Wildon Pieritz, in his account enumerates +the sufferings to which these unhappy men were subjected. + +They were, 1st, bastinadoed. + + 2nd. Plunged in large vessels of cold water. + + 3rd. Placed under pressure till their eyes started out of their + sockets. + + 4th. Their flesh, where most sensitive, was twisted and nipped + till they went almost mad with agony. + + 5th. They were forced to stand upright for three whole days, + and not suffered even to lean against a wall. Those who fell + with exhaustion were goaded to rise again by the bayonets of the + guard. + + 6th. They were dragged about by their ears, so that they were + torn and bled. + + 7th. Thorns were driven up the quick of their nails on fingers + and toes. + + 8th. Their beards were singed off, so that the skin was scorched + and blistered. + + 9th. Flames were put under their noses so as to burn their + nostrils. + +The French Consul--let his name go down to posterity steeped in +ignominy--Count Ratti-Menton, was not yet satisfied. He was bent +on finding the vials filled with the blood. Each of the seven +questioned said he had not got one, but had given his vial to +another. The last, Mussa Abul Afia, unable to endure his torments +any longer, gave way, and professed his willingness to turn +Mussulman. Nevertheless, he was again subjected to the scourge, +and whipped till he named another confederate--the Chief Rabbi +Jacob Antibi, as the man to whom the blood had been committed. +Mussa's confession, committed to writing, was as follows:--"I am +_commanded_ to say what I know relative to the murder of Father +Thomas, and why I have submitted to become a Mussulman. It is, +therefore, my duty to declare the truth. Jacob Antibi, Chief +Rabbi, about a fortnight before the event, said to me--'You know +that according to our religion we must have blood. I have already +arranged with David Arari, to obtain it in the house of one of +our people, and you must be present and bring me the blood.' I +replied that I had not the nerve to see blood flow; whereupon, +the Chief Rabbi answered that I could stand in the ante-chamber, +and I would find Moses Salonichi and Joseph Laniado there. I then +consented. On the 10th of the month, Achach, about an hour and a +half before sun-down, as I was on my way to the synagogue, I met +David Arari, who said to me: 'Come along to my house, you are +wanted there.' I replied that I would come as soon as I had ended +my prayers. 'No, no--come immediately!' he said. I obeyed. Then he +told me that Father Thomas was in his house, and that he was to be +sacrificed that evening. We went to his house. There we entered a +newly-furnished apartment. Father Thomas lay bound in the midst of +all there assembled. After sunset we adjourned to an unfurnished +chamber, where David cut the throat of the monk. Aaron and Isaac +Arari finished him. The blood was caught in a vat and then poured +into a bottle, which was to be taken to the Chief Rabbi Jacob. I +took the bottle and went to him. I found him in his court waiting +for me. When he saw me enter, he retreated to his cabinet, and I +followed him thither, saying, 'Here, I bring you what you desired.' +He took the bottle and put it behind a book-case. Then I went home. +I have forgotten to say that, when I left Arari's house, the body +was undisturbed. I heard David and his brother say that they had +made a bad choice of a victim, as Father Thomas was a priest, and +a well-known individual, and would therefore be sought for, high +and low. They answered that there was no fear, no one would betray +what had taken place. The clothing would be now burnt, the body cut +to pieces, and conveyed by the servants to the conduit, and what +remained would be concealed under some secret stairs. I knew nothing +about the servant of Father Thomas. The Wednesday following, I met +David, Isaac, and Joseph Arari, near the shop of Bahal. Isaac asked +David how all had gone on. David replied that all was done that was +necessary, and that there was no cause for fear. As they began to +talk together privately, I withdrew, as I was not one who associated +with the wealthiest of the Jews, and the Arari were of that class. +The blood is required by the Jews for the preparation of the Paschal +bread. They have been often accused of the same, and been condemned +on that account. They have a book called Serir Hadurut (no such a +book really exists) which concerns this matter; now that the light +of Islam has shone on me, I place myself under the protection of +those who hold the power in their hands." + +Such was his confession. The French Consul, unable to find the +blood, was bent on discovering more criminals; and the servant of +David Arari, after further pressure, was ready to give further +particulars. He said that, after the Father had been murdered, +he was sent to a rich Israelite, Marad Farhi, to invite him to +slaughter the servant of the Capuchin friar in the same way as his +master had been slaughtered. When he took the message, he found the +young merchant, Isaac Picciotto, present, and delivered his message +before him. Next day this Picciotto and four other Jews, Marad +Farhi, Meir, and Assan Farhi, and Aaron Stamboli, all men of wealth, +came to his master's house, and informed David Arari that they had +together murdered the Capuchin's serving-man in the house of Meir +Farhi. On another occasion this same witness, Murad-el-Fallat, said +that the murder of the servant took place in the house of David +Arari; but no importance was attached in this remarkable case to +contradictions in the evidence. + +Picciotto, as son of a former Austrian Consul, a nephew of the +Consul at Aleppo, was able to take refuge under the protection of +Merlato, the Austrian Consul at Damascus. On the demand of Count +Ratti-Menton, he was placed on his trial, but proved an _alibi_; +on the evening in question, he and his wife had been visiting an +English gentleman, Mr. George Macson. + +Arari's servant now extended his revelations. He said that he had +been present at the murder of the attendant on the Capuchin. This +man had been bound and put to death by seven Jews, namely, by the +four already mentioned, young Picciotto, Jacob Abul Afia, and Joseph +Menachem Farhi. + +The French Consul was dissatisfied that Picciotto should escape. He +demanded of the Austrian Consul that he should be delivered over to +the Mussulman Court to be tortured like the rest into confession. +The Austrian Consul was in a difficult position. He stood alone over +against a fanatical Christian and an embittered Mohammedan mob, and +in resistance to the Egyptian Government and the representative +of France. But he did not hesitate, he absolutely refused to +surrender Picciotto. The general excitement was now directed +against the Consul; he was subjected to suspicion as a favourer of +the murderers, as even incriminated in the murder. His house was +surrounded by spies, and every one who entered or left it was an +object of mistrust. + +All Damascus was in agitation; everyone sought to bring some +evidence forward to help on the case against the Jews. According to +one account, thirty-three--according to the report of the Austrian +Consul, sixty-three Jewish children, of from four to ten years +old, were seized, thrown into prison and tortured, to extract +information from them as to the whereabouts of their parents and +relations--those charged with the murder of the servant, and who +had fled and concealed themselves. Those witnesses who had appeared +before the court to testify to the innocence of the accused, were +arrested, and treated with Oriental barbarity. Because Farach +Katasch and Isaac Javoh had declared that they had seen Father +Thomas on the day of the murder in another quarter of the town than +the Ghetto, they were put to the torture. Isaac Javoh said he had +seen Father Thomas on the road to Salachia, two miles from the Jews' +quarter, and had there spoken to him. He was racked, and died on the +rack. + +A boy admitted that he had noticed Father Thomas and his servant in +another part of the town. For so saying, he was beaten with such +barbarity that he died twenty-four hours after. A Jewish account +from Beyrut says: "A Jew dedicated himself to martyrdom for the +sanctity of the ever-blessed Name. He went before the Governor, +and said to him, 'Is this justice you do? It is a slander that we +employ blood for our Paschal bread; and that it is so is known +to all civilized governments. You say that the barber, who is a +Jew, confessed it. I reply that he did so only under the stress of +torture. Very likely the Father was murdered by Christians or by +Turks.' The Governor, and the dragoman of the French Consul, Baudin +by name, retorted, 'What! you dare to charge the murder on Turks or +Christians?' and he was ordered to be beaten and tortured to death. +He was barbarously scourged and hideously tormented, and urged all +the while to confess the truth. But he cried ever, 'Hear, O Israel! +The Lord thy God is one Lord!' and so crying he died." + +As the second murder, according to one account, was committed in the +house of Meir Farhi, Count Ratti-Menton had the water conduits and +drains torn up all round it, and in the drain near them was found a +heap of bones, a bit of flesh, and a fragment of leather--according +to one account a portion of a shoe, according to that of the +Austrian Consul, a portion of a girdle. It had--supposing it to +have belonged to the murdered man--been soaking for a month in the +drain, nevertheless, the brother of the servant who had disappeared +identified it as having belonged to the murdered man! Dr. Massari, +Italian physician to Sheriff Pacha, and Dr. Rinaldo, a doctor +practising in Damascus, declared that the bones were human remains, +but they were examined by Dr. Yograssi, who proved them to be--sheep +bones. One may judge from this what reliance can be placed on the +assumption that the first collection of bones that were given +Christian burial were those of a man, and of Father Thomas. As for +the bit of flesh, it was thought to be a piece of liver, but whether +of a human being or of a beast was uncertain or unascertained. The +Jews' houses were now subjected to search. Count Ratti-Menton swept +through the streets at the head of twenty sbirri, entering and +ransacking houses at his own caprice, the Jews' houses first of all, +and then such houses of Christians as were supposed to be open as a +harbour of shelter to the persecuted Israelites. Thus one night he +rushed not only into the house of, but even the women's bedrooms of +a merchant, Aiub, who stood under Austrian protection, hunting after +secreted Jews, an outrage, in popular opinion, even in the East. + +The Jews charged with the murder of the servant had not been +secured. The greater number of the well-to-do Hebrews had fled +the town. A hue-and-cry was set up, and the country round was +searched. Their families were taken up and tortured into confessing +where they were. A German traveller then in Damascus says that the +prisons were crowded with unfortunates, and that the pen refuses +to detail the torments to which they were subjected to wring from +them the information required. The wife of Meir Farhi and their +child were imprisoned, and the child bastinadoed before its mother's +eyes. At the three hundredth blow the mother's heart gave way, and +she betrayed the hiding-place of her husband. He was seized. The +hippopotamus scourge was flourished over his head, and knowing +what his fellows had suffered, he confessed himself guilty. Assan +Farhi, who was caught in his hiding-place, was imprisoned for a +week in the French Consulate, and then delivered over to Turkish +justice. Bastinado and the rack convinced him of his guilt, but he +found means to despatch from his dungeon a letter to Ibrahim Pacha +protesting his innocence. + +It is as impossible as it is unnecessary to follow the story of the +persecution in all its details. The circumstances have been given +by various hands, and as names are not always recorded, it is not +always possible to distinguish whether single cases are recorded +by different writers with slight variations, or whether they are +reporting different incidents in the long story. + +The porter of the Jews' quarters, a man of sixty, died under +bastinado, to which he was subjected for no other crime than not +confessing that he had seen the murdered men enter the Ghetto. + +In the meantime, whilst this chase after those accused of the second +murder was going on, the seven merchants who had confessed to the +murder of the Father had been lying in prison recovering from their +wounds and bruises. As they recovered, the sense of their innocence +became stronger in them than fear for the future and consideration +of the past. They withdrew their confessions. Again were they +beaten and tormented. Thenceforth they remained stedfast. Two of +the seven, David Arari, aged eighty and Joseph Laniado, not much +younger, died of their sufferings. Laniado had protested that he +could bring evidence--the unimpeachable evidence of Christian +merchants at Khasbin--that he had been with them at the time when it +was pretended he had been engaged on the murder. But he died before +these witnesses reached Damascus. Then Count Ratti-Menton pressed +for the execution of the rest. + +So stood matters when Herr von Hailbronner, whose report on the +whole case is both fullest and most reliable, for the sequence of +events, arrived in Damascus. He took pains to collect all the most +authentic information he could on every particular. + +Damascus was in the wildest commotion. All classes of the people +were in a condition of fanatic excitement. The suffering caused by +the pressure of the Egyptian government of Mohamed Ali, the threat +of an Oriental war, the plague which had broken out in Syria, the +quarantine, impeding all trade, were matters that were thrust into +the background by the all-engrossing story of the murder and the +persecution of the Jews. + +The condition of the Hebrews in Damascus became daily more +precarious. The old antagonism, jealousy of their riches, hatred +caused by extortionate usury, were roused and armed for revenge. +The barber, though he had confessed that he was guilty of the +murder, was allowed to go scot-free, because he had betrayed his +confederates. What an encouragement was offered to the rabble to +indulge in false witness against rich Jews, whose wealth was coveted! + +Mohamed Ali's government desired nothing better than the +confiscation of their goods. A pack of ruffians sought occasion to +extract money out of this persecution by bribes, or to purchase +pardon for past offences by denouncing the innocent. + +It is well at this point to look a little closer at the French +Consul, the Count Ratti-Menton. On him rests the guilt of this +iniquitous proceeding, rather than on the Mussulman judges. He +had been twice bankrupt when French Consul in Sicily. Then he +had been sent as Consul to Tiflis, where his conduct had been so +disreputable, that on the representation of the Russian Government +he had been recalled. He had then been appointed Consul at Damascus. +In spite of all this, and the discredit with which his conduct with +regard to the Jews, on account of the murder of Father Thomas, had +covered him, his part was warmly taken up by the Ultramontane Press, +and the French Government did its utmost to shield him. M. Thiers +even warmly defended him. The credit of France was thought to be at +stake, and it was deemed advisable to stand by the agent of France, +and make out a case for him as best might be. + +It is quite possible, it is probable, that he was thoroughly +convinced that the Jews were guilty, but that does not justify his +mode of procedure. It is possible also that bribes may--as was +said--have been offered him by the Jews if he would desist from his +persecution, but that he refused these bribes shows that he was +either not an unredeemed rascal, or that he conceived he had gone +too far to withdraw. + +The Turkish and Egyptian authorities acted as always has been and +will be their manner, after their nature, and in their own interest. +We expect of them nothing else, but that the representative of +one of the most enlightened nations of Europe, a man professing +himself to be a Christian, and civilized, a member of a noble house, +should hound on the ignorant and superstitious, and give rein to +all the worst passions of an Oriental rabble, against a helpless +and harmless race, that has been oppressed, and ill-treated, and +slandered for centuries, is never to be looked over and forgiven. +The name of Ratti-Menton must go down branded to posterity; and +it is to be regretted that M. Thiers should have allowed his love +of his country to so carry him away as to induce him to throw +the shield over a man of whose guilt he must have been perfectly +aware, having full information in his hands. This shows us to what +an extent Gallic vanity will blind the Gallic eye to the plain +principles of truth and right. + +Ratti-Menton had his agents to assist him--Baudin, chief of his +bureau at the Consulate; Francois Salins, a native of Aleppo, who +acted as interpreter, spy, and guard to the Consulate; Father Tosti, +a French Lazarist, who, according to the Austrian Consul, "seemed to +find in this case an opportunity for avenging on the race the death +of his Divine Master; also a Christian Arab, Sehibli Ayub, a man of +bad character, who was well received by Ratti-Menton, because of his +keenness as spy, and readiness as denunciator. + +What followed now passes all belief. After that countless poor Jews +had been accused, beaten, tortured, and killed, it occurred to the +judges that it would be as well to ascertain the motive for the +crime. It had been said by those who had confessed that the Pater +and his servant had been put to death in order to obtain their blood +to mingle with the dough for the Paschal wafer. The disappearance +of the two men took place on February 5th. Easter fell that year on +April 18th, so that the blood would have to be preserved two months +and a half. That was an inconsequence which neither the French +Consul nor the Egyptian authorities stooped to consider. Orders were +issued that the Talmud and other sacred books of the Jews should +be explored to see whether, or rather where in them, the order was +given that human blood should be mingled with the Paschal dough. +When no such commands could be discovered, it was concluded that the +editions presented for examination were purposely falsified. + +Now, there were distinct indications pointing in quite another +direction, which, if followed, might have elucidated the case, and +revealed the actual criminals. But these indications were in no +case followed. Wildon Pieritz, an Evangelical Missionary, then in +Damascus, as well as the Austrian Consul, agree in stating that +three days before the disappearance of Father Thomas he was seen in +violent altercation with a Turkish mule-driver, who was heard to +swear he would be the death of the priest. The altercation was so +violent that the servant of Father Thomas seized the mule-driver by +the throat and maltreated him so that blood flowed--probably from +his nose. Father Thomas lost his temper and cursed the mussulman +and his religion. The scene created great commotion, and a number +of Turks were very angry, amongst them was one, a merchant, Abu +Yekhyeh, who distinguished himself. Wildon Pieritz in a letter +to the _Journal de Smyrne_ on May 14th, 1840, declares that when +the news of the disappearance of Father Thomas began to excite +attention, this merchant, Abu Yekhyeh, hanged himself. + +We may well inquire how it was that none of these facts came to be +noticed. The answer is to hand. Every witness that gave evidence +which might exculpate the accused Jews, and turn attention in +another direction, was beaten and tortured, consequently, those who +could have revealed the truth were afraid to do so. + +Even among the Mohammedans complaints arose that the French Consul +was acting in contravention to their law, and a feeling gradually +grew that a great injustice was being committed--that the Jews +were innocent. Few dared allow this in the first fever of popular +excitement, but nevertheless it awoke and spread. + +At first the Austrian Consul had been subjected not to annoyance +only, but to danger of life, so violent had been the popular feeling +against him because of the protection he accorded to one of the +accused. Fortunately Herr Merlato was a man of pluck. He was an +old soldier who had distinguished himself as a marine officer. +He not only resolutely protected young Picciotto, but he did his +utmost to hinder the proceedings of Ratti-Menton; he invoked the +assistance of the representatives of the other European Powers, and +finally every Consul, except the French, agreed to unite with him in +representations to their governments of the iniquitous proceedings +of Ratti-Menton, and to use their influence with the Egyptian +authorities to obtain the release of the unhappy accused. + +The bastinadoes and tortures now ceased. Merlato obtained the +release of several of those who were in confinement; and finally +the only Jews who remained in prison were the brothers Arari, Mussa +Salonichi, and the renegade Abul Afia. Of the supposed murderers of +the servant only the brothers Farhi were still held in chains. + +Matters were in this condition when the news of what had taken place +at Damascus reached Europe and set all the Jews in commotion. Every +effort was made by them, in Vienna, Leipzig, Paris and London, +indeed in all the great cities of Europe, to convince the public +of the absurdity of the charge, and to urge the governments to +interfere in behalf of the sufferers. + +Finally all the representatives of the European governments at +Alexandria, with the exception of the French, remonstrated with +Mohamed Ali. They demanded that the investigation should be begun +_de novo_; the French Consul-General, M. Cochelet, alone objected. +But the action of the Jews of Europe had more influence with +Mohamed Pacha than the representations of the Consuls. The house of +Rothschild had taken the matter up, and Sir Moses Montefiore started +from London, and M. Cremieux from Paris as a diplomatic embassy to +the Viceroy at Alexandria to convince him, by such means as is most +efficacious to an Oriental despot, of the innocence of the accused +at Damascus. + +The arguments these delegates employed were so extremely +satisfactory to the mind of Mohamed Pacha, that he quashed the +charges against the Jews of Damascus, in spite of the vehement +protest of M. Cochelet, the representative of France. When the +Viceroy issued a firman ordering the incarcerated Jews to be +discharged as innocent and suffered to abide in peace, M. Cochelet +strove in vain to have the firman qualified or altered into a pardon. + +Thus ended one of the most scandalous cases of this century. +Unfortunate, innocent men were tortured and put to death for a crime +that had never been proved. That the two Europeans had been murdered +was merely matter of conjecture. No bodies had been found. There +was no evidence worth a rush against the accused, and no motive +adduced deserving of grave consideration. "What inhumanities were +committed during the eight months of this persecution," wrote Herr +Von Hailbronner, "will never be wholly known. But it must call up a +blush of shame in the face of an European to remember that Europeans +provoked, favoured and stimulated it to the last." + + Authorities: "Morgenland and Abendland," by Herr Von + Hailbronner,--who, as already mentioned, was present in Damascus + through part of the time. "Damascia," by C. H. Löwenstein, + Rödelheim, 1840. Reports and debates in the English Parliament + at the time. The recently published Diaries of Sir Moses + Montefiore, 2 vols., 1890; his Centenal Biography, 1884, vol. + I., p. 213-288; and the article summing up the whole case in + "Der Neue Pitaval," by Dr. J. C. Hitzig and Dr. W. Häring, 1857, + Vol. I. + + + + +Some Accusations against Jews. + + +The story just given of the atrocious treatment of the Jews of +Damascus on a false accusation naturally leads to a brief sketch of +their treatment in the Middle Ages on similar charges. Not, indeed, +that we can deal with all of the outrages committed on the sons of +Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--that would require volumes--but only +notice some of those which they have had to suffer on the same or +analogous false charges. + +These false accusations range under three heads:-- + +1. They have been charged with poisoning the wells when there has +been an outbreak of plague and malignant fever. + +2. They have been charged with stealing the Host and with stabbing +it. + +3. Lastly, with having committed murders in order to possess +themselves of Christian blood, to mingle with the dough wherewith to +make their Paschal cakes. + +We will leave the first case on one side altogether, and as we have +already considered one instance--not by any means the last case of +such an accusation levied against them in Europe--we will take it +before we come to the instances of their being accused of stealing +the Host. + +But _why_ should they be supposed to require Christian blood? One +theory was that by common participation in it, the Jewish community +was closer bound together; another, that it had a salutary medicinal +effect. That is to say, having made up their minds in the Middle +Ages that Jews did sacrifice human beings and drink their blood, +they beat about for the explanation, and caught at any wild theory +that was proposed.[4] + + [4] Antonius Bonfinius: Rer. Hungaricarum Dec., v. 1., 3, gives + _four_ reasons. Thomas Cantipratensis, Lib. II., c. 29, gives + another and preposterous one, not to be quoted even in Latin. + +John Dubravius in his Bohemian History, under the year 1305, +relates: "On Good Friday the Jews committed an atrocious crime +against a Christian man, for they stretched him naked to a cross +in a concealed place, and then, standing round, spat on him, beat +him, and did all they could to him which is recorded of their +having done to Christ. This atrocious act was avenged by the people +of Prague upon the Jews, with newly-invented punishments, and of +their property that was confiscated, a monument was erected." But +there were cases earlier than this. Perhaps the earliest is that +of S. William of Norwich, in 1144; next, S. Richard of Paris, +1179; then S. Henry of Weissemburg, in Alsace, in 1220; then S. +Hugh of Lincoln, in 1255, the case of which is recorded by Matthew +Paris. A woman at Lincoln lost her son, a child eight years old. +He was found in a well near a Jew's house. The Jew was arrested, +and promised his life if he would accuse his brethren of the +murder. He did so, but was hanged nevertheless. On this accusation +ninety-two of the richest Jews in Lincoln were arrested, their +goods seized to replenish the exhausted Royal exchequer; eighteen +were hung forthwith, the rest were reserved in the Tower of London +for a similar fate, but escaped through the intervention of the +Franciscans, who, says Matthew Paris, were bribed by the Jews of +England to obtain their release. On May 15th, 1256, thirty-five of +the wretched Jews were released. We are not told what became of the +remaining thirty-nine, whether they had been discharged as innocent, +or died in prison. The story of little Hugh has been charmingly told +in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. + +A girl of seven years was found murdered at Pforzheim, in 1271; +the Jews were accused, mobbed, maltreated, and executed. In 1286, +a boy, name unknown, disappeared in Munich, with the same results +to the Jews. In 1292, a boy of nine, at Constance--same results. In +1303 "the perfidious Jews, accustomed to the shedding of Christian +blood," says Siffrid, priest of Meisen, in 1307, "cruelly murdered +a certain scholar, named Conrad, son of a knight of Weissensee, in +Thuringia, after that they had tortured him, cut all his sinews, and +opened his veins. This took place before Easter. The Almighty, who +is glorious in His Saints, however did not suffer the murder of the +innocent boy to remain concealed, but destroyed the murderers, and +adorned the martyrdom of their innocent victim with miracles. For +when the said Jews had taken the body of the lad to many places in +Thuringia to bury it secretly, by God's disposition they were always +foiled in their attempt to make away with it. Wherefore, returning +to Weissensee, they hung it to a vine. Then the truth having been +revealed, the soldiers rushed out of the castle, and the citizens +rose together with the common people, headed by Frederick, son of +Albert Landgrave of Thuringia, and killed the Jews tumultuously." + +The story of St. Werner, the boy murdered by the Jews in 1287, at +Wesel, on the Rhine, and buried at Bacharach, is well known. The +lovely chapel erected over his body is now a ruin. But Werner was +not the only boy martyred by the Jews on the Rhine. Another was St. +Johanettus of Siegburg. + +St. Andrew of Heiligenwasser, near Innsbrück, is another case, in +1462; St. Ludwig of Ravensburg, in 1429, again another. Six boys +were said to have been murdered by Jews at Ratisborn, in 1486; and +several cases come to us out of Spanish history. In Poland, in 1598, +in the village of Swinarzew, near Lositz, lived a peasant, Matthias +Petrenioff, with his wife, Anna. They had several children, among +them a boy named Adalbert. One day in Holy Week the boy was in +the fields ploughing with his father. In the evening he was sent +home, but instead of going home directly, he turned aside to visit +the village of Woznik, in which lived a Jew, Mark, who owned a +pawnshop, and had some mills. The son of Mark, named Aaron, and the +son-in-law, Isaac, overtook the boy as they were returning to Wosnik +in their cart and took him up into it. + +As the child did not return home, his father went in search of him, +and hearing that he had been seen in the cart between the two Jews, +he went to the house of Mark and inquired for him. Mark's wife +said she had not seen him. The peasant now became frightened. He +remembered the stories that floated about concerning the murder of +Christian children by Jews, and concluded that his boy had been put +to death by Mark and his co-religionists. At length the body of the +child was discovered in a pond, probably gnawed by rats--but the +marks on the body were at once supposed to be due to the weapons of +the Jews. Immense excitement reigned in the district, and finally +two servants of the Jews, both Christians, one Athanasia, belonging +to the Greek Church, and another, Christina, a Latin, confessed +that their masters had murdered the boy. He had been concealed in +a cellar till the eve of the Passover, when the chief Jews of the +district had been assembled, and the boy had been bled to death +in their presence. The blood was put into small phials and each +Jew provided with one at least. This led to a general arrest of +the Jews, when the rack produced the requisite confession. Isaac, +son-in-law of Mark, in whose house the butchery was said to have +taken place, declared under torture that the Jews partook of the +blood of Christians in bread, and also in wine, but he professed to +be unable to account for the custom. Filled, however, with remorse +for having thus falsely accused his people and his relatives, he +hung himself in prison. Mark and Aaron were condemned to be torn +to pieces alive; and, of course, the usual spoliation ensued. We +have the account of this atrocious judicial murder from the pen of +a Jesuit, Szembeck, who extracted the particulars from the acts of +the court of Lublin, in which the case was tried, and from those +drawn up by order of the bishop of the diocese of Luz, in which the +murder occurred, and who obtained or sanctioned a canonization of +the boy-martyr. + +Another still more famous case is that of S. Simeon, of Trent, in +1475, very full details of which are given in the Acta Sanctorum +of the Bollandists, as the victim was formally canonized by Pope +Benedict XIV., and the Roman Martyrology asserts the murder by the +Jews in these terms:-- + +"At Trent (on March 24th) the martyrdom of S. Simeon, a little +child, cruelly slain by the Jews, who was glorified afterwards by +several miracles." + +The story as told and approved at the canonization was as follows: +On Tuesday, in Holy Week, 1475, the Jews met to prepare for +the approaching Passover, in the house of one of their number, +named Samuel; and it was agreed between three of them, Samuel, +Tobias, and Angelus, that a child should be crucified, as an act +of revenge against the Christians who cruelly maltreated them. +Their difficulty, however, was how to get one. Samuel sounded his +servant Lazarus, and attempted to bribe him into procuring one, +but the suggestion so scared the fellow that he ran away. On the +Thursday, Tobias undertook to get the boy, and going out in the +evening, whilst the people were in church, he prowled about till +he found a child sitting on the threshold of his father's door, +aged twenty-nine months, and named Simeon. The Jew began to coax +the little fellow to follow him, and the boy, after being lured +away, was led to the house of Samuel, whence during the night he was +conveyed to the synagogue, where he was bled to death, and his body +pierced with awls. + +All Friday the parents sought their son, but found him not. The +Jews, alarmed at the proceedings of the magistrates, who had taken +the matter up, consulted together what was to be done. It was +resolved to put the body back into its clothes and throw it into the +stream that ran under Samuel's window, but which was there crossed +by a grating. Tobias was to go to the bishop and magistrates and +inform them that a child's body was entangled in the grate. This was +done. Thereupon John de Salis, the bishop, and James de Sporo, the +governor, went to see the spot, had the body removed, and conveyed +to the cathedral. As, according to popular superstition, blood was +supposed to flow from the wound when a murderer drew near, the +officers of justice were cautioned to observe the crowds as they +passed. + +It was declared that blood exuded as Tobias approached. On the +strength of this, the house of Samuel and the synagogue were +examined, and it is asserted that blood and other traces of the +butchery were found. The most eminent physicians were called to +investigate the condition of the corpse, and they pronounced that +the child had been strangled, and that the wounds were due to stabs. +The popular voice now accusing the Jews, the magistrates seized on +them and threw them into prison, and on the accusation of a renegade +more than five of the Jews were sentenced to death. They were broken +on the wheel and then burnt. The body of the child is enshrined +at Trent, and a basin of the blood preserved as a relic in the +cathedral. + +This must suffice for instances of accusations of murder for +religious purposes brought against the Jews, in every case false. +Another charge brought against them was Sacrilege. Fleury in his +Ecclesiastical History gives one instance. "In the little town of +Pulca, in Passau, a layman found a bloody Host before the house of +a Jew, lying in the street upon some straw. The people thought that +this Host was consecrated, and washed it and took it to the priest, +that it might be taken to the church, where a crowd of devotees +assembled, concluding that the blood had flowed miraculously from +wounds dealt it by the Jews. On this supposition, and without any +other examination, or any other judicial procedure, the Christians +fell on the Jews, and killed several of them; but wiser heads +judged that this was rather for the sake of pillage than to avenge +a sacrilege. This conjecture was justified by a similar event, that +took place a little while before at Neuburg, in the same diocese, +where a certain clerk placed an unconsecrated Host steeped in blood +in a church, but confessed afterwards before the bishop that he +had dipped this Host in blood for the purpose of raising hostility +against the Jews."[5] + + [5] Fleury, Hist. Eccl., vi. p. 110. + +In 1290, a Jew named Jonathan was accused in Paris of having thrown +a Host into the Seine. It floated. Then he stabbed it with his +knife, and blood flowed. The Jew was burnt alive, and the people +clamored for a general persecution of the Hebrews. + +In Bavaria, in 1337, at Dechendorf, some Hosts were discovered which +the Jews had stabbed. The unhappy Hebrews were burnt alive. + +In 1326, a Jew convert, a favourite of Count William the Good, of +Flanders, was accused of having struck an image of the Madonna, +which thereupon bled. The Jew was tortured, but denied the +accusation. Then he was challenged to a duel by a fanatic. He, +wholly unaccustomed to the use of weapons, succumbed. That sufficed +to prove his guilt. He was burnt. + +In 1351, a Jew convert was accused, at Brussels, of having +pretended, on three occasions, to communicate, in order that he +might send the Hosts to his brethren at Cologne, who stabbed them, +and blood flowed. + +The traveller who has been in Brussels must certainly have noticed +the painted windows all down the nave of S. Gudule, in the side +aisles, to left and right. They represent, in glowing colours, the +story of the miraculous Hosts preserved in the chancel to the north +of the choir, where seven red lamps burn perpetually before them. + +The story is as follows: In 1370, a rich Jew of Enghien bribed a +converted Hebrew, named John of Louvain, for 60 pieces of gold, to +steal for him some Hosts from the Chapel of S. Catherine. Hardly, +however, had the Jew, Jonathan, received the wafers, before he was +attacked by robbers and murdered. His wife, alarmed, and thinking +that his death was due to the sacrilege, resolved to get rid of +the wafers. It may have been remarked in the stories of murders +by Jews, that they were represented as finding great difficulty +in getting rid of the dead bodies. In these stories of sacrilege, +no less difficulty was encountered in causing the disappearance +of the Hosts. Moreover, the Jews invariably proceeded in the most +roundabout and clumsy way, inviting discovery. The widow of the +murdered Jonathan conveyed the Hosts to the synagogue at Brussels. +There, on Good Friday, the Jews took advantage of the Hosts to stab +them with their knives, in mockery of Christ and the Christian +religion. But blood squirted from the transfixed wafers. In terror, +they also resolved to get rid of the miraculous Hosts, and found +no better means of so doing than bribing a renegade Jewess, named +Catharine, to carry them to Cologne. They promised her twenty +pieces of gold for her pains. She took the Hosts, but, troubled in +conscience, revealed what she had undertaken to her confessor. The +ecclesiastical authorities were informed, Catherine was arrested, +imprisoned, and confessed. All the Jews dwelling in Brussels were +taken up and tortured; but in spite of all torture refused to +acknowledge their guilt. However, a chaplain of the prince, a man +named Jean Morelli, pretended to have overheard a converted Jew say, +"Why do not these dogs make a clean breast? They know that they +are guilty." This man was that John of Louvain who had procured +the theft of the wafers. He was seized. He at once confessed his +participation in the crime. That sufficed. All the accused, he +himself included, were condemned to death. They were executed with +hideous cruelty; after having had their flesh torn off by red-hot +pinchers, they were attached to stakes and burnt alive, on the Vigil +of the Ascension, 1370. Every year a solemn procession of the Saint +Sacrement de Miracle commemorates this atrocity, or the miracle +which led to it. + +Unfortunately, there exists no doubt whatever as to the horrible +execution of the Jews on the false charge of having stolen the +Hosts, but there is very good reason for disbelieving altogether the +story of the miracle of the bleeding Hosts. + +Now, it is somewhat remarkable that not a word is said about this +miracle before 1435, that is to say, for 65 years, by any writer of +the period and of the country. The very first mention of it is found +in a Papal bull of that date, addressed to the Dean and Chapter +of S. Gudule, relative to a petition made by them that, as they +wanted money for the erection of a chapel to contain these Hosts, +indulgences might be granted to those who would contribute thereto. +The Pope granted their request. + +Now, it so happens that the official archives at Brussels contains +two documents of the date, 1370, relative to this trial. The first +of these is the register of the accounts of the receiver-general +of the Duke of Brabant. In that are the items of expenditure for +the burning of these Jews, a receipt, and the text is as follows: +"Item, recepta de bonis dictorum judeorum, postquam combusti fuerant +circa ascensionem Domini lxx, quæ defamata fuerant de sacramentis +punicè et furtivè acceptis." That is to say, that a certain sum +flowed into the Duke's exchequer from the goods of the Jews, burnt +for having "guiltily and furtively obtained the Hosts." "Punice" is +an odd word, but its signification is clear enough. Now, in 1581, +on May 1st, the magistrates of Brussels forbade the exercise of +the Catholic religion, in a proclamation in which, when mentioning +certain frauds committed by the Roman Church, they speak of "The +Sacrament of the Miracle, which," say they, "by documentary evidence +can be proved never to have bled nor to have been stabbed." No +question--they had seen this entry in which no mention is made of +the stabbing--no allusion made to the bleeding. Moreover, in the +same archives is the contemporary episcopal letter addressed to the +Dean of S. Gudule on the subject of these Hosts. In this document +there is no mention made by the bishop of the stabbing or of the +miracle. It is stated that the Hosts were obtained by the Jews in +order that they might insult and outrage them. It is curious that +the letter should not specify their having done this, and done it +effectually, with their knives and daggers. Most assuredly, also, +had there been any suspicion of a miracle, the bishop would have +referred to it in the letter relative to the custody of these very +Hosts. + +After the whole fable of the stabbing and bleeding had grown up, no +doubt applied to these Hosts from a preceding case of accusation +against Jews, that of 1351, less than thirty years before, it was +thought advisable, if not necessary, to produce some evidence in +favour of the story; but as no such evidence was obtainable, it was +manufactured in a very ingenious manner. The entry in the register +of accounts was published by the Père Ydens, after a notary had +been required to collate the text. This notary--his name was Van +Asbroek--gave his testimony that he had made an exact and literal +transcript of the entry. What he and the Père Ydens gave as their +exact, literal transcript was "recepta de bonis dictorum Judoeorum +... quæ defamata fuerant de sacramen_to puncto_ et furtive +accep_to_." Ingenious, but disingenuous. In the first place they +altered "sacramentis" from plural into singular, and then, the +adverb _punicè_, "guiltily," into _puncto_, stabbed. + +Subsequently, Father Ydens and his notary have been quoted and +requoted as authoritative witnesses. However, the document is +now in the Archives at Brussels, and has been lithographed from +a photograph for the examination of such as have not the means +of obtaining access to the original.[6] The last jubilee of this +apocryphal miracle was celebrated at Brussels in July, 1870. + + [6] Le Jubilé d'un faux Miracle (extrait de la Revue de + Belgique), Bruxelles 1870. + + + + +The Coburg Mausoleum. + + +At the east end of the garden of the Ducal residence of Coburg is a +small, tastefully constructed mausoleum, adorned with allegorical +subjects, in which are laid the remains of the deceased dukes. Near +the mausoleum rise a stately oak, a clump of rhododendron, a cluster +of acacias, and a group of yews and weeping-willows. + +The mausoleum is hidden from the palace by a plantation of young +pines. + +The Castle of Coburg is one of the most interesting and best +preserved in Germany. It stands on a height, above the little town, +and contains much rich wood-carving of the 15th and 16th centuries. +Below the height, but a little above the town, is the more modern +residence of the Dukes Ehrenburg, erected in 1626 by the Italian +architect Bonallisso, and finished in 1693. It has that character +of perverse revolt against picturesqueness that marked all the +edifices of the period. It has been restored, not in the best style, +at the worst possible epoch, 1816. The south front remains least +altered; it is adorned with a handsome gateway, over which is the +inscription, "Fried ernährt, Unfried verzehrt"--not easily rendered +in English:-- + + "Peace doth cherish-- + Strife makes perish." + +The princes of Coburg by their worth and kindly behaviour have for +a century drawn to them the hearts of their subjects, and hardly a +princely house in Germany is, and has been, more respected and loved. + +Duke Franz died shortly after the battle of Jena. During his reign, +by his thrift, geniality, and love of justice he had won to his +person the affections of his people, though they resented the +despotic character of his government under his Minister Kretschmann. +He was twice married, but left issue only by the second wife, +Augusta, a princess of Reuss, who inherited the piety and virtues +which seem to be inrooted in that worthy house. + +Only a few weeks after her return from Brussels, where she had seen +her son, recently crowned King of the Belgians, did the Duchess +Augusta of Sachsen-Coburg die in her seventy-sixth year, November +16th, 1831. The admiration and love this admirable princess had +inspired drew crowds to visit the body, as it lay in state in the +residence at Coburg, prior to the funeral, which took place on the +19th, before day-break, by the light of torches. The funeral was +attended by men and women of all classes eager to express their +attachment to the deceased, and respect for the family. A great +deal was said, and fabled, concerning this funeral. It was told +and believed that the Dowager Duchess had been laid in the family +vault adorned with her diamond rings and richest necklaces. She was +the mother of kings, and the vulgar believed that every royal and +princely house with which she was allied had contributed some jewel +towards the decoration of her body. + +Her eldest son, Ernst I., succeeded his father in 1806 as +Duke of Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld, and in 1826 became Duke of +Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. The second son, Ferdinand, married in 1816 +the wealthiest heiress of Hungary, the Princess Rohary, and his +son, Ferdinand, became in 1836 King of Portugal, and his grandson, +Ferdinand, by his second son, is the present reigning Prince of +Bulgaria. + +The third son, Leopold, married Charlotte, only daughter of George +IV. of England, and in 1831 became King of the Belgians. Of the five +daughters, the eldest was married to the Grand-Duke Constantine of +Russia, the second married the Duke of Kent, in 1818, and was the +mother of our Queen, Victoria. The third married Duke Alexander of +Würtemberg. + +Among those who were present at the funeral of the Duchess Augusta +was a Bavarian, named Andreas Stubenrauch, an artisan then at +Coburg. He was the son of an armourer, followed his father's +profession, and had settled at Coburg as locksmith. He was a +peculiarly ugly man, with low but broad brow, dark-brown bristly +hair, heavy eyebrows and small cunning grey eyes. His nose was a +snub, very broad with huge nostrils, his complexion was pale; he had +a large mouth, and big drooping underlip. His short stature, his +lack of proportion in build, and his uncomely features, gave him +the appearance of a half-witted man. But though he was not clever +he was by no means a fool. His character was in accordance with his +appearance. He was a sullen, ill-conditioned, intemperate man. + +Stubenrauch had been one of the crowd that had passed by the bed on +which the Duchess lay in state, and had cast covetous eyes at the +jewellery with which the body was adorned. He had also attended the +funeral, and had come to the conclusion that the Duchess was buried +with all the precious articles he had noticed about her, as exposed +to view before the burial, and with a great deal more, which popular +gossip asserted to have been laid in the coffin with her. + +The thought of all this waste of wealth clung to his mind, and +Stubenrauch resolved to enter the mausoleum and rob the body. The +position of the vault suited his plans, far removed and concealed +from the palace, and he made little account of locks and bars, which +were likely to prove small hindrances to an accomplished locksmith. + +To carry his plan into execution, he resolved on choosing the night +of August 18-19, 1832. On this evening he sat drinking in a low +tavern till 10 o'clock, when he left, returned to his lodgings, +where he collected the tools he believed he would require, a candle +and flint and steel, and then betook himself to the mausoleum. + +In the first place, he found it necessary to climb over a wall of +boards that encircled the portion of the grounds where was the +mausoleum, and then, when he stood before the building, he found +that to effect an entrance would take him more time and give him +more work than he had anticipated. + +The mausoleum was closed by an iron gate formed of strong bars eight +feet high, radiating from a centre in a sort of semicircle and armed +with sharp spikes. He found it impossible to open the lock, and he +was therefore obliged to climb over the gate, regardless of the +danger of tearing himself on the barbs. There was but a small space +between the spikes and the arch of the entrance, but through this +he managed to squeeze his way, and so reach the interior of the +building, without doing himself any injury. + +Here he found a double stout oaken door in the floor that gave +access to the vault. The two valves were so closely dovetailed +into one another and fitted so exactly, that he found the utmost +difficulty in getting a tool between them. He tried his false keys +in vain on the lock, and for a long time his efforts to prise the +lock open with a lever were equally futile. At length by means of +a wedge he succeeded in breaking a way through the junction of the +doors, into which he could insert a bar, and then he heaved at one +valve with all his might, throwing his weight on the lever. It took +him fully an hour before he could break open the door. Midnight +struck as the valve, grating on its hinges, was thrown back. But +now a new and unexpected difficulty presented itself. There was no +flight of steps descending into the vault, as he had anticipated, +and he did not know the depth of the lower pavement from where he +stooped, and he was afraid to light a candle and let it down to +explore the distance. + +But Stubenrauch was not a man to be dismayed by difficulties. He +climbed back over the iron-spiked gates into the open air, and +sought out a long and stout pole, with which to sound the depth, so +as to know what measures he was to take to descend. Going into the +Ducal orchard, he pulled up a pole to which a fruit tree was tied, +and dragged it to the mausoleum, and with considerable difficulty +got it through the gateway, which he again surmounted with caution +and without injury to himself. + +Then, leaning over the opening, holding the pole in both hands, he +endeavoured to feel the depth of the vault. In so doing he lost his +balance, and the weight of the pole dragged him down, and he fell +between two coffins some twelve feet below the floor of the upper +chamber. There he lay for some little while unconscious, stunned by +his fall. When he came to himself, he sat up, felt about with his +hands to ascertain where he was, and considered what next should be +done. + +Without a moment's thought as to how he was to escape from his +position, about the possibility of which he was not in the smallest +doubt, knowing as he did his own agility and readiness with +expedients, he set to work to accomplish his undertaking. With +composure Stubenrauch now struck a light and kindled the candle. +When he had done this, he examined the interior of the vault, and +the coffins he found there, so as to select the right one. Those of +the Duchess Augusta and her husband the late Duke were very much +alike, so much so that the ruffian had some difficulty in deciding +which was the right one. He chose, however, correctly that which +seemed freshest, and he tore off it the black cover. Under this +he found the coffin very solid, fastened by two locks, which were +so rusted that his tools would not turn in them. He had not his +iron bar and other implements with him now; they were above on the +floor of the upper chamber. With great difficulty he succeeded at +length in breaking one of the hinges, and he was then able to snap +the lower lock, whereas that at the top resisted all his efforts. +However, the broken hinge and lock enabled him to lift the lid +sufficiently for him to look inside. Now he hoped to be able to +insert his hand, and remove all the jewellery he supposed was laid +there with the dead lady. To his grievous disappointment he saw +nothing save the fading remains of the Duchess, covered with a +glimmering white mould, that seemed to him to be phosphorescent. The +body was in black velvet, the white luminous hands crossed over the +breast. Stubenrauch was not the man to feel either respect for the +dead or fear of aught supernatural. With both hands he sustained the +heavy lid of the coffin as he peered in, and the necessity for using +both to support the weight prevented his profane hand from being +laid on the remains of an august and pious princess. Stubenrauch did +indeed try more than once to sustain the lid with one hand, that +he might grope with the other for the treasures he fancied must be +concealed there, but the moment he removed one hand the lid crashed +down. + +Disappointed in his expectations, Stubenrauch now replaced the +cover, and began to consider how he might escape. But now--and now +only--did he discover that it was not possible for him to get out of +the vault into which he had fallen. The pole on which he had placed +his confidence was too short to reach to the opening above. Every +effort made by Stubenrauch to scramble out failed. He was caught in +a trap--and what a trap! Nemesis had fallen on the ruffian at once, +on the scene of his crime, and condemned him to betray himself. + +Although now for the first time deadly fear came over him, as he +afterward asserted, it was fear because he anticipated punishment +from men, not any dread of the wrath of the spirits of those into +whose domain he had entered. When he had convinced himself that +escape was quite impossible, he submitted to the inevitable, lay +down between the two coffins and tried to go to sleep; but, as he +himself admitted, he was not able to sleep soundly. + +Morning broke--it was Sunday, and a special festival at Coburg, for +it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of the Duke, so +that the town was in lively commotion, and park and palace were also +in a stir. + +Stubenrauch sat up and waited in hopes of hearing someone draw near +who could release him. About 9 o'clock in the morning he heard steps +on the gravel, and at once began to shout for assistance. + +The person who had approached ran away in alarm, declaring that +strange and unearthly noises issued from the Ducal mausoleum. The +guard was apprised, but would not at first believe the report. At +length one of the sentinels was despatched to the spot, and he +returned speedily with the tidings that there certainly was a man +in the vault. He had peered through the grating at the entrance and +had seen the door broken open and a crowbar and other articles lying +about. + +The gate was now opened, and Stubenrauch removed in the midst of an +assembled crowd of angry and dismayed spectators. He was removed to +prison, tried, and condemned to eighteen months with hard labour. + +That is not the end of the story. After his discharge, Stubenrauch +never settled into regular work. In 1836 he was taken up for theft, +and again on the same charge in 1844. In the year 1854 he was +discovered dead in a little wood near his home; between the fingers +of his right hand was a pinch of snuff, and in his left hand a +pistol with which he had blown out his own brains. In his pockets +were found a purse and a brandy bottle, both empty. + + + + +Jean Aymon. + + +Jean Aymon was born in Dauphiné, in 1661, of Catholic parents. +He studied in the college of Grenoble. His family, loving him, +neglected nothing which might contribute to the improvement of his +mind, and the professors of Grenoble laboured to perfect their +intelligent pupil in mathematics, languages, and history. + +From Grenoble, Aymon betook himself to Turin, where he studied +theology and philosophy. But there was one thing neither parents nor +professors were able to implant in the young man--a conscience. He +was thoroughly well versed in all the intricacies of moral theology +and the subtleties of the school-men; he regarded crime and sin as +something deadly indeed, but deadly only to other persons. Theft +was a mortal sin to every one but himself. Truth was a virtue to be +strictly inculcated, but not to be practised in his own case. + +His parents, thinking he would grow out of this obliquity of moral +vision, persisted in their scheme of education for the lad--probably +the very worst which, with his peculiar bent of mind, they could +have chosen for him. Having finished his studies at Turin, his evil +star led him to Rome, where his talents soon drew attention to him, +and Hercules de Berzet, Bishop of Saint Jean de Maurienne, in Savoy, +named him chaplain, and had him ordained, by brief of Innocent +XI., before the age fixed by the Council of Trent, "because of the +probity of his life, his virtues and other merits!"--such were the +reasons. + +Shortly after his installation as chaplain to the bishop, his patron +entrusted him with a delicate case. De Berzet had lately been deep +in an intrigue to obtain a cardinal's hat. He had been disappointed, +and he was either bent on revenge, or, perhaps, hoped to frighten +the Pope into giving him that which he had solicited in vain. He +set to work, raking up all the scandal of the Papal household, and +acting the spy upon all the movements of the familiars of the court. +After a very little while, this worthy prelate had succeeded in +gathering together enough material to make all the ears in Europe +tingle, and this was put into the hands of the young priest to work +into form for publication. + +As Aymon looked through these scandalous memoirs, he made his +own reflections. "The publication of this will raise a storm, +undoubtedly; but the first who will perish in it will be my patron, +and all who sail in his boat." Aymon noticed that M. de Camus, +Bishop of Grenoble, was most compromised by the papers in his hands, +and would be most interested in their suppression. Aymon, without +hesitation, tied up the bundle, put it in his pocket, and presented +himself before the bishop, ready to make them over to him for a +consideration. He was well received, as may be supposed, and in +return for the papers was given a living in the diocese. But this +did not satisfy the restless spirit of Aymon; he had imbibed a +taste for intrigue, and there was no place like the Eternal City +for indulging this taste. He was, moreover, dissatisfied with his +benefice, and expected greater rewards for the service he had done +to the Church. Innocent XI. received him well, and in 1687 appointed +him his protonotary. Further he did not advance. At the Papal Court +he made his observations, and whether it was that he was felt to be +somewhat of a spy, or through some intrigue, his star began to set, +when Aymon, too well aware that a falling man may sink very low, +suddenly fled from Rome, crossed the border into Switzerland, and in +a few days was a convert to the straitest sect of the Calvinists. +But the Swiss are poor, and their ministers are in comfortable, +though not lucrative positions. Holland was the paradise of +Calvinism, and to Holland Aymon repaired. Here he obtained a cure of +importance, and married a lady of rank. + +But even now, Aymon was not satisfied. Among the Protestants of +the Low Countries there are no bishops, and no man can soar higher +than the pulpit of a parish church. Aymon was convinced that he had +climbed as high as he could in the Church of Calvin, and that he had +a soul for something higher still. His next step was extraordinary +enough. He wrote in December, 1705, to M. Clement, of the +Bibliothèque du Roi, at Paris, stating that he had in his possession +the "Herbal" of the celebrated Paul Hermann, in forty folio volumes, +and that he offered it to the King for 3200 livres, a trifle over +what it had cost him. He added that he was a renegade priest, who +had sought rest in Protestantism, but had found none--nay! he had +discovered it to be a hot-bed of every kind of vice, and that he +yearned for the Church of his baptism. He hinted that he had made +some discoveries of the utmost political importance, and that he +would communicate them to the King if he could be provided with a +passport. + +Clement made inquiries of the superintendent of the Jardin-Royal as +to the expediency of purchasing the "Herbal," and received a reply +in the negative. + +Aymon wrote again, saying little more of the "Herbal," and +developing his schemes. He said that he had State secrets to confide +to the Ministers of the Crown, besides which, he volunteered to +compose a large and important work on the state of Protestantism, +"full of proofs so authentic, and so numerous, that, if given to the +light of day, as I purpose, it would probably not only restrain all +those who meditate seceding from the Roman Church, but also would +persuade all those, who are not blinded by their passions, to return +to the Catholic faith." + +Clement, uncertain what to answer, showed these letters to some +clergy of his acquaintance, and, acting on their advice, he +presented them to M. de Pontchartrain, who communicated the proposal +of Aymon to the King. + +A passport was immediately granted, and Aymon left Holland, +assuring his congregation that he was going for a little while to +Constantinople on important matters of religion. + +On his arrival in Paris, he presented himself before M. Clement, +to assure him of the fervour of his zeal and the earnestness of +his conversion. Clement received him cordially, and took him to +Versailles to see M. de Pontchartrain. In this interview Aymon made +great promises of being serviceable to the Church and to the State, +by the revelations he was about to make; but M. de Pontchartrain +treated his protestations very lightly, and handed him over to the +Cardinal de Noailles, Archbishop of Paris. + +The conference with the cardinal was long. The archbishop addressed +a homily to the repentant sinner, who listened with hands crossed +on his breast, his eyes bent to earth, and his cheeks suffused +with tears. Aymon sighed forth that he had quitted the camp of the +Amalekites for ever, and that he was determined to turn against them +their own weapons. Clement, who was present, now stepped forward +and reminded the prelate that Aymon had abandoned a lucrative +situation, at the dictates of conscience, and that though he might, +of course, expect to be rewarded hereafter, still that remuneration +in this life would not interfere with these future prospects. The +cardinal quite approved of this sentiment, and promised to see what +he could do for the convert. In the meantime, he wished Aymon to +spend a retreat in some religious house, where he could meditate on +the error of his past life, and expiate, as far as in him lay, his +late delinquencies by rigorous penances. Aymon thanked the cardinal +for thus, unasked, granting him the request which was uppermost in +his thoughts, and then begged to be allowed the use of the Royal +Library, in which to pursue his theological researches, and to +examine the documents which were necessary for the execution of his +design of writing a triumphant vindication of the Catholic faith, +and a complete exposure of the abominations of Protestantism. M. +Clement readily accorded this, at the request of the archbishop, and +Jean Aymon was sent to the seminary of the Missions Etrangères. + +Aymon now appeared as a model penitent. He spent a considerable +part of the night in prayer before the altar, he was punctual in +his attendance on all the public exercises of religion, and his +conversation, morning, noon, and night, was on the errors and +disorders of the Calvinist Church. When not engaged in devotions, he +was at the library, where he was indefatigable in his research among +manuscripts which could throw light on the subject upon which he was +engaged. Indeed, his enthusiasm and his zeal for discoveries wearied +the assistants. Clement himself was occupied upon the catalogues, +and was unable to dance attendance on Aymon; and the assistants soon +learned to regard him as a bookworm who would keep them on the run, +supplying him with fresh materials, if they did not leave him to do +pretty much what he liked. + +Time passed, and Aymon heard no more of the reward promised by the +cardinal. He began to murmur, and to pour his complaints into the +reluctant ear of Clement, who soon became so tired of hearing them, +that the appearance of Aymon's discontented face in the library was +a signal for him to plead business and hurry into another apartment. +Aymon declared that he should most positively publish nothing till +the king or the cardinal made up to him the losses he had endured +by resigning his post in Holland. + +All of a sudden, to Clement's great relief, Aymon disappeared from +the library. At first he was satisfied to be freed from him, and +made no inquiries; but after a while, hearing that he had also left +the Missions Etrangères, he made search for the missing man. He was +nowhere to be found. + +About this time Aymon's congregation at the Hague were gratified by +the return of their pastor, not much bronzed by exposure to the sun +of Constantinople, certainly, but with his trunks well-stocked with +valuable MSS. + +A little while after, M. Clement received the following note from a +French agent resident at the Hague:-- + +"Information is required relative to a certain Aymon, who says +that he was chaplain to M. le Cardinal de Camus, and apostolic +protonotary. After having lived some while at the Hague, whither +he had come from Switzerland, where he had embraced the so-called +Reformed religion, he disappeared, and it was ascertained that he +was at Paris, whither he had taken an Arabic Koran in MS., which +he had stolen from a bookseller at the Hague. He has only lately +returned, laden with spoils--thefts, one would rather say, which +he must have made at Paris, where he has been spending five or +six months in some publicity.... He has with him the Acts of the +last Council of Jerusalem held by the Greeks on the subject of +Transubstantiation, and some other documents supposed to be stolen +from the Bibliothèque du Roi. The man has powerful supporters in +this country.--March 10, 1707." + +The "Council of Jerusalem" was one of the most valuable MSS. of +the library--and it was in the hands of Aymon! Clement flew to the +cabinet where this inestimable treasure was preserved under lock and +key. The cabinet was safely enough locked--but alas! the MS. was no +longer there. + +A few days after, Clement heard that Aymon had crossed the frontier +with several heavy boxes, which, on inquiry, proved to be full of +books. What volumes were they? The collections in the Royal Library +consisted of 12,500 MSS. The whole had to be gone through. It was +soon ascertained that another missing book was the original Italian +despatches and letters of Carlo Visconti, Apostolic Nuncio at the +Council of Trent. + +There was no time to be lost. Clement wrote to the Hague to +claim the stolen volumes, and to institute legal proceedings for +their recovery, before the collection could be dispersed, and he +appointed, with full powers, William de Voys, bookseller at the +Hague, to seize the two volumes said to be in the possession of +Aymon. + +A little while after some more MSS. volumes were missed; they were +"The Italian Letters of Prospero S Croce, Nuncio of Pius IV," "The +Embassy of the Bishop of Angoulême to Rome in 1560-4," "Le Registre +des taxes de la Chancellerie Romaine," "Dialogo politico sopra i +tumulti di Francia," nine Chinese MSS., a copy of the Gospels of +high antiquity in uncial characters, another copy of the Gospels, +no less valuable, and the Epistles of S. Paul, also very ancient. + +Shortly after this, two Swiss, passing through the Hague, were +shown by Aymon some MSS. which agreed with those mentioned as lost +from the Royal Library; but besides these, they saw numerous loose +sheets, inscribed with letters of gold, and apparently belonging to +a MS. of the Bible. Clement had now to go through each MS. in the +library and find what had been subtracted from them. Fourteen sheets +were gone from the celebrated Bible of S. Denys. From the Pauline +Epistles and Apocalypse, a MS. of the seventh century, and one of +the most valuable treasures of the library, thirty-five sheets had +been cut. There were other losses of less importance. + +Whilst Clement was making these discoveries, De Voys brought an +action against Aymon for the recovery of the "Council of Jerusalem" +and the "Letters of Visconti." + +Jean Aymon was not, however, a man to be despoiled of what he had +once got. He knew his position perfectly, and he knew the temper +of those around him. He was well aware that in order to gain his +cause he had only to excite popular passion. His judges were enemies +to both France and Catholicism, he had but to make them believe +that a plot was formed against him by French Papists for obtaining +possession of certain MSS. which he had, and which contained a +harvest of scandals and revelations overwhelming to Catholics, and +he knew that his cause was safe. + +He accordingly published a defence, bearing the following +title:--"Letter of the Sieur Aymon, Minister of the Holy Gospel, to +M. N., Professor of Theology, to inform people of honour and savants +of the extraordinary frauds of certain Papistical doctors and of +the vast efforts they are now making, along with some perverted +Protestants, who are striving together to ruin, by their impostures, +the Sieur Aymon, and to deprive him of several MSS., &c."--La Haye, +dated 1707. Aymon in his pamphlet took high moral ground. He was +not pleading his own cause. Persecuted, hunted down by Papists, by +enemies of the Republic and of the religion of Christ, he scorned +their calumnies and despised their rage. He would bow under the +storm, he would endure the persecution cheerfully--for "Blessed +are those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake;" but higher +interests were at stake than his own fair fame. For himself he cared +little; for the Protestant faith he cared everything. If the Papists +obtained their suit, they would wrest from his grasp documents most +compromising to themselves. They would leave no stone unturned to +secure them--they _dare not_ leave them in the hands of a Protestant +pastor. Their story of the "Acts of the Council of Jerusalem" was +false. They said that it had been obtained by Olier de Nanteuil, +Ambassador of France at Constantinople, in 1672, and had been +transmitted to Paris, where Arnauld had seen and made use of it in +preparing his great work on the "Perpetuity of the Faith." They +further said that the Bibliothèque du Roi had obtained it in 1696. +On the other hand, Aymon asserted that Arnauld had falsified the +text in his treatise on the "Perpetuity of the Faith," and that, +not daring to let his fraud appear, he had never given the MS. to +the Royal Library, but had committed it to a Benedictine monk of S. +Maur, who had assisted him in falsifying it and making an incorrect +translation. This monk would never have surrendered the MS. but +that conscience had given him no rest till he had transmitted it to +one who would know how to use it aright. He, Aymon, had solemnly +promised never to divulge the name of this monk, and even though he +and the Protestant cause were to suffer for it, that promise should +be held sacred. He challenged the library of the King to prove its +claim to the "Council of Jerusalem!" All books in the Bibliothèque +du Roi have the seal of the library on them. This volume had three +seals--that of the Sultan, that of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and +that of Olier de Nanteuil; but he defied any one to see the library +mark on its cover, or on any of its sheets. Aymon wound up his +audacious pamphlet by prophesying that the Papists of France would +not be satisfied with this claim, but would advance many others, for +they knew that in his hands were documents of the utmost importance +to them to conceal. Aymon was too clever for Clement: he had mixed +up truth with fiction in such a way that the points which Clement +had to admit tended to make even those who were not bigoted hesitate +about condemning Aymon. + +Clement replied to this letter by stating the whole story of Aymon's +deception of the Cardinal de Noailles and others. With regard to +the "Council of Jerusalem," it was false that it had ever been +in a Benedicient monastery. "It is true," he said, "that in the +Monastery of S. Germain-des-Prés there are documents relating to +the controversies between the Catholics and Greek schismatics, but +they are all in French." He produced an attestation, signed by +the prior, to the effect that the MS. in question had never been +within the walls of his monastery. Clement was obliged to allow +that a Benedictine monk had been employed by Arnauld to translate +the text of the Council; he even found him out, his name was Michel +Foucquère; he was still alive, and the librarian made him affirm +in writing that he had restored the volume, on the completion of +his translation, to Dom Luc d'Achery. Clement sent a copy of the +register in the library, which related how and when the volume had +come into the possession of the King. It was true that it bore no +library seal, but that was through an oversight. + +Aymon wrote a second pamphlet, exposing Clement more completely, +pointing out the concessions he was obliged to make, and finally, +in indignant terms, hurling back on him the base assertion made to +injure him in the eyes of an enlightened Protestant public, that he +had ever treated with the government or clergy of Paris relative to +a secession to the ranks of Popery. But that he had been to Paris; +that he had met the Cardinal Archbishop, he admitted; but on what +ground? He had met him and twenty-four prelates besides, gathered in +solemn conclave, and had lifted up his voice in testimony against +them; had disputed with them, and, with the Word of God in his +mouth, had put them all to silence! No idea of his ever leaving +the reformed faith had ever entered his head. No! he had been on a +mission to the Papists of France, to open their eyes and to convert +them. + +The news of the robbery had, however, reached the ears of the King, +Louis XIV., and he instructed M. de Torcy to demand on the part of +Government the restitution of the stolen MSS. M. de Torcy first +wrote to a M. Hennequin at Rotterdam, who replied that Aymon had +justified himself before the Council of State from the imputations +cast upon him. He had been interrogated, not upon the theft +committed in Paris, but on his journey to France. Aymon had proved +that this expedition had been undertaken with excellent intentions, +and had been attended with supreme success, since he had returned +laden with manuscripts the publication of which would cause the +greatest confusion in the Catholic camp. Hennequin added, that after +having been deprived of his stipend, as suspected, on it having been +ascertained that he had visited Paris instead of Constantinople, +Aymon, having cleared his character, had recovered it. Such was the +first result of the intervention of Louis XIV. in this affair. + +"The stamp of the Royal Library is on all the MSS., except the +'Council of Jerusalem,'" said Clement. "Let the judges insist on +examining the books in the possession of Aymon, and all doubt as to +the theft will be removed." + +But this the judges refused to do. + +It was pretended that Aymon was persecuted; it was the duty of the +Netherland Government to protect a subject from persecution. He had +made discovries, and the Catholics dreaded the publication of his +discoveries, therefore a deep plot had been laid to ruin him. + +Aymon had now formed around him a powerful party, and the Calvinist +preachers took his side unanimously. It was enough to read the +titles of the books stolen to be certain that they contained curious +details on the affairs which agitated Catholics and Protestants from +the sixteenth century. + +All that the Dutch authorities cared for now was to find some excuse +for retaining these important papers, and the inquiry was mainly +directed to the proceedings of Aymon in France. If, as it was said, +he had gone thither to abjure Calvinism and betray his brethren, he +deserved reprimand, but if, on the other hand, he had penetrated the +camp of the enemy to defy it, and to witness a good confession in +the heart of the foe, he deserved a crown. Clement, to display Aymon +in his true colours, acting on the advice of the Minister, sent +copies of Aymon's letters. It was not thought that the good faith +of the French administration would be doubted. Aymon swore that the +letters were not his own, but that they had been fabricated by the +Government; and he offered to stake his head on the truth of what he +said. At the same time he dared De Torcy to produce the originals. + +He had guessed aright: he knew exactly how far he could go. The +Dutch court actually questioned the good faith of these copies, and +demanded the originals. This, as Aymon had expected, was taken by De +Torcy as an insult, and all further communication on the subject +was abruptly stopped. It was a clever move of Aymon. He inverted by +one bold stroke the relative positions of himself and his accuser: +the judges at the Hague required M. de Torcy to re-establish his own +honour before proceeding with the question of Aymon's culpability. +In short, they supposed that one of the Ministers of the Crown, for +the sake of ruining a Protestant refugee, had deliberately committed +forgery. + +The matter was dropped. After a while Aymon published translations +of some of the MSS. in his possession, and those who had expected +great results were disappointed. In the meantime poor Clement died, +heart-broken at the losses of the library committed to his care. + +At last the Dutch Government, after the publication of Aymon's book, +and after renewed negotiation, restored the "Council of Jerusalem" +to the Bibliothèque du Roi. It still bears traces of the mutilations +and additions of Aymon. + +In 1710, the imposter published the letters of Prospero S. Croce, +which he said he had copied in the Vatican, but which he had in fact +stolen from the Royal Library. In 1716 he published other stolen +papers. Clement was succeeded by the Abbé de Targny, who made vain +attempts to recover the lost treasures. The Abbé Bignon succeeded +De Targny, and he discovered fresh losses. Aymon had stolen Arabic +books as well as Greek and Italian MSS. There was no chance of +recovering the lost works through the courts of law, and Bignon +contented himself with writing to Holland, England, and Germany to +inquire whether any of the MSS. had been bought there. + +The Baron von Stocks wrote to say that he had purchased some leaves +of the Epistles of S. Paul, some pages of the S. Denis Bible, and an +Arabic volume from Aymon for a hundred florins, and that he would +return them to the library for that sum. They were recovered in +March, 1720. + +About the same time Mr. Bentley, librarian to the King of England, +announced that some more of the pages from the Epistles of S. Paul +were in Lord Harley's library; and that the Duke of Sunderland had +purchased various MSS. at the Hague from Aymon. In giving this +information to the Abbé Bignon, Mr. Bentley entreated him not to +mention the source of his information. M. de Bozé thereupon resolved +to visit England and endeavour to recover the MSS. But he was +detained by various causes. + +In 1729, Earl Middleton offered, on the part of Lord Harley, to +return the thirty-four leaves of the Epistles in his possession, +asking only in return an acknowledgment sealed with the grand seal. +Cardinal Fleury, finding that the Royal signature could hardly be +employed for such a purpose, wrote in the King's name a letter to +the Earl of Oxford of a flattering nature, and the lost MSS. were +restored in September, 1729. + +Those in the Sunderland collection have not, I believe, been +returned. + +And what became of Aymon? In 1718 he inhabited the Chateau of +Riswyck. Thence he sent to the brothers Wetstein, publishers at +Amsterdam, the proofs of his edition of the letters of Visconti. +It appeared in 1719 in two 12mo volumes, under the title "Lettres, +Anecdotes, et Mémoires historiques du nonce Visconti, Cardinel +Préconisé et Ministre Secret de Pie IV. et de ses créatures." The +date of his death is not known. + + Authority: Hauréau, J. Singularités Historiques et Litéraires. + Paris, 1881. + + + + +The Patarines of Milan. + + +I. + +In the eleventh century, nearly all the clergy in the north of Italy +were married.[7] It was the same in Sicily, and it had been the same +in Rome,[8] but there the authority and presence of the Popes had +sufficed to convert open marriage into secret concubinage. + + [7] "Cuncti fere cum publicis uxoribus ... ducebant vitam." "Et + ipsi, ut cernitur, sicut laici, palam uxores ducunt."--_Andr. + Strum. "Vit. Arialdi."_ "Quis clericorum non esset uxoratus vel + concubinarius?"--_Andr. Strum. "Vit. S. Joan. Gualberti."_ + + [8] "Coeperunt ipsi presbyteri et diacones laicorum more uxores + ducere suscepsosque filios hæredes relinquere. Nonnulli etiam + episcoporum verecund â omni contemptâ, cum uxoribus domo simul in + unâ habitare."--_Victor Papa "in Dialog."_ + +But concubinage did not in those times mean exactly what it means +now. A _concubina_ was an _uxor_ in an inferior degree; the woman +was married in both cases with the ring and religious rite, but the +children of the concubine could not inherit legally the possessions +of their father. When priests were without wives, concubines were +tolerated wives without the legal status of wives, lest on the death +of the priest his children should claim and alienate to their own +use property belonging to the Church. In noble and royal families +it was sometimes the same, lest estates should be dismembered. On +the death of a wife, her place was occupied by a concubine, and +the sons of the latter could not dispute inheritance with the sons +of the former. Nor did the Church look sternly on the concubine. +In the first Toledian Council a canon was passed with regard to +communicating those who had one wife or one concubine;--such were +not to be excluded from the Lord's Table,[9] so long only as each +man had but one wife or concubine, and the union was perpetual. + + [9] "Qui unius mulieris, aut uxoris, aut concubinæ (ut ei + placuerit) sit conjunctione contentus."--1st Conc. of Toledo, + can. 17. "Hæ quippe, licet nec uxoribus, nec Reginarum decore + et privilegiis gaudebant, erant tamen veræ uxores," say the + Bollandist Fathers, and add, that it is a vulgar error "Concubinæ + appellationem solis iis tribuere, quæ corporis sui usum uni viro + commodant, nullo interim legitimo nexu devinctæ."--Acta SS., Jun. + T. L. p. 178. + +But, though concubinage was universal among the clergy in Italy, at +Milan the priests openly, boldly claimed for their wives a position +as honourable as could be accorded them; and they asserted without +fear of contradiction that their privilege had received the sanction +of the great Ambrose himself. Married bishops had been common, and +saintly married prelates not unknown. St. Severus of Ravenna had a +wife and daughter, and though the late biographer asserts that he +lived with his wife as with a sister after he became a bishop, this +statement is probably made to get over an awkward fact.[10] When he +was about to die, he went to the tomb where his wife and daughter +lay, and had the stone removed. Then he addressed them thus--"My +dear ones, with whom I lived so long in love, make room for me, for +this is my grave, and in death we shall not be divided." Thereupon +he descended into the grave, laid himself between his wife and +daughter, and died. St. Heribert, Archbishop of Milan, had been a +married man with a wife esteemed for her virtues.[11] + + [10] It is the same with St. Gregory, Nyssen, Baronius, Alban, + Butler, and other modern Hagiographers make this assertion + boldly, but there is not a shadow of evidence, in any ancient + authorities for his life, that this was the case. + + [11] "Hic Archiepiscopus habuit uxorem nobilem mulierem; quæ + donavit dotem suam monasterii S. Dionysii, quæ usque hodie Uxoria + dicitur."--_Calvaneus Fiamma, sub ann. 1040._ + +By all accounts, friendly and hostile, the Lombard priests were +married openly, legally, with religious rite, exchange of ring, and +notarial deed. There was no shame felt, no supposition entertained +that such was an offence.[12] + + [12] "Nec vos terreat," writes St. Peter Damiani to the wives of + the clergy "quod forte, non dicam fidei, sed perfidiæ vos annulus + subarrhavit; quod rata et monimenta dotalia notarius quasi + matrimonii jure conscripserit: quod juramentum ad confirmandam + quodammodo conjugii copulam utrinque processit. Ignorantes quia + pro uniuscujusque fugaci voluptate concubitus mlle annorum + negotiantur incendium." + +How was this inveterate custom to be broken through? How the open, +honest marriage to be perverted into clandestine union? For to +abolish it wholly was beyond the power of the Popes and Councils. It +was in vain to appeal to the bishops, they sympathised with their +clergy. It was in vain to invoke the secular arm; the emperors, +the podestas, supported the parish-priests in their contumacious +adherence to immemorial privilege. + +To carry through the reform on which they were bent, to utterly +abolish the marriage of the clergy, the appeal must be made to the +people. + +In Milan this was practicable, for the laity, at least the lower +rabble, were deeply tinged with Patarinism, and bore a grudge +against the clergy, who had been foremost in bringing the luckless +heretics to the rack and the flames; and one of the most cherished +doctrines of the Patarines was the unlawfulness of marriage. What +if this anti-connubial prejudice could be enlisted by the strict +reformers of the Church, and turned to expend its fury on the clergy +who refused to listen to the expostulations of the Holy Father? + +The Patarines, whom the Popes were about to enlist in their cause +against the Ambrosian clergy, already swarmed in Italy. Of their +origin and tenets we must say a word. + +It is a curious fact that, instead of Paganism affecting +Christianity in the earliest ages of the Church, it was Christianity +which affected Paganism, and that not the Greek and Roman idolatry, +which was rotten through and through, but the far subtler and more +mystical heathenism of Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Mesopotamia. +The numerous Gnostic sects, so called from their claim to be the +possessors of the true _gnosis_, or knowledge of wisdom, were not, +save in the rarest cases, of Christian origin. They were Pagan +philosophical schools which had adopted and incorporated various +Christian ideas. They worked up Biblical names and notions into the +strange new creeds they devised, and, according as they blended +more or less of Christian teaching with their own, they drew to +themselves disciples of various tempers. Manes, who flourished in +the middle of the third century, a temporary and nominal convert +to the Gospel, blended some of these elder Gnostic systems with +the Persian doctrines of Zoroaster, added to a somewhat larger +element of Christianity than his predecessors had chosen to adopt. +His doctrines spread and gained an extensive and lasting hold on +the minds of men, suppressed repeatedly, but never disappearing +wholly, adopting fresh names, emerging in new countries, exhibiting +an irrepressible vitality, which confounded the Popes and Churchmen +from the third to the tenth centuries. + +The tradition of Western Manicheism breaks off about the sixth +century; but in the East, under the name of Paulicians, the +adherents of Manichean doctrines endured savage persecutions during +two whole centuries, and spread, as they fled from the sword and +stake in the East, over Europe, entering it in two streams--one by +Bulgaria, Servia, and Croatia, to break out in the wild fanaticism +of the Taborites under Zisca of the Flail; the other, by way of the +sea, inundating northern Italy and Provence. In Piedmont it obtained +the name of Patarinism; in Provence, of Albigensianism. + +With Oriental Manicheism, the Patarines and Albigenses of the West +held that there were two co-equal conflicting principles of good and +evil; that matter was eternal, and waged everlasting war against +spirit. Their moral life was strict and severe. They fasted, dressed +in coarse clothing, and hardly, reluctantly suffered marriage to the +weaker, inferior disciples. It was absolutely forbidden to those +who were, or esteemed themselves to be, perfect. + +Already, in Milan, St Heribert, the married archbishop, had kindled +fires, and cast these denouncers of wedlock into them. In 1031 the +heretics held the castle of Montforte, in the diocese of Asti. They +were questioned: they declared themselves ready to witness to their +faith by their blood. They esteemed virginity, and lived in chastity +with their wives, never touched meat, and prayed incessantly. They +had their goods in common. Their castle stood a siege. It was at +length captured by the Archbishop. In the market-place were raised +a cross on one side, a blazing pyre on the other. The Patarines +were brought forth, commanded to cast themselves before the cross, +confess themselves to be heretics, or plunge into the flames. A few +knelt to the cross; the greater number covered their faces, rushed +into the fire, and were consumed.[13] + + [13] Landulf Sen. ii. c. 27. + +St. Augustine, in his book on Heresies, had already described these +heretics. He, who had been involved in the fascinating wiles of +Manicheism, could not be ignorant of them. He calls them Paternians, +or Venustians, and says that they regarded the flesh as the work of +the devil--that is, of the evil principle, because made of matter. + +In the eleventh century, in Lombardy, they are called Patarines, +Patrins, or Cathari. Muratori says that they derived their name +from the part of the town of Milan in which they swarmed, near the +Contrada di Patari; but it is more probable that the quarter was +called after them. + +In 1074 Gregory VII. in solemn conclave will bless them altogether, +by name, as the champions of the Holy See, and of the Truth; in +1179 Alexander III. will anathematise them altogether, as heretics +meet to be burned. Frederick II., when seeking reconciliation with +Honorius III. and Gregory IX., will be never weary of offering +hecatombs of Patarines, in token of his orthodoxy. + +Ariald, a native of Cuzago, a village near Milan, of ignoble birth, +in deacon's orders, was chosen for the dangerous expedient of +enlisting the Patarine heretics against the orthodox but relaxed +clergy of that city. Milan, said a proverb, was famous for its +clergy; Ravenna for its churches. In morals, in learning, in exact +observance of their religious duties, the clergy of Milan were +prominent among the priests of Lombardy. But they were all married. +The Popes could expect no support from the Archbishop, Guido +Vavasour; none from the Emperor Henry IV., then a child. Ariald +was a woman-hater from infancy, deeply tinged with Patarinism. We +are told that even as a little boy the sight of his sisters was +odious to him.[14] He began to preach in Milan in 1057, and the +populace was at once set on fire[15] by his sermons. They applauded +vociferously his declaration that the married clergy were no longer +to be treated as priests, but as "the enemies of God, and the +deceivers of souls." + + [14] For authorities we have Andrew of Vallombrosa, _d._ A.D. + 1170, a disciple of Ariald. He was a native of Parma. He + afterwards went to Florence, where he was mixed up with the riots + occasioned by St. John Gualberto in 1063. He joined the Order of + Vallombrosa, and became Abbot of Strumi. At least, I judge, and + so do the Bollandists, that Andrew of Vallombrosa and Andrew of + Strumi are the same. + + [15] "Plebs fere universa sic est accensa." + +Then up rose from among the mob a clerk named Landulf, a man of +loud voice and vehement gesture, and offered to join Ariald in his +crusade. The crowd, or, at least, a part of it, enthusiastically +cheered; another part of the audience, disapproving, deeming it an +explosion of long-suppressed Manicheism, which would meet with stern +repression, thought it prudent to withdraw. + +A layman of fortune, named Nazarius, offered his substance to +advance the cause, and his house as a harbour for its apostles. + +The sermon was followed by a tumult. The whole city was in an +uproar, and the married clergy were threatened or maltreated by +the mob. Guido Vavasour de Velati, the Archbishop, was obliged +to interfere. He summoned Ariald and Landulf before him, and +remonstrated. "It is unseemly for a priest to denounce priests. It +is impolitic for him to stir up tumult against his brethren. Let +not brothers condemn brothers, for whose salvation Christ died." +Then turning to Landulf, "Why do not you return to your own wife and +children whom you have deserted, and live with them as heretofore, +and set an example of peace and order? Cast the beam out of thine +own eye, before thou pluckest motes out of the eyes of thy brethren. +If they have done wrong, reprove them privately, but do not storm +against them before all the people." He concluded by affirming the +lawfulness of priests marrying, and insisted on the cessation of +the contest.[16] Ariald obstinately refused to desist. "Private +expostulation is in vain. As for obstinate disorders you apply fire +and steel, so for this abuse we must have recourse to desperate +remedies." + + [16] "Hæc cum Guido placide dixisset; eo finem orationis dixerit, + ut sacerdotibus fas esset dicere uxores ducere."--_Alicatus, + "Vit. Arialdi."_ + +He left the Archbishop to renew his appeals to the people. But +dreading lest Guido should use force to restrain him, Ariald invoked +the support of Anselm de Badagio, Bishop of Lucca, and received +promise of his countenance and advocacy at Rome. + +Guido Vavasour had succeeded the married Archbishop Heribert in +1040. His election had not satisfied the people, who had chosen, +and proposed for consecration, four priests, one of whom the nobles +were expected to select. But the nobles rejected the popular +candidates, and set up in their place Guido Vavasour, and his +nomination was ratified by the Emperor and by the Pope. He was +afterwards, as we shall see, charged with having bribed Henry III. +to give him the See, but was acquitted of the charge, which was +denounced as unfounded by Leo IX. in 1059. The people, in token +of their resentment, refused to be present at the first mass he +sang. "He is a country bumpkin," said they. "Faugh! he smells of +the cow-house."[17] Consequently there was simmering discontent +against the Archbishop for Ariald to work upon; he could unite the +lower people, whose wishes had been disregarded by the nobles, with +the Patarines, who had been haled before ecclesiastical courts for +their heresy, in one common insurrection against the clergy and the +pontiff. + + [17] Arnulf., Gesta Archiepisc. Mediol. ap. Pertz, x. p. 17. + +According to Landulf the elder, a strong partisan of the Archbishop, +another element of discontent was united to those above enumerated. +The clergy of Milan had oppressed the country people. The Church had +estates outside of Milan, vine and olive yards and corn-fields. The +clergy had been harsh in exacting feudal rights and legal dues. + +Ariald, as a native of a country village, knew the temper of the +peasants, and their readiness to resent these extortions. Ariald +worked upon the country-folk; Landulf, rich and noble, and eloquent +in speech, on the town rabble; and the two mobs united against the +common enemy. + +Anselm de Badagio, priest and popular preacher at Milan, had been +mixed up with Landulf and Ariald in the controversy relative to +clerical marriage; but to stop his mouth the Archbishop had given +him the bishopric of Lucca, in 1057, and had supplied his place +as preacher at Milan by seven deacons. Landulf the elder relates +that these deacons preached with such success that Anselm, in a +fit of jealousy, returned to Milan to listen to their sermons, and +scornfully exclaimed, "They may become preachers, but they must +first put away their wives." + +According to the same authority, Ariald bore a grudge against the +Archbishop for having had occasion to rebuke him on account of some +irregularity of which he had been guilty. But Landulf the elder is +not to be trusted implicitly; he is as bigoted on one side as is +Andrew of Strumi on the other. + +In the meantime the priests and their wives were exposed to every +sort of violence, and "a great horror fell on the Ambrosian clergy." +The poor women were torn from their husbands, and driven from the +city; the priests who refused to be separated from their companions +were interdicted from the altar.[18] + + [18] "Sic ab eodem populo sunt persecuta et deleta (clericorum + connubia) ut nullus existeret quin aut cogeretur tantum nefas + dimittere, vel ad altare non accedere."--_Andr. Strum._ + +Landulf was sent to Rome to report progress, and obtain confirmation +of the proceedings of the party from the Pope. He reached Piacenza, +but was unable to proceed farther; he was knocked down, and finding +the way barred by the enemies of his party, returned to Milan. +Ariald then started, and eluding his adversaries, arrived safely at +Rome. He presented himself before Pope Stephen X., who was under the +influence of Hildebrand, and, therefore, disposed to receive him +with favour. Stephen bade him return to Milan, prosecute the holy +war, and, if need be, shed his blood in the sacred cause. + +The appeal to Rome was necessary, as the Archbishop and a large +party of the citizens, together with all the clergy, had denounced +Ariald and Landulf as Patarines. The fact was notorious that the +secret and suspected Manichees in Milan were now holding up their +heads and defying those who had hitherto controlled them. The +Manichees suddenly found that from proscribed heretics they had +been exalted into champions of orthodoxy. It was a satisfactory +change for those who had been persecuted to become persecutors, and +turn their former tyrants into victims. But now, to the confusion +and dismay of the clergy, they found themselves betrayed by the +Pope, and at the mercy of those who had old wrongs to resent. +Fortified with the blessing of the Pope on his work, his orthodoxy +triumphantly established by the supreme authority, Ariald rushed +back to Milan, accompanied by papal legates to protect him, +and proclaim his mission as divine. He was unmeasured in his +denunciations. Dissension fast ripened into civil war. Ariald, at +the head of a roaring mob, swept the clergy together into a church, +and producing a paper which bound all of them by oath to put away +their wives, endeavoured to enforce their subscription. + +A priest, maddened to resentment, struck the demagogue in the mouth. +This was the signal for a general tumult. The adherents of Ariald +rushed through the streets, the alarm bells pealed, the populace +gathered from all quarters, and a general hunting down of the +married clergy ensued. + +"How can the blind lead the blind?" preached Landulf Cotta. "Let +these Simoniacs, these Nicolaitans be despised. You who wish to have +salvation from the Lord, drive them from their functions; esteem +their sacrifices as dogs' dung (_canina stercora_)! Confiscate their +goods, and every one of you take what he likes![19] We can imagine +the results of such license given to the lowest rabble. The nobles, +over-awed, dared not interfere. + + [19] Arnulf., _Gesta Ep. Mediol._ ap. Pertz, x. p. 18. It is + necessary not to confound Landulf Cotta, the demagogue, with + Landulf the elder, the historian, and Landulf the younger, the + disciple and biographer of Ariald. + +Nor were the clergy of the city alone exposed to this popular +persecution. The preachers roved round the country, creating riots +everywhere. This led to retaliation, but retaliation of a feeble, +harmless sort. A chapel built by Ariald on his paternal estate was +pulled down; and the married clergy resentfully talked of barking +his chestnut trees and breaking down his vines, but thought better +of it, and refrained. + +A more serious attempt at revenge was the act of a private +individual. Landulf Cotta was praying in a church, when a priest +aimed at him with a sword, but without seriously hurting him. A +cripple at the church door caught the flying would-be assassin; a +crowd assembled, and Landulf with difficulty extricated the priest +alive from their hands. + +Ariald and Cotta now began to denounce those who had bought their +cures of souls, or had paid fees on their institution to them. They +stimulated the people to put down simony, as they had put down +concubinage. "Cursed is he that withholdeth his hand from blood!" +was the fiery peroration of a sermon on this subject by Ariald. + +"Landulf Cotta," says Arnulf, "being master of the lay folk, made +them swear to combat both simony and concubinage. Presently he +forced this oath on the clergy. From this time forward he was +constantly followed by a crowd of men and women, who watched around +him night and day. He despised the churches, and rejected priests +as well as their functions, under pretext that they were defiled +with simony. They were called Patari, that is to say, beggars, +because the greater part of them belonged to the lowest orders."[20] + + [20] Ap. Pertz, l.c., pp. 19, 20. + +"What shall we do?" asked a large party at Milan. "This Ariald +tells us that if we receive the Holy Sacrament from married or +simoniacal priests, we eat our own damnation. We cannot live without +sacraments, and he has driven all the priests out of Milan." + +The parties were so divided, that those who held with Ariald would +not receive sacraments from the priests, the heavenly gift on their +altars they esteemed as "dogs' dung;" they would not even join with +them, or those who adhered to them, in prayer. "One house was all +faithful," says Andrew of Strumi; "the next all unfaithful. In the +third, the mother and one son were believing, but the father and the +other son were unbelieving; so that the whole city was a scene of +confusion and contention." + +In 1058 Guido assembled a synod at Fontanetum near Novara, +and summoned Ariald and Landulf Cotta to attend it. The synod +awaited their arrival for three days, and as they did not come, +excommunicated them as contumacious. + +Landulf the younger, the biographer of Ariald, says that Pope +Stephen X. reversed the sentence of the synod; but this account +does not agree with what is related by Arnulf. Landulf the elder +confounds the dates, and places the synod in the reign of Alexander +II., and says that the Pope adopted a middle course, and sent +ambassadors to Milan to investigate the matter. Bonizo of Sutri says +the same. All agree that Hildebrand was one of these commissioners. +Hildebrand was therefore able to judge on the spot of the results +of an appeal to the passions of the people. It is the severest +condemnation to his conduct in 1073, to know for certain that he had +seen the working of the power he afterwards called out. He then saw +how great was that power; he must have been cruelly, recklessly, +wickedly indifferent to the crimes which accompanied its invocation. +Landulf the elder says that the second commissary was Anselm of +Lucca, whilst Bonizo speaks indifferently of the "bishops _a +latere_" as constituting the deputation. Guido was not in Milan when +it arrived, he did not dare to venture his person in the midst of +the people. The ambassadors were received with the utmost respect; +they took on themselves to brand the Archbishop as a simoniac and a +schismatic, and, according to Landulf, to do many other things which +they were not authorised by the Pope to do; so that the dissension, +so far from being allayed by their visit, only waxed more furious. + +At the end of the year 1058, or the beginning of 1059, the Pope +sent Peter Damiani, the harsh Bishop of Ostia, and Anselm, Bishop +of Lucca, on a new embassy to Milan.[21] They were received with +respect by the Archbishop and clergy; but the pride of the Milanese +of all ranks was wounded by seeing the Bishop of Ostia enthroned in +the middle, with Anselm of Lucca, the suffragan of Milan, upon his +right, and their Archbishop degraded to the left of the Legate, and +seated on a stool at his feet. Milan assembled at the ringing of the +bells in all the churches, and the summons of an enormous brazen +trumpet which shrieked through the streets. The fickle people asked +if the Church of St. Ambrose was to be trodden under the foot of the +Roman Pontiff. "I was threatened with death," wrote Peter Damiani to +Hildebrand, "and many assured me that there were persons panting for +my blood. It is not necessary for me to repeat all the remarks the +people made on this occasion." + + [21] We have a full account of this embassy in a letter of St. + Peter Damiani to the Archdeacon Hildebrand (Petri Dam. _Opp._ + iii; _Opusc._ v. p. 37), besides the accounts by Bonizo, Arnulf, + and Landulf the elder. + +But Peter Damiani was not the man to be daunted at a popular +outbreak. He placidly mounted the ambone, and asserted boldly the +supreme jurisdiction of the chair of St. Peter. "The Roman Church +is the mother, that of Ambrose is the daughter. St. Ambrose always +recognised that mistress. Study the sacred books, and hold us as +liars, if you do not find that it is as I have said." + +Then the charges against the clergy were investigated by the +legates, and not a single clerk in Milan was found who had not paid +a fee on his ordination; "for that was the custom, and the charge +was fixed," says the Bishop of Ostia. Here was a difficulty. He +could not deprive every priest and deacon in Milan, and leave the +great city without pastors. He was therefore obliged to content +his zeal with exacting from the bishops a promise that ordination +in future should be made gratuitously; and the Archbishop was +constrained to deposit on the altar a paper in which he pronounced +his own excommunication, in the event of his relaxing his rigour +in suppressing the heresy of the Simoniacs and Nicolaitans, by +which latter name those who insisted on the lawfulness of clerical +marriage were described. + +To make atonement for the past, the Archbishop was required to +do penance for one hundred years, but to pay money into the +papal treasury in acquittal of each year; which, to our simple +understanding, looks almost as scandalous a traffic as imposing a +fee on all clergy ordained. But then, in the one case the money went +into the pocket of the bishops, and in the other into that of the +Pope. + +The clergy who had paid a certain sum were to be put to penance for +five years; those who had paid more, for ten (also to be compensated +by a payment to Rome!), and to make pilgrimages to Rome or Tours. +After having accomplished this penance they were to receive again +the insignia of their offices. + +Then Peter Damiani re-imposed on the clergy the oaths forced on them +by Ariald, and departed. + +The Milanese contemporary historian, Arnulf, exclaims, "Who has +bewitched you, ye foolish Milanese? Yesterday you made loud +outcries for the priority of a see, and now you trouble the whole +organisation of the Church. You are gnats swallowing camels. You +say, perhaps, Rome must be honoured because of the Apostle. Well, +but the memory of St. Ambrose should deliver Milan from such an +affront as has been inflicted on her. In future it will be said +that Milan is subject to Rome."[22] + + [22] Pertz, x. p. 21. + +Guido attended a council held in Rome (April 1059), shortly after +this visitation. Ariald also was present, to accuse the Archbishop +of favouring simony and concubinage. The legates had dealt too +leniently with the scandal. Guido was defended by his suffragans of +Asti, Novara, Turin, Vercelli, Alba, Lodi, and Brescia. "Mad bulls, +they," says Bonizo; and Ariald was forced to retire, covered with +confusion. The Council pronounced a decree that no mercy should be +shown to the simoniacal and married clergy.[23] An encyclical was +addressed by Nicholas II. to all Christendom, informing it that the +Council had passed thirteen canons, one of which prevented a layman +from assisting at a mass said by a priest who had a concubine or a +_subintroducta mulier_. Priests, deacons, and sub-deacons who should +take "publicly" a concubine, or not send away those with whom they +lived, were to be inhibited from exercising all ministerial acts and +receiving ecclesiastical dues. + + [23] "Nulla misericordia habenda est." + +On the return of the bishops to their sees, one only of them, +Adelmann of Brescia, ventured to publish these decrees. He was +nearly torn to pieces by his clergy; an act of violence which +greatly furthered the cause of the Patarines.[24] + + [24] Bonizo. It is deserving of remark that Bonizo, an ardent + supporter of Hildebrand and the reforming party, calls that Papal + party by the name of _Patari_, thus showing that it was really + made up of the Manichean heretics. + +In the same year Pope Nicholas sent legates into different countries +to execute, or attempt to execute, the decrees passed against simony +and concubinage--as clerical marriage was called. Peter Damiani +travelled through several cities of Italy to exhort the clergy to +celibacy, and especially to press this matter on the bishops. Peter +Damiani was not satisfied with the conduct of the Pope in assuming +a stern attitude towards the priests, but overlooking the fact that +the bishops were themselves guilty of the same offence. A letter +from him to the Pope exists, in which he exhorts him to be a second +Phinehas (Numb. xxv. 7), and deal severely with the bishops, without +which no real reform could be affected.[25] + + [25] _Opp._ t. iii.; _Opusc._ xiii. p. 188. + +Anselm de Badagio, Bishop of Lucca, the instigator of Landulf and +Ariald, or at least their staunch supporter, was summoned on the +death of Nicholas to occupy the throne of St. Peter, under the title +of Alexander II. But his election was contested, and Cadalus, an +anti-Pope, was chosen by a Council of German and Lombard prelates +assembled at Basle. The contests which ensued between the rival +Pontiffs and their adherents distracted attention from the question +of clerical marriage, and the clergy recalled their wives. + +In 1063, in Florence, similar troubles occurred. The instigator of +these was St. John Gualberto, founder of the Vallombrosian Order. +The offence there was rather simony than concubinage. + +The custom of giving fees to those who appointed to benefices +had become inveterate, and in many cases had degenerated into the +purchase of them. A Pope could not assume the tiara without a lavish +largess to the Roman populace. A bishop could not grasp his pastoral +staff without paying heavy sums to the Emperor and to the Pope. The +former payment was denounced as simony, the latter was exacted as +an obligation. But under some of the Emperors the bishoprics were +sold to the highest bidder. What was customary on promotion to a +bishopric became customary on acceptance of lesser benefices, and no +priest could assume a spiritual charge without paying a bounty to +the episcopal treasury. When a bishop had bought his throne, he was +rarely indisposed to sell the benefices in his gift, and to recoup +a scandalous outlay by an equally scandalous traffic. The Bishop +of Florence was thought by St. John Gualberto to have bought the +see. He was a Pavian, Peter Mediabardi. His father came to Florence +to visit his son. The Florentines took advantage of the unguarded +simplicity of the old man to extract the desired secret from him.[26] + + [26] "Cui Florentini clam insidiantes tentando dicere coeperunt," + &c.... "ille utpote simplicissimus homo coepit jurejurando + dicere," &c.--_Andrew of Genoa_, c. 62. + +"Master Teulo," said they, "had you a large sum to pay to the King +for your son's elevation?" + +"By the body of St. Syrus," answered the father, "you cannot get a +millstone out of the King's house without paying for it." + +"Then what did you pay?" asked the Florentines greedily.[27] + + [27] "Alacres et avidi rem scisitari." + +"By the body of St. Syrus!" replied the old man, "not less than +three thousand pounds." + +No sooner was the unguarded avowal made, than it was spread through +the city by the enemies of the bishop.[28] + + [28] For the account of what follows, in addition to the + biography by Andrew of Strumi, we have the _Dialogues_ of + Desiderius of Monte Cassino, lib. iii. + +St. John Gualberto took up the quarrel. He appeared in Florence, +where he had a monastery dedicated to St. Salvius, and began +vehemently to denounce the prelate as a simoniac, and therefore a +heretic. His monks, fired by his zeal, spread through the city, and +exhorted the people to refuse to accept the sacramental acts of +their bishop and resist his authority. + +The people broke out into tumult. The bishop appealed to the secular +arm to arrest the disorder, and officers were sent to coerce the +monks of St. Salvius. They broke into the monastery at night, +sought Gualberto, but, unable to find him, maltreated the monks. +One received a blow on his forehead which laid bare the bone, and +another had his nose and lips gashed with a sword. The monks were +stripped, and the monastery fired. The abbot rolled himself in an +old cloak extracted from under a bed, where it had been cast as +ragged, and awaited day, when the wounds and tears of the fraternity +might be exhibited to a sympathising and excitable people. Nor were +they disappointed. At daybreak all the town was gathered around the +dilapidated monastery, and people were eagerly mopping up the sacred +blood that had been shed, with their napkins, thinking that they +secured valuable relics. Sympathy with the injured was fanned into +frenzied abhorrence of the persecutor. + +St. John Gualberto appeared on the scene, blazing with the desire +of martyrdom,[29] and congratulated the sufferers on having become +confessors of Christ. "Now are ye true monks! But why did ye suffer +without me?" + + [29] "Martyrii flagrans amore."--_Andr. Strum._ + +The secular clergy of Florence were, it is asserted, deeply tainted +with the same vice as their bishop. They had all paid fees at their +institution, or had bought their benefices. They lived in private +houses, and were for the most part married. Some were even suspected +to be of immoral life.[30] + + [30] "Quis clericorum propriis et paternis rebus solummodo non + studebat? Qui potius inveniretur, proh dolor! qui non esset + uxoratus vel concubinarius? De simoniâ quid dicam? Omnes pene + ecclesiasticos ordines hæc mortifera bellua devoraverat, ut, qui + ejus morsum evaserit, rarus inveniretur."--_Andr. Strum._ + +But the preaching of the Saint, the wounds of the monks, converted +some of the clergy. Those who were convinced by their appeals, and +those who were wearied of their wives, threw themselves into the +party of Gualberto, and clubbed together in common life.[31] + + [31] "Exemplo vero ipsius et admonitionibus delicati clerici, + spretis connubiis, coeperunt simul in ecclesiis stare, et + communem ducere vitam."--Atto Pistor., _Vit. S. Joan. Gualb._ + +The Vallombrosian monks appealed to Pope Alexander II. against the +bishop,[32] their thirst for martyrdom whetted not quenched.[33] +If the Pope desired it, they would try the ordeal of fire to prove +their charge. Hildebrand, then only sub-deacon, but a power in +the councils of the Pope, urged on their case, and demanded the +deposition of the bishop. But Alexander, himself among the most +resolute opponents of simony, felt that there was no case. There +was no evidence, save the prattle of an old man over his wine-cups. +He refused the petition of the monks, and was supported by the vast +majority of the bishops--there were over a hundred present.[34] + + [32] For what follows, in addition to the above-quoted + authorities, we have Berthold's _Chronicle_ from 1054 to 1100; + Pertz, _Mon. Sacr._ v. pp. 264-326. + + [33] "Securiores de corona, quam jam gustaverant, + martyrii."--_Andr. Strum._ + + [34] "Favebat enim maxima pars Episcoporum parti Petri, et omnes + pene erant monachis adversi."--_Andr. Strum._ + +Even St. Peter Damiani, generally unmeasured in his invectives +against simony, wrote to moderate the frantic zeal of the +Vallombrosian monks, which he denounced as unreasonable, +intemperate, unjust. + +But the refusal of the Pope to gratify their resentment did not +quell the vehemence of the monks and the faction adverse to the +bishop. The city was in a condition of chronic insubordination +and occasional rioting. Godfrey Duke of Tuscany was obliged to +interfere; and the monks were driven from their monastery of St. +Salvi, and compelled to retire to that of St. Settimo outside of the +gates. + +Shortly after, Pope Alexander visited Florence. The monks piled up +a couple of bonfires, and offered to pass between them in proof of +the truth of their allegation. He refused to permit the ordeal, and +withdrew, leaving the bishop unconvicted, and therefore unrebuked. + +The clergy of Florence now determined to demand of the bishop that +he should either go through the ordeal himself, or suffer the monks +to do so. As they went to the palace, the people hooted them: "Go, +ye heretics, to a heretic! You who have driven Christ out of the +city! You who adore Simon Magus as your God!" + +The bishop sullenly refused; he would neither establish his +innocence in the fire, nor suffer the monks to convict him by the +ordeal. + +The Podesta of Florence then, with a high hand, drove from the town +the clergy who had joined the monastic faction. They went forth +on the first Saturday in Lent, 1067, amidst a sympathising crowd, +composed mostly of women,[35] who tore off their veils, and with +hair scattered wildly over their faces, threw themselves down in the +road before the confessors, crying, "Alas! alas! O Christ, Thou art +expelled this city, and how dost Thou leave us desolate? Thou art +not tolerated here, and how can we live without Thee? Thou canst +not dwell with Simon Magus. O holy Peter, didst thou once overcome +Simon? and now dost thou permit him to have the mastery? We deemed +him bound and writhing in infernal flames, and lo! he is loose, and +risen again to thy dishonour." + + [35] "Maxime feminarum." + +And the men said to one another, "Let us set fire to this accursed +city, which hates Christ."[36] + + [36] "Et nos, viri fratres, civitatem hanc incendamus atque cum + parvulis et uxoribus nostris, quocumque Christus ierit, secum + camus. Si Christiani sumus, Christum sequamur."--_Andr. Strum._ + +The secular clergy were in dismay; denounced, deserted, threatened +by the people, they sang no psalms, offered no masses. Unable to +endure their position, they again visited the bishop, and entreated +him to sanction the ordeal of fire. He refused, and requested the +priests not to countenance such an unauthorised venture, should it +be made. But the whole town was bent on seeing this ordeal tried, +and on the Wednesday following, the populace poured to the monastery +of St. Settimo. Two piles of sticks were heaped near the monastery +gate, measuring ten feet long by five wide, and four and a half feet +high. Between them lay a path the length of an arm in width. + +Litanies were chanted whilst the piles were reared, and then the +monks proceeded to elect one who was to undergo the fire. The lot +fell on a priest named Peter, and St. John Gualberto ordered him at +once to the altar to say mass. All assisted with great devotion, the +people crying with excitement. At the _Agnus Dei_ four monks, one +with the crucifix, another with holy water, the third with twelve +lighted tapers, the fourth with a full censer, proceeded to the +pyres, and set them both on fire. + +This threw the people into an ecstasy of excitement, and the voice +of the priest was drowned in the clamour of their tongues. The +priest finished mass, and laid aside his chasuble. Holding the +cross, in alb and stole and maniple, he came forth, followed by St. +John Gualberto and the monks, chanting. Suddenly a silence fell +on the tossing concourse, and a monk appointed by the abbot stood +forth, and in a clear voice said to the people, "Men, brethren, and +sisters! we do this for the salvation of your souls, that henceforth +ye may learn to avoid the leprosy of simony, which has infected +nearly the whole world; for the crime of simony is so great, that +beside it every other crime is as nothing." + +The two piles were burning vigorously. The priest Peter prayed, +"Lord Christ, I beseech Thee, if Peter of Pavia, called Bishop of +Florence, has obtained the episcopal throne by money, do Thou assist +me in this terrible ordeal, and deliver me from being burned, as +of old Thou didst deliver the three children in the midst of the +burning furnace." Then, giving the brethren the kiss of peace, he +stepped fearlessly between the burning pyres, and came forth on the +farther side uninjured. + +His linen alb, his silken stole and maniple, were unburnt. He +would have again rushed through the flames in the excess of his +confidence, but was prevented by the pious vehemence of the people, +who surrounded him, kissed his feet, clung to his vestments, and +would have crushed him to death in their eagerness to touch and see +him, had he not been rescued by the strong arms of burly monks. + +In after years he told, and talked himself into believing, that as +he passed through the fire, his maniple fell off. Discovering his +loss ere he emerged, he turned back, and deliberately picked it up. +But of this nothing was said at the time.[37] + + [37] It is not mentioned in the epistle of the Florentines to the + Pope, narrating the ordeal and supposed miracle, which is given + by Andrew of Strumi and Atto of Pistoja. + +A letter was then drawn up, appealing to the Pope in the most +vehement terms, to deliver the sheep of the Florentine flock +from the ravening wolf who shepherded them, and urging him, not +obscurely, to use force if need be, and compel by his troops the +evacuation of the Florentine episcopal throne. Peter of Pavia, the +bishop, a man of gentle character, yielded to the storm. He withdrew +from Florence, and was succeeded by another Peter, whom the people +called Peter the Catholic, to distinguish him from the Simoniac. But +Muratori adduces evidence that the former continued to be recognised +by the Pope some time after his supposed degradation. Thus ended +the schism of Florence in the entire triumph of the Patarines. +Hildebrand was not unobservant; he proved afterwards not to be +forgetful of the lesson taught by this schism,--the utilization of +the rude mob as a powerful engine in the hands of the fanatical or +designing. It bore its fruit in the canons of 1074. + + +II. + +Anselmo de Badagio, Bishop of Lucca, had succeeded Nicholas II. to +the Papal throne in 1061. Cadalus of Parma had been chosen by the +German and Lombard prelates on October 28th, and he assumed the name +of Honorius II. But no Roman Cardinal was present to sanction this +election. Cadalus was acknowledged by all the simoniacal and married +clergy, when he entered Italy; but the Princess Beatrice and the +Duke of Tuscany prevented him from advancing to Rome. From Parma +Cadalus excommunicated Alexander, and from Rome, Alexander banned +Honorius. The cause of Alexander was that of the Patarines, but the +question of marriage and simony paled before the more glaring one, +of which of the rival claimants was the actual Pope. + +The voice of Landulf Cotta was silenced. A terrible cancer had +consumed the tongue which had kept Milan for six years in a blaze +of faction. But his room was speedily filled by a more implacable +adversary of the married clergy--his brother, Herlembald, a stern, +able soldier. An event in Herlembald's early life had embittered his +heart against the less rigid clergy. His plighted bride had behaved +lightly with a priest. He was just returned from a pilgrimage to +Jerusalem, his zeal kindled to enthusiasm. He went to Rome, where he +was well received by Alexander II. He came for authority to use his +sword for the Patarines. The sectaries in Milan had said to him, "We +desire to deliver the Church, besieged and degraded by the married +priests; do thou deliver by the law of the sword, we will do so by +the law of God." Alexander II., in a public consistory, created +Herlembald "Defender of the Church," gave him the sacred banner of +St. Peter, and bade him go back to Milan and shed blood--his, if +necessary, those of the anti-Patarines certainly--in this miserable +quarrel. + +The result was that the Patarines were filled with new zeal, +and lost all compunction at shedding blood and pillaging houses. +Herlembald established himself in a large mansion, which he +fortified and filled with mercenaries; over it waved the consecrated +banner of St. Peter. From this stronghold he issued forth to +assail the obnoxious clergy. They were dragged from their altars +and consigned to shame and insult. The services of the Church, the +celebration of the sacraments, were suspended, or administered only +by the one or two priests who adhered to the Patari. It is said +that, in order to keep his rude soldiery in pay, Herlembald made +every clerk take a solemn oath that he had ever kept innocence, +and would wholly abstain from marriage or concubinage. Those who +could not, or would not, take this oath were expelled the city, and +their whole property confiscated to support the standing corps of +hireling ruffians maintained by the Crusader. The lowest rabble, +poor artisans and ass-drivers, furtively placed female ornaments +in the chambers of the priests, and then, attacking their houses, +dragged them out and plundered their property. By 1064, when a synod +was held at Mantua by the Pope, Milan was purged of "Simoniacs and +Nicolaitans," and the clergy who remained were gathered together +into a house to live in common, under rule. + +Guido of Milan and all the Lombard prelates attended that important +synod, which saw the triumph of Alexander, his reconciliation with +the Emperor, and the general abandonment of the anti-Pope, Cadalus. + +In the following year, Henry IV. was under the tutelage of Adalbert +of Bremen; he had escaped from Anno, Archbishop of Cologne, who +had favoured the strict faction and Alexander II. The situation in +Lombardy changed simultaneously. Herlembald had assumed a power, +an authority higher than that of the archbishop, whom he refused +to recognise, and denounced as a heretic. Guido, weary of the +nine years of strife he had endured, relieved from the fear of +interference from Germany, resolved on an attempt to throw off the +hateful yoke. The churches of Milan were for the most part without +pastors. The married clergy had been expelled, and there were none +to take their place. The Archbishop had been an obedient penitent +for five years, compromising his one hundred years of penitence by +payments into the Papal treasury; but as the cause of Alexander +declined, his contrition languished, died out; and he resumed his +demands for fees at ordinations and institutions, at least so +clamoured Ariald and Herlembald in the ears of Rome. + +A party in Milan had long resented the despotism of the "Law of +God and the law of the sword" of Ariald and Herlembald, and an +effort was made to break it, with the sanction, no doubt, of the +Archbishop. A large body of the citizens rose, "headed," says Andrew +of Strumi, "by the sons of the priests," and attacked the church and +house of Ariald, but, unable to find him, contented themselves with +wrecking the buildings. Thereupon Herlembald swept down at the head +of his mercenaries, surrounded the crowd, and hewed them to pieces +to the last man, "like the vilest cattle."[38] + + [38] Hæc ut nobilis Herembaldus ceterique Fideles audiere, + sumptis armis, in audacem plebem et temerariam irruere; + quos protinus exterminavere omnes, quasi essent vilissimæ + pecudes,"--_Andr. Strum._ + +Guido, the Archbishop, now acted with resolution, and boldly took up +the cause of the married clergy. Having heard that two priests of +Monza, infected with Patarinism, had turned their wives out of their +houses, he ordered the arrest of the priests, and punished them with +imprisonment in the castle of Lecco. On hearing this, the Patarines +flew to arms, and swarmed out of Milan after Ariald, who bore the +banner of St. Peter, as Herlembald was absent at Rome. They met the +mounted servants of the Archbishop near Monza, surprised them, and +wrested from them a promise to surrender the priests. Three days +after, the curates were delivered up. Ariald, at the head of the +people, met them outside the gates, received them with enthusiasm, +crying, "See, these are the brave martyrs of Christ!" and escorted +them to a church, where they intoned a triumphant _Te Deum_. + +Herlembald returned from Rome to Milan with a bull of +excommunication fulminated by the Pope against the Archbishop. Guido +summoned the Milanese to assemble in the cathedral church on the +vigil of Pentecost. + +In the meantime the Patarines were torn into factions on a subtle +point mooted by Ariald. That demagogue had ventured to assail in a +sermon the venerable custom of the Milanese, which required them to +fast during the Rogation days. Was he greater than St. Ambrose? Did +he despise the authority of the great doctor? On this awful subject +the Patarines divided, and with the division lost their strength. + +Neither Herlembald nor Ariald seems to have been prepared for the +bold action of the Archbishop. On the appointed day the cathedral +was filled with substantial citizens and nobles. Herlembald missed +the wolfish eyes, ragged hair, and hollow cheeks of his sectaries, +and, fearing danger, leaped over the chancel rails, and took up his +position near the altar. The Archbishop mounted the ambone with the +bull of excommunication in his hand. "See!" he exclaimed, "this +is the result of the turbulence of these demagogues, Ariald and +Herlembald. This city, out of reverence to St. Ambrose, has never +obeyed the Roman Church. Shall we be crushed? Take away out of the +land of the living these disturbers of the public peace who labour +day and night to rob us of our ancient liberties." + +He was interrupted by a shout of "Let them be killed." Guido paused, +and then cried out, "All who honour and cleave to St. Ambrose, leave +the church, that we may know who are our adversaries." Instantly +from the doors rolled out the dense crowd, seven hundred in number, +according to the estimation of Andrew, the biographer of Ariald. +Only twelve men were left within who stood firm to the Patarine +cause. Ariald had, in the meantime, taken refuge in the choir beside +Herlembald. The clergy selected Ariald, the laity Herlembald, for +their victims. Ariald was dragged from the church, severely wounded. +Herlembald escaped better; using his truncheon, he beat off his +assailants till he had climbed to a place of safety, whence he +could not be easily dislodged. + +As night fell, the Patarines gathered, stormed, and pillaged the +palace of the Archbishop, and, bursting into the church, liberated +Herlembald. Guido hardly escaped on horseback, sorely maltreated in +the tumult. His adherents fled like smoke before the tempest. Ariald +was found bleeding and faint, and was conveyed by the multitude in +triumph to the church of St. Sepolcro. Then Herlembald called to the +roaring mob to be still. "Let us ask Master Ariald whose house is to +be first given up to sack." + +But Ariald earnestly dissuaded from further violence, and entreated +the vehement dictator to spare the lives and property of their +enemies. + +The surprise to the Archbishop's party was, however, temporary only. +By morning they had rallied, and the city was again in their hands. +Guido published an interdict against Milan, which was to remain in +force as long as it harboured Ariald. No mass was said, no bells +rang, the church doors were bolted and barred. Ariald was secretly +removed by some of his friends to the village of St. Victor, where +also Herlembald had been constrained to take refuge with a party +of mercenaries. Thence they made their way to Pavia and to Padua, +where they hoped to obtain a boat, and escape to Rome. But the +whole country was up against them, and Herlembald was obliged to +disband his soldiers, and attempt to escape in disguise. Ariald +was left with a priest whose acquaintance Herlembald had made in +Jerusalem. But a priest was the last person likely to secrete the +tyrant and persecutor of the clergy. He treacherously sent word to +the Archbishop, and Ariald was taken by the servants of Olivia, the +niece of Guido, and conveyed to an island on the Lago Maggiore. He +was handed over to the cruel mercies of two married priests, who +directed his murder with cold-blooded heartlessness, if we may trust +the gossips picked up later. His ears, nose and lips were cut off. +He was asked if he would acknowledge Guido for archbishop. "As long +as my tongue can speak," he replied, "I will not." The servants +of Olivia tore out his tongue; he was beaten by the two savage +priests, and when he fainted, was flung into the calm waters of +the lovely lake. Andrew of Vallombrosa, or Strumi, followed in his +trace, and hung about the neighbourhood till he heard from a peasant +the awful story. He sought the mangled body.[39] It was found and +transported to Milan on the feast of the Ascension following. For +ten days it was exposed in the church of St. Ambrose, that all +might venerate it, and was finally disposed in the convent of St. +Celsus. In the memory of man, never had such a crowd been seen. The +Archbishop deemed it prudent to retire, and Herlembald profited +by his absence to recover his power, and make the people swear to +avenge the martyr, and unite to the death for the "good cause." +The events in Milan had their counterpart in the other cities of +Lombardy, especially at Cremona, where the bishopric had been +obtained by Arnulf, nephew of Guido of Milan. In that city, twelve +men, headed by one Christopher, took the Patarine oath to fight the +married clergy; the people joined them, and forced their oath on +the bishop-elect before he was ordained. But, as in 1067, he seized +a Patarine priest, a sedition broke out, in which the bishop was +seriously injured. The inhabitants of Cremona, after Easter, sent +ambassadors to the Pope, and received from him a reply, given by +Bonizo, exhorting them not to allow a priest, deacon or sub-deacon, +suspected of concubinage or simony, to hold a benefice or execute +his ministry. The consequence of this letter was that all suspected +clerks were excluded from their offices; and shortly after, the same +course was followed at Piacenza. Asti, Lodi, and Ravenna also threw +in their lot with the Patarines. + + [39] Ariald was murdered on June 27, 1065. Andrew of Strumi says + 1066; but he followed the Florentine computation--he had been a + priest of Florence--which made the year begin on March 25. + +In 1067, Alexander II. sent legates to Milan to settle the +disturbances therein. Adalbert of Bremen had fallen, and again the +Papal party were in the ascendant. The fortunes of Milan fluctuated +with the politics of those who held the regency in the minority of +Henry IV. + +Guido, now advanced in years, and weary of ruling so turbulent +a diocese, determined to vacate a see which he had held for +twenty-seven years; the last ten of incessant civil war. He burdened +it with a pension to himself, and then made it over to Godfrey, the +sub-deacon, along with the pastoral staff and ring. Godfrey crossed +the Alps, took the oath of allegiance to the Emperor, promised to +use his utmost endeavours to exterminate the Patarines, and to +deliver Herlembald alive into the hands of the Emperor, laden with +chains. Friend and foe, without scruple, designate the followers +of the Papal policy as Patarines; it is therefore startling, a +few years later, when the Popes had carried their point, to find +them insisting on the luckless Patarines being given in wholesale +hecatombs to the flames, as damnable heretics. It was an ungracious +return for the battle these heretics had fought under the banner of +St. Peter. + +But Herlembald refused to acknowledge Godfrey, he devastated the +country with fire and sword wherever Godfrey was acknowledged, and +created such havoc that not a day passed in the holy Lenten fast +without the effusion of much Christian blood. Finally, Herlembald +drove the archbishop-elect to take refuge in the strong fortress +of Castiglione. Guido, not receiving his pension, annulled his +resignation, and resumed his state. But he unwisely trusted to +the good faith of Herlembald; he was seized,[40] and shut up in a +monastery till his death, which took place August 23, 1071. + + [40] "Gloriosus hac vice delusus," says Arnulf. + +The year before this, 1070, Adelheid, Margravine of Turin, +mother-in-law of the young Emperor, attacked the Patarines, and +burnt the cities of Lodi and Asti. On March 19, 1071, as Herlembald +was besieging Castiglione, a terrible conflagration broke out in +Milan, and consumed a great part of the city and several of the +stateliest churches. Whilst the army of Herlembald was agitated +by the report of the fire, Godfrey burst out of Castiglione, and +almost routed the besiegers. Before the death of Guido, Herlembald, +with the sanction of the Pope, had set up a certain Otto to be +Archbishop, nominated by himself and the Papal legate, without +consulting the electors of Milan or the Emperor, January 6, A.D. +1072. + +Otto was but a youth, just admitted into holy orders, likely to +prove a pliant tool in the strong hand of the dictator. It was the +Feast of the Epiphany, and the streets were thronged with people, +when the news leaked out that an archbishop had been chosen, +and was now holding the customary banquet after election in the +archiepiscopal palace. + +The people were furious, rose and attacked the house, hunted the +youthful prelate out of an attic, where he had taken refuge, dragged +him by his legs and arms into the church, and compelled him to swear +to renounce his dignity. The Roman legate hardly escaped with his +robes torn. + +Herlembald, who had been surprised, recovered the upper hand in +Milan on the morrow, but not in the open country, which was swept +by the imperial troops. The suffragan bishops of Lombardy assembled +at Novara directly they heard of what had taken place in Milan, and +consecrated Godfrey as their archbishop. + +Otto appealed to Rome (January, 1072), and a few weeks later the +Pope assembled a synod, and absolved Otto of his oath extorted from +him at Milan, acknowledged him as archbishop, and struck Godfrey +with interdict. Alexander II. died April 21, 1073, and the tiara +rested on the brows of the great Hildebrand. + +On June 24, Hildebrand, now Gregory VII., wrote to the Margravine +Beatrice to abstain from all relations with the excommunicated +bishops of Lombardy; on June 28, to William, Bishop of Pavia, to +oppose the usurper, the excommunicate Godfrey of Milan; on July +1, to all the faithful of Lombardy to refrain from that false +bishop, who lay under the apostolic ban. From Capua, on September +27, he wrote to Herlembald, exhorting him to fight valiantly, and +hold out Milan against the usurper Godfrey. Again, on October 9, +to Herlembald, bidding him be of good courage; he hoped to detach +the young Emperor from the party of Godfrey, and bade him receive +amicably those who, with true sentiments of contrition, came over to +the Patarine, that is, the Papal side. + +On March 10, 1074, Gregory held one of the most important synods, +not of his reign only, but ever held by any Pope. The acts of this +assembly have been lost or suppressed, but its most important +decisions were summed up in a letter from Gregory to the Bishop +of Constance. This letter has not been printed in the Registrum; +but fortunately it has been preserved by two contemporary writers, +Paul of Bernried, and Bernold of Constance, the latter of whom has +supplied a detailed apology for the law of celibacy promulgated in +that synod. Gregory absolutely forbade all priests sullied with the +_crimen fornicationis_, which embraced legitimate marriage, either +to say a mass or to serve at one; and the people were strictly +enjoined to shun their churches and their sacraments; and when the +bishops were remiss, he exhorted them themselves to enforce the +pontifical sentence.[41] + + [41] "Audivimus quod quidam Episcoporum apud vos commorantium, + aut sacerdotes, et diaconi, et subdiaconi, mulieribus + commisceantur aut consentiant aut negligant. His præcipimus vos + nullo modo obedire, vel illorum præceptis consentire, sicut + ipsi apostolicæ sedis præceptis non obediunt neque auctoritati + sanctorum patrum consentiunt." "Quapropter ad omnes de quorum + fide et devotione confidimus nunc convertimur, rogantes vos et + apostolicâ auctoritate admonentes ut quidquid Episcopi dehinc + loquantur aut taceant, vos officium eorum quos aut simoniace + promotos et ordinatos aut in crimine fornicationis jacentes + cognoveritis, nullatenus recipiatis."--Letter to the Franconians + (Baluze, _Misc._ vii. p. 125). + +The results shall be described in the words of a contemporary +historian, Sigebert of Gemblours. "Many," says he, "seeing in this +prohibition to hear a mass said by a married priest a manifest +contradiction to the doctrine of the Fathers, who believed that the +efficacy of sacrament, such as baptism, chrism, and the Body and +Blood of Christ, is independent of the dignity of the minister, +thence resulted a grievous scandal; never, perhaps, even in the time +of the great heresies, was the Church divided by a greater schism. +Some did not abandon their simony, others disguised their avarice +under a more acceptable name; what they boasted they had given +gratuitously, they in reality sold; very few preserved continence. +Some through greed of lucre, or sentiments of pride, simulated +chastity, but many added false oaths and numerous adulteries to +their debaucheries. The laity seized the opportunity to rise against +the clerical order, and to excuse themselves for disobedience to +the Church. They profaned the holy mysteries, administering baptism +themselves, and using the wax out of their ears as chrism. They +refused on their death-beds to receive the _viaticum_ from the +married priests; they would not even be buried by them. Some went +so far as to trample under foot the Host, and pour out the precious +Blood consecrated by married priests."[42] + + [42] Pertz, viii. p. 362. + +The affairs of the church of Milan continued in the same +unsatisfactory condition. The contest between the Patarines and +their adversaries had taken greater dimensions. The question which +divided them was now less that of the marriage of the clergy than +which of the rival archbishops was to be acknowledged. Godfrey was +supported by the Emperor, Otto by the Pope. The parties were about +even; neither Godfrey nor Otto could maintain himself in Milan; +the former fortified himself in the castle of Brebbio, the latter +resided at Rome. Henry IV., in spite of all the admonitions of the +Pope, persisted in supporting the cause of Godfrey. Milan was thus +without a pastor. The suffragan bishops wished to execute their +episcopal functions in the city, and to consecrate the holy oils for +the benediction of the fonts at Whitsuntide. Herlembald, when one of +the bishops had sent chrism into the city for the purpose, poured it +out on the ground and stamped on it, because it had been consecrated +by an excommunicated prelate. + +In March, 1075, another conflagration broke out in the city, and +raged with even greater violence than the fire of 1071. Herlembald +had again poured forth the oils, as he had the year before; and +had ordered Leutprand, a priest, as Easter came, to proceed to the +consecration of chrism. This innovation roused the alarm of the +Milanese; the subsequent conflagration convinced them that it was +abhorrent to heaven. All the adversaries of the Patarines assembled +outside the city, and swore to preserve intact the privileges of +St. Ambrose, and to receive only the bishop nominated or approved +by the King. Then, entering the city, they fell unexpectedly on the +Patarines. Leutprand was taken and mutilated, his ears and nose were +cut off. The standard of St. Peter was draggled in the dust, and +Herlembald fell with it, cut down by a noble, Arnold de Rauda. Every +insult was heaped on the body of the "Defender of the Church," and +the sacred banner was trampled under foot. + +Messengers were sent to Henry IV. to announce the triumph, and to +ask him to appoint a new Archbishop of Milan. Henry was so rejoiced +at the victory, that he abandoned Godfrey, and promised the Milanese +a worthy prelate. His choice fell on Tebald, a Milanese sub-deacon +in his Court. + +Pope Urban II. canonised Herlembald. Ariald seems never to have +been formally enrolled among the saints, but he received honours +as a saint at Milan, and has been admitted into several Italian +Martyrologies, and into the collection of the Bollandists. Baronius +wisely expunged Herlembald and Ariald from the Roman Martyrology; +nevertheless, the disgraceful fact remains, that the ruffian +Herlembald has been canonised by Papal bull. + +The seeds of fresh discord remained. Leutprand, or Liprand, the +priest, was curate of the Church of St. Paul;[43] having suffered +mutilation in the riot, he was regarded in the light of a Patarine +confessor. But no outbreak took place till the death of Anselm IV., +Archbishop of Milan (September 30, 1101), at Constantinople, where +he was on his way with the Crusaders to the Holy Land. His vicar, +the Greek, Peter Chrysolaus, Bishop of Savonia, whom the Lombards +called Grossulani, perhaps because of the coarse habit he wore (more +probably as a corruption for Chrysolaus), had been left in charge +of the see of Milan. On the news of the death of the Archbishop +reaching that city, the Primicerius convoked the electors to choose +a successor. The vote fell on Landulf, Ordinary of Milan; but he was +not yet returned from Jerusalem, whither he had gone as a crusader. +Grossulani declared the election informal. Thereupon the Abbot of +St. Dionysius, at the head of a large party of the electors, chose +Peter Grossulani. There is no evidence of his having used bribery in +any form; but he may have acted unjustly in cancelling the election +of Landulf. It is, however, fair to observe that Landulf, on his +return, supported Grossulani; consequently, it is probable that the +latter acted strictly in accordance with law and precedent. + + [43] The life of Liprand was written by Landulf the younger, his + sister's son, in his _Hist. Mediolan._ 1095-1137. + +But the election displeased Liprand and the remains of the +Patarines. They appealed to Rome, but Grossulani, supported by the +Countess Matilda and St. Bernard, abbot of Vallombrosa, overcame +their objections. Pope Paschal II. ratified the election, and sent +the pall to the Archbishop. Ardericus de Carinate had been sent to +Rome on behalf of Grossulani. The people came out of the gates, +on his approach, to learn the result. Ardericus, hanging the pall +across his umbrella (_protensi virga_), waved it over his head, +shouting, "Ecco la stola! Ecco la stola!" (Here is the pall!) and +led the way into the cathedral, whither Grossulani also hastened, +and ascending the pulpit in his pontifical habit, placed the coveted +insignia about his neck. + +Liprand was not satisfied. By means of private agitation, he +disturbed the tranquillity of public feeling, and the Archbishop, to +calm the minds of the populace, was obliged to convoke a provincial +synod at Milan (1103), in which, in the presence of his suffragans, +the clergy and the people, he said, "If anyone has a charge to make +against me, let him speak openly at the present time, or he shall +not be heard." + +Liprand would not appear before the council and formally make +charge, but he mounted the pulpit in the Church of St. Paul and +preached against the Archbishop as a simoniac. He declared his +readiness to prove his charge by the ordeal of fire. The bishops +assembled in council refused to suffer the attempt to be made. + +However, Liprand was not deterred. "Look at my amputated nose and +ears!" he cried, "I am a confessor for Christ. I will try the ordeal +by fire to substantiate my charge. Grossulani is a simoniac, by +gift of hand, gift of tongue, and gift of homage." And he gave +his wolf-skin cloak and some bottles of wine in exchange for wood, +which the crowd carried off and heaped up in a great pile against +the wall of the monastery of St. Ambrogio. The Archbishop sent his +servants, and they overturned the stack, and scattered the wood. +Then the crowd of "boys and girls, men and women," poured through +the main streets, roaring, "Away with Grossulani, away with him!" +and clamoured around the doors of the archiepiscopal palace, so +that Grossulani, fearing for his life, said, "Be it so, let the +fellow try the fire, or let him leave Milan." His servants with +difficulty appeased the people, by promising that the ordeal should +be undergone on the following Palm Sunday evening. "I will not leave +the city," said Liprand; "but now I have no money for buying wood, +and I will not sell my books, as I keep them for my nephew Landulf, +now at school." So the magistrates of the city prepared a pile of +billets of oak wood. + +On the appointed day Liprand, barefooted, in sackcloth, bearing a +cross, went to the Church of Saints Gervasius and Protasius and sung +mass. Grossulani also, bearing a cross, entered the same church and +mounted the pulpit, attended by Ariald de Marignano, and Berard, +Judge of Asti. Silence being made, and Liprand having taken his +place barefooted "on the marble stone at the entrance to the choir, +containing an image of Hercules," Grossulani addressed the people; +"Listen, and I will silence this man in three words." Then turning +to Liprand, he asked, "You have charged me with being a simoniac. To +whom have I given anything? Answer me." + +Liprand, raising his eyes to the pulpit, pointed to those who +occupied it and said, "Look at those three great devils, who think +to confound me by their wit and wealth.[44] I appeal to the judgment +of God." + + [44] "Proposuisti quod ego sum simoniacus per munus a manu. Modo + die: cui dedi; Tunc presbyter super populum oculos aperuit, et + digitum ad eos, qui stabunt in pulpito, extendit, dicens, Videte + tres grandissimos diabolos, qui per ingenium et pecuniam suam + putant me confundere." + +Grossulani said, "But I ask what act of simony do you lay to my +charge?" + +Liprand answered, "Do you answer me, What is the lightest form of +simony?" + +The Archbishop, after some consideration, answered, "To refrain from +deposing a simoniac." + +"And I say that is simony which consists in deposing an abbot from +his abbacy, a bishop from his bishopric, and an archbishop from his +archbishopric."[45] + + [45] It is very evident from this discussion that Grossulani was + innocent of true simony; the whole charge against him was due to + his having quashed the election of Landulf, and thus of having + deposed, after a fashion, "an archbishop from his archbishopric." + +The people became impatient, and began to shout, "Come out, come +out to the ordeal!" Then Liprand "jumped down from the stone, +containing the image of Hercules," and went forth accompanied by the +multitude to the field where the pyre was made. There arose then +a difficulty about the form of oath to be administered. Liprand, +seeing that there was some hesitation, said, "Let me manage it, and +see if I do not satisfy you all!" Whereupon he took hold of the hood +of the Archbishop and shook it, and said in a loud voice, "That +Grossulani, who is under this hood, he, and no other, has obtained +the archbishopric of Milan simoniacally, by gift of hand, gift of +tongue, and gift of service. And I, who enter on this ordeal, swear +that I have used no charm, or incantation, or witchcraft." + +The Archbishop, unwilling to remain, remounted his horse and rode +to the Church of St. John "ad concham," but Ariald of Marignano +remained to see that the ordeal was rightly carried out. When +the pile was lighted, he said to the priest, "In heaven's name, +return to your duty, and do not rush on certain death." But Liprand +answered, "Get thee behind me, Satan," and signing himself, and +blessing the fire with consecrated water, he rushed through the +flames, barefooted, in sackcloth cassock and silk chasuble. He came +out on the other side uninjured; a sudden draught had parted the +flames as he entered, and when he emerged his feet were not burnt, +nor was his silk chasuble scorched. + +The people shouted at the miracle, and Grossulani was obliged to fly +from the city. + +It was soon rumoured, however, that Liprand was suffering from a +scorched hand and an injured foot. It was in vain for his friends to +assure the people that his hand had been burnt when he was throwing +the holy water on the flames before he entered them, and that his +foot was injured not by the fire, but by the hoof of a horse as +he emerged from the flames. One part of the mob began to clamour +against Liprand that he was an impostor, the other to exalt him as +a saint, and the streets became the scene of riot and bloodshed. +At this juncture Landulf of Vereglate, who had been just elected +to the vacant see, arrived from Jerusalem, and finding that the +Archbishop had fled the city, he appealed to the people to cease +from their riots, and promised to have Grossulani deposed, or at +least the charges brought against him properly investigated at +Rome. The tumults were with difficulty allayed, and the Archbishop, +Landulf, and Liprand went to Rome (A.D. 1103). A Synod was convened +and Liprand brought his vague accusations of simony against the +Archbishop. Landulf refused to support him, so that it is hardly +probable that he can have felt himself aggrieved by the conduct of +Grossulani. Liprand, being unable to substantiate his charge of +simony, was obliged to change the nature of his accusation, and +charged the Archbishop with having forced him to submit to the +ordeal of fire. The Pope and the Synod required the Archbishop +to clear himself by oath; accordingly Grossulani did so, in the +following terms: "I, Grossulani, by the grace of God Archbishop, +did not force Liprand to enter the fire." Azo, Bishop of Acqui, and +Arderic, Bishop of Lodi, took the oath with him; at the same time +the pastoral staff slipped from the hands of the Archbishop and +fell on the floor, a sign, the biographer of Liprand says, that he +forswore himself.[46] + + [46] It is evident from the account of Landulf the younger + himself, that the Archbishop did not force the priest to enter on + the ordeal. + +The Archbishop withdrew his authority confirmed by the Holy See, and +he returned to Milan, where he was well received. + +The Archbishop took an unworthy opportunity, in 1110, of ridding +the city of the presence of Liprand for that priest having taken +into his house and cured a certain Herebert of Bruzano, an enemy +of the Archbishop, who was ill with fever. Grossulani deprived +Liprand of his benefice, and the priest retired into the Valteline. +Troubles broke out in Milan between the two parties, which produced +civil war, and the Archbishop was driven out of the city, whereupon +Liprand returned to it. The friends of Grossulani persuaded him to +visit Jerusalem, and he started, after having appointed Arderic, +Bishop of Lodi, his vicar (A.D. 1111). During his absence both +parties united to reject him, and they elected Jordano of Cliva +in his room (Jan. 1, A.D. 1112). Mainnard, Archbishop of Turin, +hastened to Rome, and received the pall from the Pope, on condition +that it should not be worn for six months. But the rumours having +spread that Grossulani was returning from Jerusalem, Mainnard came +to Milan, and placed the pall on the altar of St. Ambrose, whence +Jordano took it and laid it about his shoulders. + +On the return of Grossulani, civil war broke out again between +the two factions, which ended in both Archbishops being summoned +to Rome in 1116; and the Pope ordered Grossulani to return to his +bishopric of Savonia, and confirmed Jordano in the archbishopric +of Milan. But before this Liprand had died 3rd January, 1113. His +sanctity was almost immediately attested by a miracle, in spite of +the disparagement of his virtues by the party of the Archbishop +Grossulani; for a certain knight of Piacenza, having swallowed a +fish-bone which stuck in his throat, in sleep saw the priest appear +to him and touch his throat, whereupon a violent fit of coughing +ensued, in which the bone was ejected; this was considered quite +sufficient to establish the claim of Liprand to be regarded as a +saint. + + + + +The Anabaptists of Münster. + + +To the year 1524 Münster, the capital of Westphalia, had remained +faithful to the religion which S. Swibert, coadjutor of S. +Willibrord, first Bishop of Utrecht, had brought to it in the 7th +century. But then Lutheranism was introduced into it. + +Frederick von Wied at that time occupied the Episcopal throne. He +was brother to Hermann, Archbishop of Cologne, who was afterwards +deprived for his secession to Lutheranism. + +The religious revolution in the Westphalian capital at its +commencement presents the same symptoms which characterised the +beginning of the Reformation elsewhere. The town council were +prepared to hail it as a means of overthrowing the Episcopal +authority, and establishing the municipal power as supreme in the +city. + +Already the State of Juliers had embraced the new religion, and +faith had been shaken in Osnabrück, Minden, and Paderborn, when the +first symptoms appeared in Münster. + +Four priests, the incumbents of the parishes of St. Lambert, St. +Ludger, St. Martin, and the Lieb-Frau Church, commonly called +Ueberwasser, declared for the Reform. The contemporary historian, +Kerssenbroeck, an eye-witness of all he describes, says of them, +"They indulged in the most violent abuse of the clergy, they cursed +good works, assured their auditors that such works would not receive +the smallest recompense, and permitted every one to give way to all +the excesses of so-called Evangelical liberty."[47] They stirred up +their hearers against the religious orders, and the people clamoured +daily at the gates of the monasteries and nunneries, insisting on +being given food; and the monks and nuns were too much frightened +to refuse those whom impunity rendered daily more exacting.[48] On +the night of the 22nd March, 1525, they attacked the rich convent +of nuns at Nizink, with intentions of pillaging it. They failed +in this attempt, and the ringleaders were seized and led before +the magistrates, followed by an excited and tumultuous crowd of +men and women, "evangelically disposed," as the chronicler says. +Hoping to ally the effervescence, the magistrates asked the cause +of complaint against the nuns of Nizink, and then came out the +true reason, for which religious prejudice had served as a cloak. +They complained that the monks and nuns exercised professions to +the prejudice of the artisans; and they demanded of the magistracy +that their looms should be broken, the religious forbidden to work +at trades, and their superabundant goods to be distributed among +the poor. The orators of the band declared in conclusion "that if +the magistrates refused to grant these requests, the people would +disregard their orders, displace them by force of arms, and put in +their stead men trustworthy and loyal, and devoted to the interests +of the citizens."[49] Alarmed at these threats, the magistrates +yielded, and promised to take every measure satisfactory to the +insurgents.[50] On the 25th May, accordingly, the Friars of St. +Francis and the nuns of Nizink were ordered to give up their looms +and accounts. The friars yielded, but the ladies stoutly refused. +The magistrates, however, had all the looms carried away, whilst a +mob howled at the gates, and agitators, excited by the four renegade +priests, ran about the town stirring up the people against the +religious. "All the worst characters," says the old chronicler, +"joined the rioters; the curious came to swell the crowd, and people +of means shut themselves into their houses."[51] For Johann Groeten, +the orator of the band, now proclaimed that having emptied the +strong boxes of the monks and nuns, they would despoil all those +whose fortunes exceeded two thousand ducats. + + [47] Kerssenbroeck, p. 114. + + [48] _Ibid._ p. 115. + + [49] Kerssenbroeck, p. 116. + + [50] _Ibid._ p. 117. + + [51] _Ibid._ p. 120. + +The rioters next marched to the town hall, where the senators +sat trembling, and they demanded the immediate confirmation of a +petition in thirty-four articles that had been drawn up for them by +their leaders. At the same time the mob announced that unless their +petition was granted they would execute its requirements with their +own hands. + +It asked that the canons of the cathedral should be required to pay +the debts of the bishop deceased; that criminal jurisdiction should +be withdrawn from the hands of the clergy; that the monks and nuns +should be forbidden to exercise any manufacture, to dry grain, make +linen, and rear cattle; that the burden of taxation should be shared +by the clergy; that rectors should not be allowed to appoint or +dismiss their curates without consent of the parish; that lawsuits +should not be allowed to be protracted beyond six weeks; that beer +licences should be abolished, and tolls on the bridges done away +with; that monks and nuns should be allowed free permission to +leave their religious societies and return to the world; that the +property of religious houses should be sold and distributed amongst +the needy, and that the municipality should allow them enough for +their subsistence; that the Carmelites, the Augustinians, and the +Dominicans should be suppressed; that pious foundations for masses +for the repose of souls should be confiscated; and that people +should be allowed to marry in Lent and Advent. The magistrates +yielded at once, and promised to endeavour to get the consent of the +other estates of the diocese to the legalising of these articles.[52] + + [52] Kerssenbroeck, p. 126. + +On the morrow of the Ascension, 1525, the magistrates closed the +gates of the town, and betook themselves to the clergy of the +chapter to request them to accept the thirty-four articles. The +canons refused at first, but, in fear of the people, they consented, +but wrote to the bishop to tell him what had taken place, and to +urge him to act with promptitude, and not to forget that the rights +and privileges of the Church were in jeopardy. + +It was one of the misfortunes in Germany, as it was in France, +that the clergy were exempt from taxation. This precipitated the +Revolution in France, and aroused the people against the clergy; +and in Germany it served as a strong motive for the adoption of the +Reformation. + +The canons now fled the town, protesting that their signatures +had been wrested from them by violence, and that they withdrew +their consent to the articles. The inferior clergy remained at +their post, and exhibited great energy and decision. They deprived +Lubert Causen, minister of St. Martins, one of the most zealous +fautors of Lutheranism in Münster, and the head of the reforming +party. When his parishioners objected, a packet of love-letters +he had written to several girls in the town, and amongst others +some to a young woman of respectable position whom he had seduced, +came to light, and were read in the Senate. The reformer had in +his letters used scriptural texts to excuse and justify the most +shameless libertinage.[53] Johann Tante, preacher at St. Lambert, +and Gottfried Reining, of Ueberwasser, were also deprived. As for +the Lutheran preacher at St. Ludger, Johann Fink, "his mouth was +stopped by the gift of a fat prebendal stall, and from that moment +he entirely lost his zeal for the gospel of Wittenberg, and never +uttered another word against the Catholic religion."[54] + + [53] Kerssenbroeck, p. 128. + + [54] _Ibid._ + +By means of the mediation of the Archbishop of Cologne, a +reconciliation was effected. The articles were abolished and the +signatures annulled, and the members of the chapter returned to +Münster, which had felt their absence by the decrease in trade, and +the inconstant people "showed at least as much joy at their return +as they had shown hatred at their departure."[55] + + [55] _Ibid._ p. 138. + +There can be no question but that the Reformation in Germany was +provoked to a large extent by abuses and corruptions in the Church. +To a much larger extent it was a revolt against the Papacy which had +weakened and numbed the powers of the Empire throughout the Middle +Ages from the time of the Emperor Henry IV. But chiefly as a social +and political movement it was the revolt of municipalities against +the authority of collegiate bodies of clergy and the temporal +jurisdiction of prince-bishops, or of grand dukes and margraves and +electors favouring the change because it allowed them at a sweep +to confiscate vast properties and melt down tons of chalices and +reliquaries into coin. + +In Münster lived a draper, Bernhard Knipperdolling by name, who +assembled the malcontents in his house, or in a tavern, and poured +forth in their ears his sarcasms against the Pope, the bishops, +the clergy and the Church. He was well known for his dangerous +influence, and the bishop, Frederic von Wied, arrested him as +he passed near his residence at Vecht. The people of Münster, +exasperated at the news of the captivity of their favourite, obliged +the magistrates and the chapter to ask the bishop to release him. +Frederick von Wied yielded with reluctance, using these prophetic +words, "I consent, but I fear that this man will turn everything +in Münster and the whole diocese upside down." Knipperdolling left +prison, after having taken an oath to keep the peace; but on his +return to Münster he registered a vow that he would terribly revenge +his incarceration and would make the diocese pay as many ducats as +his captivity had cost him hellers.[56] + + [56] Kerssenbroeck, p. 143. + +There was another man in Münster destined to exercise a fatal +influence on the unfortunate city. This was a priest named Bernard +Rottmann.[57] As a child he had been chorister at St. Maurice's +Church at Münster, where his exquisite voice had attracted notice. +He was educated in the choir school, then went to Mainz, where +in 1524 he took his Master's degree, and returning to Münster, +was ordained priest in 1529. He was then given the lectureship of +the church in which, as a boy, he had sung so sweetly. He shortly +exhibited a leaning towards Lutheranism, and the canons of St. +Maurice, who had placed great hopes on the young preacher, thinking +that he acted from inexperience and without bad intent, gave him +a paternal reprimand, and provided him with funds to go to the +University of Cologne, and study there dogmatic and controversial +theology; at the same time undertaking to retain Rottmann in the +receipt of his salary as lecturer, and to this they added a handsome +pension to assist him in his studies. + + [57] _Ibid._ 148; Latin edition, p. 1517-9; Dorpius, f. 391 a. + +The young man received this money, and then, instead of going to +Cologne, betook himself to Wittenberg, where he attached himself +to Melancthon. On his return to Münster, the canons, unaware of +the fraud that had been played upon them, reinstated Rottmann in +the pulpit. He was too crafty to publish his new tenets in his +discourses, and thus to insure the loss of his situation, but he +employed his secret influence in society to spread Lutheranism. +After a while, when he considered his party strong enough to support +him, he threw off the mask, and preached boldly against the priests +and the bishops, and certain doctrines of the Catholic Church. +The more violent he became in his attacks, the more personal and +caustic in his language, the greater grew the throng of people to +hear him. Then he preached against Confession, which he called "the +disturber of consciences," and contrasted it with Justification by +Faith only, which set consciences at ease; he preached against good +works, against the obligation to observe the moral law, and assured +his hearers that grace was freely imputed to them, live as they +liked, and that the Gospel afforded them entire freedom from all +restraints. "The shameless dissolution which now began to spread +through the town," says Kerssenbroeck, "proved that the mob adopted +the belief in the impunity of sin; all those who were ruined in +pocket, hoping to get the possessions of others, joined the party of +innovators, and Rottmann was extolled by them to the skies."[58] + + [58] Kerssenbroeck, p. 152. + +The Senate forbade the citizens to attend Rottmann's sermons, but +their orders were disregarded. The populace declared that Master +Bernard was the only preacher of the true Gospel, and they covered +with slander and abuse those who strove to oppose his seductive +doctrine. "Some of the episcopal councillors, however," says the +historian, "favoured the innovator. The private secretary of the +bishop, Leonhard Mosz, encouraged him secretly, and promised him his +support in the event of danger."[59] + + [59] Kerssenbroeck, p. 152. + +But the faithful clergy informed the bishop of the scandal, and +before Mosz and others could interfere, a sentence of deprivation +was pronounced against him. + +Rottmann, startled by this decisive measure, wrote a series of +letters to Frederick von Wied, which have been preserved by +Kerssenbroeck, in which he pretended that he had been calumniated +before "the best and most just of bishops," and excused himself, +instead of boldly and frankly announcing his secession from the +Catholic Church. In reply, the bishop ordered him to quit Münster, +and charged his councillors to announce to him that his case +would be submitted to the next synod. Rottmann then wrote to the +councillors a letter which exhibits his duplicity in a clearer +light. Frederick von Wied, hearing of this letter, ordered the +recalcitrant preacher to quit the convent adjoining the church +of St. Maurice, and to leave the town. Rottmann thereupon took +refuge in the house of Knipperdolling and his companions. Under the +protection of these turbulent men, the young preacher assumed a +bolder line, and wrote to the bishop demanding a public discussion, +and announcing that shortly his doctrine would be published in a +pamphlet, and thus be popularised. + +On the 23rd of January, 1532, Rottmann's profession of faith +appeared, addressed in the form of a letter to the clergy of +Münster.[60] Like all the professions of faith of the period, it +consisted chiefly of a string of negations, with a few positive +statements retained from the Catholic creed on God, the Incarnation, +&c. He denied the special authority of the priesthood, reduced the +Sacraments to signs, going thereby beyond Luther; rejected doctrines +of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Purgatory, the intercession of saints, +and the use of images, pilgrimages, vows, benedictions, and the +like. It would certainly have been more appropriately designated +a Confession of Disbelief. This pamphlet was widely circulated +amongst the people, and the party of Lutheran malcontents, headed +by Knipperdolling, and Herman Bispink, a coiner and forger of +title-deeds, grew in power, in numbers, and in audacity. + + [60] Kerssenbroeck, p. 165 _et seq._; Latin edition, Mencken, p. + 1520-8: Sleidan, French tr., p. 406. + +On the 23rd of February, 1532, Knipperdolling and his associates +assembled the populace early, and carried Rottmann in triumph to +the church of St. Lambert. Finding the doors shut, they mounted the +preacher on a wooden pulpit before the bone-house. The Reformer then +addressed the people on the necessity of proclaiming evangelical +liberty and of destroying idolatry; of overthrowing images and the +Host preserved in the tabernacles. His doctrine might be summed +up in two words: liberty for the Evangelicals to do what they +liked, and compulsion for the Catholics. The sermon produced a +tremendous effect; before it was concluded the rioters rushed +towards the different churches, burst open the doors, tore down the +altars, reliquaries, statues; and the Sacrament was taken from the +tabernacles and trampled under foot. The cathedral alone, defended +by massive gates, escaped their fury.[61] + + [61] Kerssenbroeck, p. 185; Bullinger, "Adversus Anabaptist." + lib. ii. c. 8. + +Proud of this achievement, the insurgents defied all authority, +secular and ecclesiastical, and installed Bernhard Rottmann as +preacher and pastor of the Evangelical religion in St. Lambert's +Church. "Thenceforth," says the Münster contemporary historian, "it +may well be understood that they did not limit themselves to simple +tumults, but that murders, pillage, and the overthrow of all public +order followed. The success of this first enterprise had rendered +the leaders masters of the city." + +Bishop Frederick von Wied felt that his power was at an end. He +was a man with no very strong religious zeal or moral courage. +He resigned his dignity in the sacristy of the church of Werne, +reserving to himself a yearly income of 2,000 florins. Duke Eric +of Brunswick, Prince of Grubenhagen, Bishop of Paderborn and +Osnabrück, was elected in his room. The nomination of Eric irritated +the Lutheran party. He was a man zealous for his religion, and +with powerful relations. Rottmann at once sent him his twenty-nine +articles, and the artisans of Münster, who had embraced the cause +of Rottmann, handed in a petition to the magistrates (April 16th, +1532) to request that compulsion might be used to force every one +to become Lutheran, "because it seems to us," said they, "that +this doctrine is in all points and entirely conformable to the +Gospel, whilst that which is taught by the rest of the clergy is +absurd, and ought to be rejected."[62] The bishop-elect wrote to the +magistrates, insisting on the dismissal of Rottmann, but in their +answer they not only declined to obey, but offered an apology for +his conduct. + + [62] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 189-90. + +The bishop wrote again, but received no answer. Wishing to use every +means of conciliation, before adopting forcible measures, he sent a +deputation to Münster to demand the expulsion of the preacher, but +without success. + +The people, becoming more insubordinate, determined to take +possession of other churches. One of the most important is the +church of Unsere Lieb-frau, or Ueberwasser, a church whose +beautiful tower and choir attract the admiration of the traveller +visiting Münster. This church and parish depended on the convent of +Ueberwasser; the rector was a man of zeal and power, a Dr. Martin, +who was peculiarly obnoxious to the Lutheran party. A deputation +was sent to the abbess, Ida von Merfelt, to insist on the dismissal +of the rector and the substitution of an Evangelical preacher.[63] +The lady was a woman of courage; she recommended the deputation +to return to their shops and to attend to their own business, and +announced that Dr. Martin should stay at his post; and stay he did, +for a time. + + [63] _Ibid._ p. 203. + +The bishop was resolved to try force of arms, when suddenly he died, +May 9th, 1532, after having drunk a goblet of wine. Several writers +of the period state that it was poisoned. A modern historian says he +died of excess of drink--on what authority I do not know.[64] He had +brought down upon himself the dislike of the Lutherans for having +vigorously suppressed the reforming movement in Paderborn. The +history of that movement in this other Westphalian diocese is too +suggestive to be passed over. In 1527 the Elector John Frederick of +Saxony passed through Paderborn and ordered his Lutheran preachers +to address the people in the streets through the windows of the +house in which he lodged, as the clergy refused them the use of the +churches. Next year the agitation began by a quarrel between some +of the young citizens and the servants of the chapter, and ended in +the plundering and devastation of the cathedral and the residences +of the canons. The leader of the Evangelical party in Paderborn was +Johann Molner of Buren, a man who had been expelled from the city +in 1531 for murder and adultery; he left, taking with him as his +mistress the wife of the man he had murdered, and retired to Soest, +"where," says a contemporary writer, Daniel von Soest, "he did not +remain satisfied with this woman only." He returned to Paderborn as +a burning and shining gospel light, and led the iconoclastic riot. +Duke Philip of Grubenhagen supported his brother, and the town was +forced to pay 2,000 gulden for the damage done, and to promise to +pay damages if any further mischief took place, and this so cooled +the zeal of the citizens of Paderborn for the Gospel that it died +out.[65] + + [64] Stürc, "Gerchichte v. Osnabrück." Osnab. 1826, pt. iii. p. + 25. + + [65] Vehse, "Geschichte der Deutschen Höfe." Hamburg, 1859, vol. + xlvii. p. 4-6. Bessen, "Geschichte v. Paderborn"; Paderb. 1820, + vol. ii. p. 33. + +The chapter retired to Ludwigshausen for the purpose of electing +the successor to Bishop Eric, who had only occupied the see three +months; their choice fell on Francis von Waldeck, Bishop of Minden, +and then of Osnabrück. The choice was not fortunate; it was dictated +by the exigencies of the times, which required a man of rank and +power to occupy the vacant throne, so as to reduce the disorder by +force of arms. Francis of Waldeck was all this, but the canons were +not at that time aware that he had himself strong leanings towards +Lutheranism; and after he became Bishop of Münster he would have +readily changed the religion of the place, had it not been that such +a proceeding would, under the circumstances, have involved the loss +of his income as prince-bishop. Later, when the disturbances were at +an end, he proposed to the Estates the establishment of Lutheranism +and the suppression of Catholicism, as we shall see in the sequel. +He even joined the Smalkald union of the Protestant princes against +the Catholics in 1544. + +With sentiments so favourable to the Reform, the new bishop would +have yielded everything to the agitators, had they not assumed a +threatening attitude, and menaced his temporal position and revenue, +which were the only things connected with the office for which he +cared. + +The inferior clergy of Münster wrote energetically to him on his +appointment, complaining of the innovations which succeeded each +other with rapidity in the town. "The Lutheran party," said they in +this letter, "are growing daily more invasive and insolent," and +they implored the bishop to protect their rights and liberty of +conscience against the tyranny of the new party, who, not content +with worshipping God in their own way, refused toleration to others, +outraged their feelings by violating all they held most sacred, and +disturbed their services by unseemly interruptions. + +Francis of Waldeck renewed the orders of his predecessor. The senate +acknowledged the receipt of his letter, and promised to answer it on +a future occasion. + +However, the warmest partisans of Rottmann were resolved to carry +matters to a climax, and at once to overthrow both the episcopal and +the civil authority. Knipperdolling persuaded the butcher Modersohn +and the skinner Redekker that, as provosts of their guilds, they +were entitled to convene the members of their trades without the +intervention of the magistrates. These two men accordingly convoked +the people for the 1st July.[66] The assembly was numerously +attended, and opened tumultuously. When silence was obtained, a +certain Johann Windemuller rose and proclaimed the purpose of the +convention. "The affair is one of importance," said he; "we have to +maintain the glory of God, our eternal welfare, the happiness of all +our fellow-citizens, and the development of our franchises; all +these things depend on the sacred ecclesiastical liberty announced +to us by the worthy Rottmann. We must conclude an alliance against +the oppressors of the Gospel, that the doctrine of Rottmann, which +is incontestably the true one, may be protected." These words +produced such enthusiasm, that the audience shouted with one voice +that "they would defend Rottmann and his doctrine to their last +farthing, and the last drop of their blood." Some of those present, +by their silence, expressed their displeasure, but a draper named +Johann Mennemann had the courage to raise his voice against the +proposal. A furious band at once attacked him with their fists, +crying out that the enemies of the pure Gospel must be destroyed; +"already the bold draper was menaced with their daggers, when one +of his friends succeeded in effecting his escape from the popular +rage." However, he was obliged to appear before the heads of the +guilds and answer for his opposition. Mennemann replied, that +in weighty matters concerning the welfare of the commonwealth, +tumultuous proceedings were not likely to produce good resolutions, +and that he advised the separation of the corporations, that the +questions might be maturely considered and properly weighed.[67] + + [66] Kerssenbroeck, p. 207; Dorpius, f. 391 b. 392. + + [67] _Ibid._ p. 208. + +The corporations of trades now appointed twenty-six individuals, in +addition to the provosts, to decide on measures adapted to carry +out the resolution. This committee decided "that one religion alone +should be taught in the town for the future and for ever after;" +and that "if any opposition was offered by the magistrates, the +whole body of the citizens should be appealed to."[68] + + [68] Kerssenbroeck, p. 209. + +These decisions were presented to the senate on the 11th July, which +replied that they were willing not to separate themselves from +evangelical truth, but that they were not yet satisfied on which +side it was to be found, and that they would ask the bishop to send +them learned theologians who should investigate the matter. + +This reply irritated Rottmann, Knipperdolling, and their followers. +On the 12th July fresh messengers were sent to the Rath (senate) to +know whether it might be reckoned upon. The answer was equivocal. +A third deputation insisted on an answer of "Yes" or "No," and +threatened a general rising of the people unless their demands were +acceded to.[69] The magistrates, in alarm, promised their adhesion +to the wishes of the insurgents, who demanded at once that "sincere +preachers of the pure Gospel" should be installed in every church of +Münster. The councillors accordingly issued orders to all the clergy +of the city to adopt the articles of Bernard Rottmann, or to refute +them by scriptural arguments, or they must expect the Council to +proceed against them with the extremest rigour of the law. + + [69] _Ibid._ pp. 210, 211. + +Then, to place the seal on their cowardly conduct, they wrote to +the prince-bishop on the 25th, to excuse themselves of complicity +in the institution of Rottmann, but at the same time they undertook +the defence of the Reformer, and assured the bishop that his +doctrine was sound and irrefutable. At the same time they opened +a communication with the Landgrave Philip of Hesse, asking that +bulwark of the Reformation to protect them. Philip wrote back, +promising his intervention, but warning them not to make the Gospel +an excuse for revolt and disorder, and not to imagine that Christian +liberty allowed them to seize on all the property of the Church. At +the same time he wrote to the prince-bishop to urge upon him not to +deprive the good and simple people of Münster of their evangelical +preachers.[70] + + [70] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 213-23. + +In the meantime the seditious members of the town guilds grew +impatient; and on the 6th August they sent a deputation to the town +council reminding it of its promise, and insisting on the immediate +deprivation of all the Catholic clergy. The magistrates sought +to gain time, but the deputation threatened them with the people +taking the law into their own hands, rejecting the authority of the +council, and electing another set of magistrates. + +"The Rath, on hearing this," says Kerssenbroeck, "were filled with +alarm, and they considered it expedient to yield, in part at least, +to the populace, and to deprive the clergy of their rights, rather +than to expose themselves rashly to the greatest dangers."[71] + + [71] _Ibid._ p. 272. + +They resolved therefore to forbid the Catholic clergy the use of +the pulpits of the churches, and to address the people in any form. +This was done at once, and all ceremonies "contrary to the pure word +of God" were abolished, and the faithful in the different parishes +were required to receive and maintain the new pastors commissioned +by the burgomaster and corporation to minister to them in things +divine. + +On the 10th August, a crowd, headed by Rottmann, the preacher +Brixius, and Knipperdolling, fell upon the churches and completed +the work of devastation which had been begun in February. The +Cathedral and the Church of Ueberwasser alone escaped their +Vandalism, because the fanatics were afraid of arousing too strong +an opposition. The same day the celebration of mass and communion in +one kind were forbidden under the severest penalties; the priests +were driven out of their churches, and Rottmann, Brixius, Glandorp, +Rolle, Wertheim, and Gottfried Ninnhoven, Lutheran preachers, were +intruded in their room.[72] + + [72] _Ibid._ pp. 228-34. + +The peace among these new apostles of the true Gospel was, however, +subject to danger. Pastor Brixius had fallen in love with the sister +of Pastor Rottmann, and the appearance of the girl proved to every +one that the lovers had not waited for the ceremony of marriage. +Rottmann insisted on this brother pastor marrying the young woman to +repair the scandal. But no sooner was the bride introduced into the +parsonage of St. Martin, of which Brixius was in possession, than +the first wife of the evangelical minister arrived in Münster with +her two children. Brixius was obliged to send away the new wife, but +a coldness ensued between him and Rottmann; "however, fearing to +cause dissension amongst their adherents by an open quarrel, they +came to some arrangement, and Brixius retained his situation."[73] + + [73] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 228, 229. + +These acts of violence and scandals had inspired many of the +citizens with alarm. Those who were able sent their goods out of +the town; the nuns of Ueberwasser despatched their title-deeds +and sacred vessels to a place of safety. Several of the wealthy +citizens and senators, who would not give up their religion, +deserted Münster, and settled elsewhere. The two burgomasters, +Ebroin Drost and Willebrand Plonies, resigned their offices and +left the city never to return.[74] The provosts of the guilds next +insisted on the severe repression of all Catholic usages and the +performance of sacraments by the priests; they went further, and +insisted on belief in the sacrifice of the altar and adoration of +the Host being made penal. The clergy wrote to the bishop imploring +his aid, and assuring him that their position was daily becoming +more intolerable; but Francis of Waldeck recommended patience, and +promised his aid when it lay in his power to assist them. + + [74] _Ibid._ p. 230. + +On the 17th September, 1532, he convoked the nobles of the +principality at Wollbeck, gave them an account of the condition +of Münster, and conjured them to assist him in suppressing the +rebellion.[75] The nobles replied, that before adopting violent +measures, it would be advisable to attempt a reconciliation. Eight +commissioners were chosen from amongst the barons, who wrote to the +magistrates, and requested them to send their deputies to Wollbeck +on Monday, September 23rd, "so as to come to some decision on what +is necessary for the welfare of the republic." The envoys of the +city appeared, and after the opening of the assembly, the grand +marshal of the diocese described the condition of the city, and +declared that if it pursued its course of disobedience, the nobility +were prepared to assist their prince in re-establishing order. The +delegates were given eight days to frame an answer. The agitation +in Münster during these days was great. The evangelical preachers +lost no time in exciting the people. The deputies returned to the +conference with a vague answer that the best way to settle the +differences would be to submit them to competent and enlightened +judges; and so the matter dropped. + + [75] _Ibid._ p. 248 _et seq._ + +The bishop's officers now captured a herd of fat cattle belonging to +some citizens of Münster, which were on their way to Cologne, and +refused to surrender them till the preachers of disaffection were +sent away.[76] + + [76] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 268-9. + +The party of Rottmann and Knipperdolling now required the town +council to raise 500 soldiers for the defence of the town, should +it be attacked by the prince-bishop--to strike 2000 ducats in +copper for the payment of the mercenaries, such money to circulate +in Münster alone--to order the sentinels to forbid egress to the +Catholic clergy, should they attempt to fly--and to impose on the +Catholic clergy a tax of 4000 florins a month for the support of +the troops. As the clergy had been deprived of their benefices, +forbidden to preach and minister the sacraments, this additional +act of persecution was intolerable in its injustice. The senate +accepted these requisitions with some abatement--the number of +soldiers was reduced to 300.[77] + + [77] _Ibid._ p. 279 _et seq._ + +The bishop, finding that the confiscation of the oxen had not +produced the required results, adopted another expedient which +proved equally ineffectual. He closed all the roads by his cavalry, +declared the city in a state of blockade, and forbade the peasantry +taking provisions into Münster. The artizans then marched out and +took the necessary food; they paid for it, but threatened the +peasants with spoliation without repayment, unless they frequented +the market with their goods as usual. This menace produced its +effect; Münster continued to be provisioned as before.[78] + + [78] _Ibid._ p. 283 _et seq._ + +Proud of their success, the innovators attacked Ueberwasser Church, +and ordered the abbess to dismiss the Catholic clergy who ministered +there, and to replace them by Gospel preachers. She declined +peremptorily, and the mob then drove the priests out of the church +and presbytery, and instituted Lutherans in their place.[79] + + [79] _Ibid._ pp. 284, 285. + +Notwithstanding the decrees of the senate, the priests continued +their exhortations and their ministrations in such churches as the +Evangelicals were unable to supply with pastors, of whom there was +a lack. Brixius, the bigamist minister of St. Martin's, having +found in one of them a monk preaching to a crowd of women, rushed +up into the pulpit, crying out that the man was telling them +lies; "but," says Kerssenbroeck, "the devotees surrounded the +unfortunate orator, beat him with their fists, slippers, wooden +shoes and staves, so that he fled the church, his face and body +black and blue." Probably these women bore him a grudge also for his +treatment of Rottmann's sister, which was no secret. "Furious at +this, he went next day to exhibit the traces of the combat to the +senate, entreating them to revenge the outrage he had received--he +a minister of the Holy Gospel; but, for the first time, the +magistrates showed some sense, and declared that they would not +meddle in the matter, because the guilty persons were too numerous, +and that some indulgence ought to be shown to the fair sex."[80] + + [80] Kerssenbroeck, p. 330. + +The town council now sent deputies to the Protestant princes, Dukes +Ernest and Francis of Lüneburg, the Landgrave Philip of Hesse, and +Count Philip of Waldeck, brother of the prince-bishop, to promise +the adhesion of the city to the Smalkald union, and to request +their assistance against their bishop. The situation was singular. +The city sought assistance of the Protestant union against their +prince, desiring to overthrow his power, under the plea that he +was a Catholic bishop. And the bishop, at heart a Lutheran, and +utterly indifferent to his religious position and responsibilities, +was determined to coerce his subjects into obedience, that he +might retain his rank and revenue as prince, intending, when the +city returned to its obedience, to shake off his episcopal office, +to Lutheranize his subjects, and remain their sovereign prince, +and possibly transform the ecclesiastical into a hereditary +principality, the appanage of a family of which he would be the +founder. He had already provided himself with a concubine, Anna +Pölmann, by whom he had children. + +Whilst the senate was engaged in treating with the Protestant +princes, negotiations continued with the bishop, at the diets +convoked successively at Dulmen and Wollbeck, but they were as +fruitless as before. The deputies separated on the 9th December, +agreeing to meet again on the 21st of the same month. + +At this time there arrived in Münster a formal refutation of +the theses of Rottmann, by John of Deventer, provincial of the +Franciscans at Cologne.[81] The magistrates had repeatedly +complained that "the refusal of the Catholics to reply to Bernard +Rottmann was the sole cause of all the evil." At the same time they +had forbidden the Catholic clergy to preach or to make use of the +press in Münster. This answer came like a surprise upon them. It was +carried by the foes of the clergy to the magistrates. The news of +the appearance of this counterblast created the wildest excitement. +"The citizens, assembled in great crowds, ran about the streets to +hear what was being said. Some announced that the victory would +remain with Rottmann, others declared that he would never recover +the blow." + + [81] Kerssenbroeck, p. 332. + +The provosts of the guilds hastily drew up a petition to the senate +to expel the clergy from the town, and to confiscate their goods; +but the magistrates refused to comply with this requisition, which +would have at once stirred up civil war.[82] + + [82] _Ibid._ pp. 335-7. + +Rottmann mounted the pulpit on St. Andrew's day, and declared that +on the following Sunday he would refute the arguments of John of +Deventer. Accordingly, on the day appointed, he preached to an +immense crowd, taking for his text the words of St. Paul (Rom. xiii. +12), "The night is far spent, the day is at hand." The sermon was +not an answer to the arguments of John of Deventer, but a furious +attack upon the Pope and Catholicism. Knipperdolling also informed +the people that he would rather have his children killed and cooked +and served up for dinner than surrender his evangelical principles +and return to the errors of the past.[83] + + [83] _Ibid._ p. 338. + +On the 21st December, 1532, Francis of Waldeck assembled the diet +of the principality, and asked its advice as to the advisability +of proclaiming war against Münster, should the city persist in its +obstinacy.[84] The clergy and nobles replied that, according to +immemorial custom, the prince must engage in war at his own cost, +and that they were too heavily burdened with taxes for the Turkish +war to enable them to undertake fresh charges. Francis of Waldeck +reminded them that he was obliged to pay a pension of 2000 florins +to his predecessor, Frederick von Wied, and he affirmed that he also +was not in a condition to have recourse to arms. + + [84] _Ibid._ p. 340 _et seq._ + +Whilst the prince, his barons and canons were deliberating, Rottmann +had assumed the ecclesiastical dictatorship in the cathedral city, +and had ordered, on his sole authority, the suppression of the +observance of fast-days. + +The spirit of opposition and protestation that had been evoked +already manifested itself in strange excesses. "Some of the +Evangelicals refused to have the bread put into their mouths at +Communion," says Kerssenbroeck, "but insisted on helping themselves +from the table, or they stained themselves in taking long draughts +at the large chalices. It is even said that some placed the bread +in large soup tureens, and poured the wine upon it, and took it out +with spoons and forks, so that they might communicate in both kinds +at one and the same moment."[85] + + [85] Kerssenbroeck, p. 347. + +The Reformer of Münster began to entertain and to express doubts as +to the validity of the baptism of infants, which he considered had +not the warrant of Holy Scripture. Melancthon wrote urgently to him, +imploring him not to create dissensions in the Evangelical Church by +disturbing the arrangement many wise men had agreed upon. "We have +enemies enough," added Melancthon; "they will be rejoiced to see us +tearing each other and destroying one another.... I speak with good +intention, and I take the liberty of giving my advice, because I am +devoted to you and to the Church."[86] + + [86] _Ibid._ p. 348. + +Luther wrote as well, not to Rottmann, but to the magistrates +of Münster, praising their love of the Gospel, and urging them +to beware of being drawn away by the damnable errors of the +Sacramentarians, Zwinglians, _aliorumque schwermerorum_.[87] The +senators received this apostolic epistle with the utmost respect +and reverence imaginable; they communicated it to Rottmann and +his colleagues, and ordered them to obey it. But the senate had +long lost its authority; and this injunction was disregarded.[88] +"Disorder and infidelity made progress; the idle, rogues, +spendthrifts, thieves, and ruined persons swelled the crowd of +Evangelists."[89] + + [87] _Ibid._ p. 349. + + [88] Kerssenbroeck, p. 351. + + [89] _Ibid._ p. 351. + +However, it was not enough to have introduced the new religion, to +satisfy the Evangelicals the Catholics must be completely deprived +of the exercise of their religion. In spite of every hindrance, +mass had been celebrated every Sunday in the cathedral. All the +parish churches had been deprived of their priests, but the minster +remained in the hands of the Catholics. As Christmas approached, +many men and women prepared by fasting, alms, and confession, +to make their communion at the cathedral on the festival of the +Nativity. + +The magistrates, hearing of their design, forbade them +communicating, offering, as an excuse, that it would cause scandal +to the partisans of the Reform. They also published a decree +forbidding baptisms to be performed elsewhere than in the parish +churches; so as to force the faithful to bring their children to the +ministrations of men whom they regarded with aversion as heretics +and apostates.[90] + + [90] _Ibid._ p. 353. + +No envoys from the capital attended the reunion of the chambers at +Wollbeck on the 20th December. But Münster sent a letter expressing +a hope that the difference between the city and the prince might be +terminated by mediation. + +This letter gave the diet a chance of escaping from its very +difficult position of enforcing the rule of the prince without +money to pay the soldiers. The diet undertook to lay the suggestion +before the prince-bishop, and to transmit his reply to the envoys of +Münster. + +Francis of Waldeck then quitted his diocese of Minden, and betook +himself to Telgte,[91] a little town about four miles from Münster, +where he was to receive the oath of allegiance and homage of his +subjects in the principality. The estates assembled at Wollbeck, and +all the leading nobles and clergy of the diocese hastened to Telgte +and assembled around their sovereign on the same day. A letter was +at once addressed to the senate of Münster by the assembled estates, +urging it to send deputies to Telgte, the following morning, at +eight o'clock, to labour together with them at the re-establishment +of peace. + + [91] _Ibid._ p. 354 _et seq._ Sleidan, French tr. p. 407. + +The deputies did not appear; the senate addressed to the diet, +instead, a letter of excuses. The estates at once replied that in +the interest of peace, they regretted the obstinacy with which the +senate had refused to send deputies to Telgte; but that this had +not prevented them from supplicating the bishop to yield to their +wishes; and that they were glad to announce that he was ready to +submit the mutual differences to the arbitration of two princes of +the Empire, one to be named by himself, the other by the city of +Münster. And until the arbitration took place, the prince-bishop +would provisionally suspend all measures of severity, on condition +that the ancient usages should be restored in the churches, the +preachers should cease to innovate, and that the imprisoned vassals +of the bishop should be released. + +This missive was sent into the town on the 25th; the magistrates +represented to the bearer "that it would be scandalous to occupy +themselves with temporal affairs on Christmas-day," and on this +pretext they persuaded him to remain till the morrow in Münster. +Then orders were given for the gates of the town to be closed, and +egress to be forbidden to every one. + +Having taken these precautions, the magistrates assembled the +provosts of the guilds, and held with them a conference, which +terminated shortly before nine o'clock the same evening; after which +the subaltern officers of the senate were sent round to rap at every +door, and order the citizens to assemble at midnight, before the +town-hall. A nocturnal expedition had been resolved upon; but the +movement in the town had excited the alarm of the Catholics, who, +thinking that a general massacre of those who adhered to the old +religion was in contemplation, hid themselves in drains and cellars +and chimneys. + +Arms were brought out of the arsenal, cannons were mounted, waggons +were laden with powder, shot, beams, planks and ladders. At the +appointed hour, the crowd, armed in various fashions, assembled +before the Rath-haus.[92] The magistrates and provosts then selected +six hundred trusty Evangelicals, and united them to a band of three +hundred mercenaries and a small troop of horse. The rest were +dispersed upon the ramparts and were recommended to keep watch; +then it was announced to the party in marching order that they were +to hasten stealthily to Telgte and capture the prince-bishop, his +councillors, the barons, and all the members of the estates then +assembled in that little town. + + [92] Kerssenbroeck, p. 358 _et seq._ Sleidan, French tr. p. 408. + Sleidan also gives the number as 900; Dorpius, f. 392 b. + +However, the diet, surprised at not seeing their messenger return, +conceived a slight suspicion. Whether he feared that his person was +in danger so near Münster is not known, but fortunately for himself, +the prince, that same evening, left Telgte for his castle of Iburg. +The members of the diet, after long waiting, sent some men along the +road to the capital to ascertain whether their messenger was within +sight. These men returned, saying that the gates of Münster were +closed and that no one was to be seen stirring. + +The fact was singular, not to say suspicious, and a troop of horse +was ordered to make a reconnaissance in the direction of Münster. It +was already late at night, so, having given the order, the members +of the diet retired to their beds. The horse soldiers beat the +country, found all quiet, withdrew some planks from a bridge over +the Werse, between Telgte and Münster, to intercept the passage, and +then returned to their quarters, for the night was bitterly cold. On +surmounting a hill, crowned by a gibbet, they, however, turned once +more and looked over the plain towards the city. A profound silence +reigned; but a number of what they believed to be will-o'-the-wisps +flitted here and there over the dark ground. As, according to +popular superstition in Westphalia, these little lights are to be +seen in great abundance at Yuletide, the horsemen paid no attention +to them, but continued their return. These lights, mistaken for +marsh fires, were in fact the burning matches of the arquebuses +carried by those engaged in the sortie. On their return to Telgte, +the horse soldiers retired to their quarters, and in half-an-hour +all the inhabitants of the town were fast asleep. + +Meanwhile, the men of Münster advanced, replaced the bridge over +the Werse, traversed the plain, and reached Telgte at two o'clock +in the morning. They at once occupied all the streets, according to +a plan concerted beforehand, then invaded the houses, and captured +the members of the diet, clergy, nobles and commons. Three only of +the cathedral chapter escaped in their night shirts with bare feet +across the frozen river Ems. The Münsterians, having laid their +hands on all the money, jewels, seals, and gold chains they could +find, retreated as rapidly as they had advanced, carrying off with +them their captives and the booty, but disappointed in not having +secured the person of the prince. They entered the cathedral city +in triumph on the morning of the 26th December, highly elated at +their success, and nothing doubting that with such hostages in +their hands, they would be able to dictate their own terms to the +sovereign. + +But the expedition of Telgte had made a great sensation in the +empire. Francis of Waldeck addressed himself to all the members of +the Germanic body, and appealed especially to his metropolitan, the +Elector of Cologne, for assistance, and also to the Dukes of Cleves +and Gueldres. The elector wrote at once to Münster in terms the +most pressing, because some of his own councillors were among the +prisoners. He received an evasive answer. The Protestant princes of +the Smalkald league even addressed letters to the senate, blaming +energetically their high-handed proceeding. Philip Melancthon also +wrote a letter of mingled remonstrance and entreaty.[93] The only +result of their appeals was the restoration to the prisoners of +their money and the jewels taken from them. + + [93] Kerssenbroeck, p. 368. + +John von Wyck, syndic of Bremen, was despatched by the senate of +Münster to the Landgrave Philip of Hesse, to ask him to undertake +the office of mediator between them and their prince. The Landgrave +readily accepted the invitation, and Francis of Waldeck was +equally ready to admit his mediation, as he was himself, as has +been already stated, a Lutheran at heart. The people of Münster, +finding that the bishop was eager for a pacific settlement, insisted +on the payment of the value of the oxen he had confiscated, as a +preliminary, before the subject of differences was entered upon. The +prince-bishop consented, paid 450 florins, and allowed the Landgrave +of Hesse to draw up sixteen articles of treaty, which met with the +approval of both the senate and himself. + +The terms of the agreement were as follows:[94]-- + +I. The prince-bishop was to offer no violence to the inhabitants of +Münster in anything touching religion. "The people of Münster shall +keep the pure Word of God," said the article; "it shall be preached +to them, without any human additions by their preachers, in the six +parish churches. These same preachers shall minister the sacraments +and order their services and ceremonies as they please. The citizens +shall submit in religious matters to the judgment of the magistrates +alone, till the questions at issue are decided by a General Council." + + [94] _Ibid._ p. 392 _et seq._ + +II. The Catholics were to exercise their religion freely in the +cathedral and in the capitular churches not included in the +preceding article, _until Divine Providence should order otherwise_. +The Lutheran ministers were forbidden to attack the Catholics, their +dogmas and rights, _unless the Word of God imperiously required +it_;--a clause opening a door to any amount of abuse. As the +speciality of Protestantism of every sort consists in negation, it +would be impossible for an Evangelical pastor to hold his position +without denouncing what he disbelieved. + +Article III. interdicted mutual recriminations. Article IV., in +strange contradiction with Article I., declared that the town of +Münster should obey the prince-bishop as legitimate sovereign in +matters spiritual and temporal. The bishop in the Vth Article +promised to respect the privileges of the subject. + +The VIth Article forbade any one making an arbitrary use of the Word +of God to justify refusal of obedience to the magistrates. Article +VII. reserved to the clergy their revenues, with the exception of +the six parish churches, of which the revenues were to be employed +for the maintenance of the Evangelical pastors. By the VIIIth +Article the senate promised not to interfere with the collation to +benefices not in their hands by right. The IXth Article allowed the +citizens to deprive their pastors in the Lutheran churches, without +the intervention of the bishop. The rest of the Articles secured a +general amnesty, permission to the refugees to return, and to the +imprisoned members of the diet to obtain their freedom. + +This treaty was fair enough in its general provisions. If, as was +the case, a large number of the citizens were disposed to adopt +Lutheranism, no power on earth had any right to constrain them, and +they might justly claim the free exercise of their religion. But +there were suspicious clauses inserted in the 1st and 2nd Articles +which pointed to the renewal of animosity and the re-opening of the +whole question. + +This treaty was signed on the 14th February, 1533, by Philip of +Hesse, as mediator, Francis, Count of Waldeck, Prince and Bishop of +Münster, the members of chapter, the representatives of the nobles +of the principality, and the burgomasters and senators of Münster, +together with those of the towns of Coesfeld and Warendorf, in +their own name and in behalf of the other towns of the diocese. +The captive estates were liberated on the 18th February. How the +magistrates and town kept the other requirements of the treaty we +shall soon see. + +The senate having been constituted supreme authority in spiritual +things by the Lutheran party, now undertook the organisation of the +Evangelical Church in the city; and a few days after the treaty had +been signed, it published an "Evangelical Constitution," consisting +of ten articles, for the government of the new Church.[95] + + [95] Kerssenbroeck, p. 398 _et seq._ + +The 8th article had a threatening aspect. "The ministers of the +Divine Word shall use their utmost endeavours to gain souls to the +true faith, and to direct them in the ways of perfection. _As for +those who shall refuse to accept the pure doctrine_, and those who +shall blaspheme and be guilty of public crimes, the senate will +employ against them all the rigour of the laws, and the sword of +justice." + +Rottmann was appointed by the magistrates Superintendent of the +Lutheran Church in Münster, a function bearing a certain resemblance +to that of a bishop.[96] Then, thinking that a bishop should be the +husband of one wife at least, Rottmann married the widow of Johann +Vigers, late syndic of Münster. "She was a person of bad character," +says Kerssenbroeck, "whom Rottmann had inspired during her husband's +life with Evangelical principles and an adulterous love."[97] It is +asserted, with what truth it is impossible at this distance of time +to decide, that Vigers was drowned in his bath at Ems, in a fit, +and that his wife allowed him to perish without attempting to save +him. Anyhow, no sooner was he dead, than she returned full speed to +Münster and married her lover.[98] + + [96] _Ibid._ p. 402. + + [97] _Ibid._ p. 403. + + [98] _Ibid._ p. 404. + +The reformer and his adherents had been given their own way, and +the senate hoped they would rest satisfied, and that tranquillity +would be re-established in the city. But their hopes were doomed +to disappointment. Certain people, if given an inch, insist on +taking an ell; of these people Rottmann was one. Excited by him, +the Evangelicals of the town complained that the magistrates had +treated the Papists with too great leniency, that the clergy had +not been expelled and their goods confiscated according to the +original programme. It was decided tumultuously that the elections +must be anticipated; and on the 3rd March, the people deposed the +magistrates and elected in their room the leaders of the extreme +reforming party.[99] Knipperdolling was of their number; only four +of the former magistrates were allowed to retain office, and these +were men whom they could trust. Hermann Tilbeck and Kaspar Judenfeld +were named burgomasters; Heinrich Modersohn and Heinrich Redekker +were chosen provosts or tribunes of the people.[100] + + [99] Kerssenbroeck, p. 404. + + [100] _Ibid._ p. 405. + +Next to the senate came the turn of the parishes. On the 17th March, +under the direction of Rottmann, the people proceeded to appoint +the ministers to the churches in the town. Their choice was not +happy; it fell on those most unqualified to exercise a salutary +influence, and restrain the excitement of a mob already become +nearly ungovernable.[101] + + [101] _Ibid._ p. 406. + +The new senate endeavoured to strengthen the Evangelical cause +by uniting the other towns of the diocese in a common bond of +resistance. They invited these towns to send their deputies to meet +those of the capital at a little inn between Münster and Coesfeld, +on the 20th March. The assembly took place; but so far from the +other cities agreeing to support Münster, their deputies read those +of the capital a severe lecture, and refused to throw off their old +religion and their allegiance to the bishop.[102] + + [102] Kerssenbroeck, p. 407 _et seq._ + +On the 24th March, 1533, the burgomaster Tilbeck, accompanied by the +citizen Kerbink, went to Ueberwasser, summoned the abbess before +him, and ordered her to maintain at the expense of the abbey the +preachers lately appointed to the church in connection with the +convent. She was forced to submit.[103] + + [103] _Ibid._ p. 413. + +On the 27th of the same month one of the preachers invaded the +church of St. Ledger, still in the hands of the Catholics, at the +head of his congregation, broke open the tabernacle, drew out the +Host, broke it, and blowing the fragments into the air, screamed to +the assembled multitude, "Look at your good God flying away." + +The same day the treaty was violated towards the Franciscans. Some +of the senators ordered them to quit their convent, their habit, +and their order, unless they desired still more rigorous treatment, +"because the magistrates were resolved to make the Church flourish +again in her ancient purity, and because they wanted to convert the +convent into a school."[104] + + [104] _Ibid._ p. 413. + +The superior replied that he and his brethren followed strictly +the rule of their founder, and that this house belonged to them by +right of succession, and that they were no charge to the town. He +said that if a building was needed for an Evangelical school, he +was ready to surrender to the magistrates a portion of the convent +buildings; all he asked in return was that he and his brethren +should be allowed to live in tranquillity. This proposal saved the +Franciscans for a time. The Evangelical school was established +in their convent, "but at the end of a month it had fallen into +complete disorder, whereas the old Papist school had not lost one of +its pupils, and was as flourishing as ever."[105] + + [105] Kerssenbroeck, p. 415. + +Whilst the senators menaced the monasteries, Knipperdolling and his +friend Gerhardt Kibbenbroeck pillaged the church of S. Lambert. +Scarcely a day now passed without some fresh act of violence done to +the Catholics, or Vandalism perpetrated on the churches. + +On the 5th April the prior and monks of Bispinkhoff were forbidden +by the magistrates to hear confessions in their own church. The +same day the Lutherans broke the altar and images in the church of +Ueberwasser, and scraped the paintings off the walls. + +On Palm Sunday, April 6th,[106] at Ueberwasser, some of the nuns, +urged by the preachers in their church, cast off their vows, and +joining the people, chanted the 7th verse of the 124th Psalm +according to Luther's translation-- + + "Der Strich ist entzwei, + Und wir sind frei." + + [106] _Ibid._ p. 416. + +"The snare is broken, and we are delivered;" and then they received +Communion with the pastors. + +On the 7th the mob pillaged the church of the Servites, and defaced +it. Next day the Franciscans, who had made the wafers for the Holy +Sacrament for the churches in the diocese, were forbidden to make +them any more. On the 9th Knipperdolling, heading a party of the +reformed, broke into the cathedral during the celebration of the +Holy Eucharist, rushed up to the altar, and drove away the priest, +exclaiming, "Greedy fop, haven't you eaten enough good Gods yet?" +Two days later the magistrates ordered the chapter to surrender +into their hands their title deeds and sacred vessels. On the 14th, +Belkot, head of the city tribunal of Münster, entered the church of +S. Ledger, and carried off all its chalices, patens, and ciboriums, +whilst others who accompanied him destroyed the altars, paintings, +and statuary, and profaned the church in the most disgusting manner. +The unhappy Catholics, unable to resist, uttered loud lamentations, +and did not refrain from calling the perpetrators of the outrage +"robbers and sacrilegious," for which they were summoned before +the magistrates, and threatened with imprisonment unless they +apologised.[107] + + [107] Kerssenbroeck 417. + +As the news of the conversion of the city of Münster to the Gospel +spread, strangers came to it from all parts, to hear and to learn, +as they gave out, pure Evangelical truth. + +Amongst these adventurers was a man destined to play a terribly +prominent part in the great drama that was about to be enacted at +Münster. This was John Bockelson, a tailor, a native of Leyden, in +Holland. He had quitted his country and his wife secretly to hear +Rottmann. He entered Münster on the 25th July, and lodged with a +citizen named Hermann Ramers. Having been instructed in the Gospel +according to Luther, he went to preach in Osnabrück, but from thence +he was driven. He then returned to his own home. There he became an +Anabaptist, under the instruction of John Matthisson, who sent him +with Gerrit Buchbinder as apostles of the sect to Westphalia in the +month of November, 1533. + +The time had now arrived when the Lutheran party, which had so +tyrannically treated the Catholics in the city of Münster, was +itself to be despotically put down and trampled upon by a sect which +sprang from its own womb. + +Rottmann had for some while been wavering in his adhesion to +Lutheranism.[108] He doubted first, and then disbelieved in +the Real Presence, which Luther insisted upon. He thought that +the reformation of the Wittenberg doctor was not sufficiently +thoroughgoing in the matter of ceremonial; then he doubted the +scriptural authority for the baptism of infants. Two preachers, +Heinrich Rott and Herman Strapedius, fell in with his views. The +former had been a monk at Haarlem, but had become a Lutheran +preacher. He regarded the baptism of infants as one of those things +which are indifferent to salvation. Strapedius was more decided; +he preached against infant baptism as an abomination in the sight +of God. He was named by the people preacher at S. Lambert's, +the head church of the city, in spite of the opposition of the +authorities.[109] + + [108] Kerssenbroeck, p. 429 _et seq._; Sleidan, French tr. p. + 409; Bullinger, "Adv. Anabapt.," 116, ii. c. 8. + + [109] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 431, 432; Dorp., f. 322-3. + +The Lutheran senate of Münster, which a few months previously had +been elected enthusiastically by the people, now felt that before +these fiery preachers, drifting into Anabaptism, their power was +in as precarious a position as was that of those whom they had +supplanted. Alarmed at the rapid extension of the new forms of +disbelief, they twice forbade Rottmann to preach against the baptism +of infants and the Real Presence, and ordered him to conform in his +teaching to authorised Lutheran doctrine. He treated their orders +with contempt. Then they summoned him before them: he appeared, but +on leaving the Rath-haus, preached in the square to the people with +redoubled violence. + +The senate, at their wits' end, ordered a public discussion between +Rottmann and the orthodox Lutherans, represented by Hermann Busch. +The discussion took place before the city Rath, and the senate +decided that Busch had gained the day, and they therefore forbade +all innovation in the administration of baptism and the Lord's +Supper. + +Rottmann and his colleague disregarded the monition, and continued +their sermons against the rags of Popery which still disfigured +the Lutheran Church. Several of the ministers in the town, whether +from conviction or from interest, finding that their congregations +drained away to the churches where the stronger-spiced doctrine was +preached, joined the movement. It was simply a carrying of negation +beyond the pillars of Hercules planted by Luther. Luther had denied +of the sum total of Catholic dogmas, say ten, and had retained +ten. The Anabaptist denied two more, and retained only eight. On +the 10th August a tumultuous scene took place in the church of S. +Giles.[110] A Dutch preacher began declaiming against baptism of +children. Johann Windemoller, ex-senator, a vehement opponent of +Anabaptist disintegration of Lutheran doctrine, who was in the +congregation, rushed up the pulpit stairs, and pulled the preacher +down, exclaiming, "Scoundrel! how dare you take upon you the +office of preacher--you who, a few years ago, were thrust into the +iron-collar, and branded on the cheek for your crimes? Do you think +I do not know your antecedents? You talk of virtue, you gibbet-bird? +You who are guilty of so many crimes and impieties? Go along with +you, take your doctrine and your brand elsewhere." + + [110] Kerssenbroeck, p. 434. + +Windemoller was about to turn the pastor out of the church, when a +number of women, who had joined the Anabaptist party, fell, howling, +upon Windemoller, crying that he wanted to deprive them of the +saving Gospel and Word of Truth, and they would have strangled him +had he not beat a precipitate retreat. The same afternoon, some +citizens who brought their children to this church to be baptized +were driven from the doors with shouts of derision. + +The magistrates played a trump card, and ordered Rottmann to +leave the town, together with the ministers who followed his +teaching.[111] Bernard Rottmann replied much in the same strain as +he had answered the bishop, stating that his doctrine was strictly +conformable to the pure word of God, and that he demanded a public +discussion, in which his doctrines might be tested by Scripture +alone, without human additions. Finally he protested that he would +not abstain from preaching, nor desert his flock, whether the senate +persisted in its sentence or not. Five ministers signed this defiant +letter--Rottmann, Johann Clopris, Heinrich Roll, Gottfried Strahl, +and Denis Vinnius. These men at once hastened to collect the heads +of the corporations and provosts together, and urge them to take +their part against the Rath. They were quite prepared to do so, and +the magistrates yielded on condition that Bernard and his following +of preachers should abstain from speaking on the disputed questions +of infant baptism and the Eucharist. Rottmann consented, in his +own name and in that of his friends, in a paper dated October 3rd, +1533.[112] The senate was, however, well aware that its power was +tottering to its fall, and that the preachers had not the remotest +intention of fulfilling their engagement. They saw that these men +were gradually absorbing into themselves the supreme authority in +the city, and that a magistracy which opposed them could at any +moment be by them dismissed their office. In alarm they wrote to +the prince-bishop, and sent him messengers to lay before him the +precarious condition of the affairs in the capital, imploring him +to consider the imminence of the peril, and to send them learned +theologians who could combat the spread of erroneous doctrine, and +introduce those conformable to the pure word of God.[113] + + [111] _Ibid._ p. 436. + + [112] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 437-9. + + [113] _Ibid._ p. 441. + +It was a singular state of affairs indeed. The magistrates had +appealed to the pure word of God, as understood by Luther, against +Catholicism, and now the Anabaptists appealed to the same oracle, +with equal confidence against Lutheranism; the two parties leaned on +the same support--who was to decide which party Scripture upheld? + +The answer of Francis of Waldeck was such as might have been +expected from a man endowed with some common sense. He reminded the +magistrates that it was their own fault if things had come to such +a pass; he feared that now the evil had gained the upper hand, and +that gentleness was out of place; a decided face could alone secure +to the magistrates moral authority. He was ready to support them +if they would maintain their allegiance for the future. He would +send them a learned theologian, Dr. Heinrich Mumpert, prior of the +Franciscans of Bispinkhoff, to preach against error in the cathedral. + +The senate was in a dilemma. They had no wish to return to +Catholicism, and they dreaded the progress of schism. They stood on +an inclined plane. Above was the rock of an infallible authority; +below, faith shelved into an abyss of negation they shrank from +fathoming. If they looked back, they saw Catholicism; if they +looked forward, they beheld the dissolution of all positive belief. +Like all timorous men they shrank from either alternative, and +attempted for a little longer to maintain their slippery position. +They declined the offer of the Catholic doctor, and turned to the +Landgrave Philip of Hesse for assistance. The Landgrave at once +acceded to the request of the magistrates, and sent them Theodore +Fabricius and Johann Melsinger, guaranteeing to their senate their +orthodoxy.[114] + + [114] Kerssenbroeck, p. 443; Sleidan, p. 410; Dorpius, f. 393 b. + +While these preachers were on their way, disorder increased in +Münster. The faction of Rottmann grew apace, and spread into the +Convent of Ueberwasser, where the nuns were daily compelled to +hear the harangues of two zealous Evangelical pastors, who exerted +themselves strenuously to demolish the faith of the sisters down +to the point fixed as the limit of negation by Luther. But these +pastors having become infected with Rottmann's views, continued the +work of destruction, and lowered the temple of faith two additional +stages. + +The result of these sermons on the excitable nuns was that the +majority broke out into revolt, and refused to observe abstinence +and practise self-mortification; and proclaimed their intention +of returning to the world and marrying. The bishop wrote to them, +imploring them to consider that they were all of them members of +noble families, and that they must be careful in no way to dishonour +their families by scandalous behaviour. The mutineers seemed +disposed to yield, but we shall presently see that their submission +was only temporary.[115] + + [115] Kerssenbroeck, p. 443. + +On the 15th October, the senate wrote to the bishop, and informed +him that they would not permit the prior Mumpert to preach in the +cathedral.[116] They acknowledged that according to the treaty +of Telgte, the city had consented to allow the Catholics the +use of the cathedral, "until such time as the Lord shall dispose +otherwise," but, they said, at the time of the conclusion of the +treaty, there was no preacher at the minster; which was true, for +the Catholic clergy had been forbidden the use of the pulpit; and +they declared that "in all good conscience, they could not permit +the institution of one whose doctrine and manner of life were not +conformable to the gospel." + + [116] _Ibid._ p. 444. + +Francis of Waldeck, without paying attention to this refusal, +ordered Mumpert to preach and celebrate the Eucharist in the +cathedral church, on Sunday, 26th October, 1533. The prior obeyed. +The fury of the Evangelicals was without limits; and in a second +letter, more insolent than the first, the magistrates told the +bishop that "they would not suffer a fanatical friar to come and +teach error to the people." The bishop's sole reply was a command to +the prior to continue his course. + +At this moment the learned divines sent by Philip of Hesse arrived +in the city, and hearing of the sermons in the minster, to which the +people flocked, and which were likely to produce a counter current +in a Catholic direction, they insisted, as a preliminary to their +mission, that the mouth of the Catholic preacher should be stopped. +"We pray you," said they to the magistrates, "to forbid this man +permission to reside in the town, lest our pure doctrine be choked +by his abominable sermons. An authority claiming to be Christian +should not tolerate such a scandal." + +The senate hastened to satisfy the Hessian theologians, by not +merely ordering the Catholic preacher to leave the city, but by +outlawing him, so that he was obliged in haste to fly a place +where his life might be taken by any unscrupulous persons with +impunity.[117] + + [117] Kerssenbroeck, p. 444 _et seq._ + +Francis of Waldeck, justly irritated, wrote to Philip of Hesse, +remonstrating at the interference of his commissioners in the +affairs of another man's principality.[118] The Landgrave replied +that, so far from deserving reproach, he merited thanks for +having sent to Münster two divines of the first class, who would +preach there the pure Word of God, and would strangle the monster +of Anabaptism. With the outlawry of the Catholic preacher, the +struggle between Catholicism and Lutheranism closed; the struggle +for the future was to be between Lutheranism and Anabaptism; a +struggle desperate on the part of the Lutherans, for what basis +had they for operation? The Catholics had an intrenched position +in the authority of a Church, which they claimed to be invested +with divine inerrancy, by commission from Christ; but the Lutheran +and Anabaptist fought over the pages of the Bible, each claiming +Scripture as on his side. It was a war within a camp, to decide +which should pitch the other outside the rampart of the letter. + + [118] _Ibid._ p. 457 _et seq._ + +Fabricius and Melsinger fought for Infant Baptism and the Real +Presence, Rottmann and Strapedius against both. "Do you call this +the body and blood of Christ?" exclaimed Master Bernard one day, +whilst he was distributing the Sacrament; and flinging it on the +ground, he continued, "Were it so, it would get up from the ground +and mount the altar of itself without my help. Know by this that +neither the body nor blood of Christ are here."[119] + + [119] Dorpius, f. 394. + +Peter Wyrthemius, a Lutheran preacher, was interrupted, when he +attempted to preach, by the shouts and jeers of the Anabaptists, and +was at last driven from his pulpit. + +Rottmann kept his promise not to preach Anabaptist doctrine in +the pulpit, but he printed and circulated a number of tracts and +pamphlets, and held meetings in private houses for the purpose of +disseminating his views.[120] His reputation increased rapidly, and +extended afar. Disciples came from Holland, Brabant, and Friesland, +to place themselves under his direction; women even confided to him +the custody of their children. + + [120] Kerssenbroeck, p. 448. + +The most lively anxiety inspired the senate to make another attempt +to regain their supremacy in the direction of affairs. + +On the 3rd or 4th November, the heads of the guilds and the provosts +and patricians of the city were assembled to deliberate, and it +was resolved that Rottmann and his colleagues should be expelled +the town and the diocese; and to remove from them the excuse that +they feared arrest when they quitted the walls of Münster, the +magistrates obtained for them a safe-conduct, signed by the bishop +and the upper chapter.[121] + + [121] _Ibid._ p. 449. + +Next day, the magistrates and chief citizens reassembled in the +market square, and voted that "not only should the Anabaptist +preachers be exiled, but also those of the magistrates who had +supported them; and that this sentence should receive immediate +execution."[122] + + [122] Kerssenbroeck, p. 450 _et seq._ + +This was too sweeping a measure to pass without provoking +resistance. The burgomaster, Tilbeck, who felt that the blow was +aimed at himself, exclaimed, angrily: "Is this the reward I receive +for having prudently governed the republic? But we will not suffer +the innocent to be oppressed, and we shall treat you in such a +manner as will calm your insolence." + +These words gave the signal for an open rupture. + +Knipperdolling and Hermann Krampe, both members of the senate, drew +their swords and ranged themselves beside the burgomaster, calling +the people to arms. The mob at once rushed upon the senators. The +servants of the chapter and the clergy in the cathedral close, +hastened carrying arms to the assistance of the magistrates. Both +parties sought a place of defence, each anticipating an attack. +The Lutherans occupied the Rath-haus and barricaded the doors. The +Anabaptists retired behind the strong walls of the cemetery of St. +Lambert. The night was spent by both parties under arms, and a fight +appeared imminent on the morrow. Then the syndic Johann von Wyck +persuaded the frightened senate to moderate their sentence, and +hurrying to the Anabaptists, he urged them to be reconciled to the +magistrates. An agreement was finally concluded, whereby Rottmann +was forbidden for the future to preach, and every one was to be +allowed to believe what he liked, and to disbelieve what he chose. + +Master Bernard, however, evaded his obligation by holding meetings +in private houses at night, to which his followers were summoned by +the discharge of a gun.[123] Considering that it was now necessary +that his adherents should have their articles of belief, or rather +of disbelief, as a bond of union and of distinction between +themselves and the Lutherans, he drew up a profession of faith in +nineteen articles. That which he had published nine months before +was antiquated, and represented the creed of the Lutheran faction, +against which he was now at variance. + + [123] Kerssenbroeck, p. 453 _et seq._ + +This second creed contained the following propositions:-- + +The baptism of children is abominable before God. + +The habitual ceremonies used at baptism are the work of the devil +and of the Pope, who is Antichrist. + +The consecrated Host is the great Baal. + +A Christian (that is, a member of Rottmann's sect) does not set foot +in the religious assemblies of the impious (_i.e._, of the Catholics +and Lutherans). + +He holds no communication and has no relations with them; he is not +bound to obey their authorities; he has nothing in common with their +tribunals; nor does he unite with them in marriage. + +The Sabbath was instituted by the Lord God, and there is no +scriptural warrant for transferring the obligation to the Sunday. + +Papists and Lutherans are to be regarded as equally infamous, and +those who give faith to the inventions of priests are veritable +pagans. + +During fourteen centuries there have been no true Christians. Christ +was the last priest; the apostles did not enjoy the priestly office. + +Jesus Christ did not derive His human nature from Mary.[124] + + [124] This is corroborated by the Acta, Handlungen, &c., fol. + 385. "_The Preachers_: Do you believe that Christ received His + flesh off the flesh of Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost? + _John of Leyden_: No; such is not the teaching of Scripture." And + he explained that if the flesh had been taken from Mary, it must + have been sinful, for she was not immaculate. + +Every marriage concluded before re-baptism is invalid. + +Faith in Christ must precede baptism. + +Wives shall call their husbands lords. + +Usury is forbidden. + +The faithful shall possess all things in common. + +The publication of this formulary of faith, if such it may be +called, which is a string of negative propositions, increased the +alarm of the more sober citizens, who, feeling the insecurity of +property and life under a powerless magistracy, prepared to leave +the town. Many fled and left their Lutheranism behind them. Lening, +one of the preachers sent by the Landgrave of Hesse, ran away. + +Fabricius had more courage. He preached energetically against +Rottmann, assisted by Dr. Johann Westermann, a Lutheran theologian +of Lippe.[125] + + [125] Kerssenbroeck, p. 456; Sleidan, p. 411. + +According to Kerssenbroeck, however, half the town followed by the +Anabaptist leader, and brought their goods and money to lay them at +his feet. Those who had nothing of their own, in a body joined the +society which proclaimed community of goods. + +The bishop again wrote to the magistrates, urging them to permit +the Catholic preacher, Mumpert, the use of the cathedral pulpit, +but the senate refused, and continued their vain efforts to build +their theological system on a slide. At their request, Fabricius +and Westermann drew up (November 28, 1533) a symbol of belief in +opposition to that formulated by Rottmann, and it was read and +adopted by the Lutherans in the Church of St. Lambert. A large +number of the people gave in their adhesion to this last and newest +creed, and the magistrates, emboldened thereby, made a descent upon +the house of the ex-superintendent, and confiscated his private +press, with which he had printed his tracts.[126] + + [126] _Ibid._ p. 456. + +It was then that the two apostles, Buchbinder and Bockelson, sent +by Matthisson into Westphalia, appeared in the city. They remained +there only four days, during which they re-baptised the preachers +and several of their adepts, and then retired prophesying their +speedy return and the advent of the reign of grace. + +Rottmann, highly exasperated against Fabricius for having drawn up +his counter-creed, went on the 30th November to the churchyard of +St. Lambert, and standing in an elevated situation, preached to the +people on his own new creed, whilst Fabricius was discoursing within +to his congregation on his own profession of faith. + +When service was over Fabricius came out, and was immediately +attacked by Rottmann with injurious expressions, which, however, so +exasperated the congregation of the Lutheran, that they fell upon +the late superintendent of the Evangelical Church, and threatened +him with their sticks and fists. + +On the 1st December, Fabricius complained in the pulpit of the +insult he had received, and appealed to the people to judge between +his doctrine and that of Master Bernard by the difference there was +between their respective behaviour.[127] + + [127] Kerssenbroeck, p. 461. + +A new Anabaptist orator now appeared on the stage; he was a +blacksmith's apprentice, named Johann Schroeder. On the 8th December +he occupied the position in the cemetery of St. Lambert from which +Rottmann had been forced to fly, and defied the Lutherans to +oppose him with the pure Word of God. He denounced them as still +in darkness, as wrapped in the trappings of Popery, and as enemies +to the Gospel of Christ and Evangelical liberty. Then he dared +Fabricius to meet him in a public discussion, and prove his doctrine +by the text of Scripture.[128] + + [128] _Ibid._ p. 461. + +The magistrates resolved on one more attempt to arrest the disorder. +On the 11th November they informed Rottmann that, unless he +immediately left the city, they would decree his outlawry. Rottmann +sent a message to them in reply, "That he would not go; that he was +not afraid; and that exile was to him an empty word, for, wherever +he was, the heavenly Father would cover him with His wings." He took +no further notice of the order, except only that he instituted a +bodyguard of armed citizens to accompany him wherever he went. On +the Sunday following, December 14th, he betook himself, surrounded +by his guard, to the church of the Servites, where he intended to +preach. But finding the doors locked, he placed himself under a +lime-tree near the building and pronounced his discourse, without +any one venturing to lay a hand upon him.[129] + + [129] Kerssenbroeck, p. 163; Dorpius, f. 394 a. + +The magistrates were equally unsuccessful in silencing the +blacksmith Schroeder. This man, having preached again on the 15th +December, was taken by the police and thrown into prison. Next day +the members of the Blacksmiths' Guild marched to the Rath-haus, +armed with their hammers and with bars of iron, to demand the +release of their comrade. A violent dispute arose between the +senators and the exasperated artisans. The former declared that +Schroeder, whose trade was to shoe horses and not to preach, had +deserved death for having incited to sedition. The reply of the +blacksmiths was very similar to that made by the senate to the +bishop when he ordered the expulsion of Rottmann. "Schroeder," said +they, "has been urged on by love of truth, and he has preached with +so much zeal that he has made himself hoarse. He has been guilty +neither of murder nor of any crime worthy of death. How dare you +maltreat this one who has given edifying instruction to his fellow +citizens? Must nothing be done without your authorisation?" Upon the +heels of the arguments came menaces. The senate yielded again, and +promised to release Schroeder on the morrow. + +"Not to-morrow," shouted the blacksmiths; "restore our comrade to us +immediately, or we will burst open the prison doors." + +The magistrates bowed to the storm, taking, however, the worse than +useless precaution of making Schroeder swear, before they knocked +off his chains, that he would not attempt to revenge on them his +captivity.[130] + + [130] Kerssenbroeck, p. 464. + +On the 21st December, Rottmann resumed the use of his pulpit in +the church of the Servites, treating the orders of the senate with +supreme contempt. Westermann, tired of a struggle with the swelling +tide, deserted Münster, leaving Fabricius alone to fight against the +growing power of the Anabaptists. + +The year 1534 opened under gloomy auspices at Münster. In the first +few days of January, the new sect dealt the Lutherans the same +measure these latter had dealt the Catholics a twelvemonth before. +They invaded their churches and disturbed divine worship. + +Fabricius attacked Rottmann violently in a sermon preached on the +4th January, and offered to have a public discussion with him on the +moot points of doctrine. The senate accepted the proposition with +transport, but Rottmann refused. "Not," said he, "that I am afraid +of entering the lists against this Lutheran, but that men are so +corrupt that they would certainly condemn that side which had for +its support right and the word of Scripture."[131] + + [131] _Ibid._ pp. 466, 467. + +On the same day that Rottmann sent in his refusal, a band of women +tumultuously entered the town-hall and demanded that "the miserable +foreign vagabond Fabricius, who could not even speak the dialect +of the country, and who, inspired by an evil spirit, preaches all +kinds of absurdities in a tongue scarcely intelligible, should be +driven out of the city. Set in his place the worthy Rottmann," said +the women; "he is prudent, eloquent, instructed in every kind of +knowledge, and he can speak our language. Grant us this favour, +Herrn Burgmeistern, and we will pray God for you." The burgomasters +requested the ladies not to meddle with matters that concerned them +not, but to return to their families and kitchens. This invitation +drove them into a paroxysm of rage, and they shouted at the top +of their shrill voices: "Here are fine burgomasters! They are +neglecting the interests of the town! Here are tender fathers of +their country who attend to nothing! You are worse than murderers, +for _they_ kill the body, but _you_ assassinate souls by depriving +them of the Evangelical Word which is their nourishment." The women +then retired, but returned next day reinforced by others, and among +them were six nuns who had deserted the convent of Ueberwasser and +exhibited greater violence than the rest. + +The women entered the hall where the senators were sitting and +demanded peremptorily that Rottmann should be instituted to the +church of St. Lambert. They were turned out of the hall without much +ceremony, but they waited the exit of the magistrates when their +session was at an end; then they bespattered them with cow and horse +dung, and cursed them as Papists. "At first you favoured our holy +enterprise, but you have returned to Popery like dogs to their +vomit. Since you have devoured the good Hessian God which Fabricius +offers you in communion, you oppress the pure Word of God. To the +gallows, to the gallows with you all!" The senators fled to their +houses, pursued by the women, covered with filth, and deafened by +their yells.[132] + + [132] Kerssenbroeck, p. 468. + +Rottmann and his colleagues exercised an extraordinary influence +over the people; they persuaded the rich ladies and citizens' wives +of substance to sell their goods, give up their jewels, and cast +everything they had into a common fund. The prompt submission of so +many proves that the number of fanatics who were sincere in their +convictions was considerable. These proceedings led to estrangement +in families. Kerssenbroeck relates that the wife of one of the +senators, named Wardemann, having been rebaptised by Rottmann, "was +so vigorously confirmed in her faith by her husband, who had been +informed by a servant maid of the circumstance, that she could +not walk for several weeks." Other women, who had given up their +jewels and money to Rottmann, were also severely chastised by their +husbands.[133] + + [133] _Ibid._ p. 472. + +The magistrates, afraid to touch Rottmann's person, hoped to +weaken him by dismissing his assistants. They therefore, on the +15th January, 1534, ordered their officers to take the Anabaptist +preachers, Clopris, Roll, and Strahl, and to turn them out of +the town, with orders never to re-enter it. The mandate was +executed; but the ministers returned by another gate, and were +conducted in triumph to their parsonages by the whole body of the +Anabaptists.[134] + + [134] Kerssenbroeck, p. 473. + +The fugitive nuns of Ueberwasser, to the number of eight, were +re-baptised by Rottmann on the 11th January, and became some +of his most devoted adherents. Their conduct in the sequel was +characterised by the most shameless lubricity. + +The prince-bishop at this time published a decree against the +Anabaptists, outlawed Rottmann and five other preachers of that sect +in Münster, and ordered his officers to check the spread of the +schism through the other towns of his principality. + +On the 23rd January, Rottmann having noticed some Catholics and +Lutherans amongst his audience in the church of the Servites, +abruptly stopped his sermon, saying that it was not meet to cast the +pearls of the new revelation before swine.[135] Then he descended +from the pulpit, and refused to remount it again. But probably +the real cause of this sudden cessation was, that the views of +the leader were undergoing a third change, and he was unwilling +to announce his new doctrine to an audience of which all were not +prepared to receive it. He continued to assemble the faithful in +private houses, and to hold daily assemblies, in which they were +initiated into the further mysteries of his revelation. In every +parish a house was provided for the purpose, and none were admitted +without a pass-word. In these gatherings the mystic was able to +give full development to his views without the restraint of an only +partially sympathising audience. + + [135] _Ibid._ p. 476. + +On the evening of the 28th January, at seven o'clock, the +Anabaptists stretched chains across the streets, assembled in +armed bands, closed the city gates, and placed sentinels in all +directions. A terrible anxiety reigned in the city. The Lutherans +remained up and awake all night, a prey to fear, with their doors +and windows barricaded, waiting to see what these preparations +signified. The night passed, broken only by the tramp of the +sectarian fanatics, and lighted by the glare of their torches. + +Dawn broke and nothing further had taken place, when suddenly two +men, dressed like prophets, with long ragged beards, ample garments, +and flowing mantles, staff in hand paced through the town solemnly, +up one street and down another, raising their eyes to heaven, +sighing, and then looking down with an expression of compassion on +the multitude, which bowed before them and saluted them as Enoch and +Elias. After having traversed the greater part of the town, the two +men entered the door of Knipperdolling's house.[136] + + [136] Kerssenbroeck, p. 476. + +The names of these prophets were John Matthisson and John Bockelson. +The first was the chief of the Anabaptist sect in Holland. The +part which the second was destined to play in Münster demands +that his antecedents should be more fully given. Bockelson was +the bastard son of Bockel, bailiff of the Hague, and a certain +Adelhaid, daughter of a serf of the Lord of Zoelcken, in the diocese +of Münster. This Adelhaid purchased her liberty afterwards and +married her seducer. John was brought up at Leyden, where he was +apprenticed to a tailor. He visited England, Portugal, and Lubeck, +and returned to Leyden in his twenty-first year. He then married the +widow of a boatman, who presented him with two sons. John Bockelson +was endowed by nature with a ready wit and with a retentive memory. +He amused himself by learning nearly the whole of the Bible by +heart, and by composing obscene verses and plays. In addition to his +business of tailoring, he opened a public-house under the sign of +"The Three Herrings," which became a haunt of women of bad repute. +The passion for change came over Bockelson after leading this sort +of life for a while, and he visited Münster in 1533, as we have +already seen, and thence passed to Osnabrück, from which place +he was expelled. After wandering about Westphalia for a while he +returned to Leyden. Next year, in company with Matthisson, the head +of the Anabaptists, he visited Münster, which the latter declared +prophetically was destined to be the new Jerusalem, the capital of a +regenerate world, where the millennial kingdom was to be set up.[137] + + [137] Kerssenbroeck, part ii. p. 51 _et seq._; Heresbach, p. 31; + Hast, p. 324. + +The two adventurers reached their destination on the 13th January, +and Knipperdolling received them into his house. Some of the +preachers were informed of their arrival, but were required to keep +the matter secret till the time ordained of God should come for +their revealing themselves to the world. + +A council was being held in the house of Knipperdolling, when the +prophets entered it after having finished their peregrination of +the town. Rottmann, Roll, Clopris, Strapedius, Vinnius, and Strahl +were engaged in a warm discussion. Some of the party were of opinion +that the moment had arrived, now that all the Anabaptists were under +arms, for a general purification of the city by the massacre or +expulsion of Catholics and Lutherans; the others thought that the +hour of vengeance had not yet struck, and that the day of the Lord +must not be antedated. The quarrel was appeased by the appearance of +the two prophets, who were hailed as messengers sent from heaven to +announce the will of God. Then Matthisson and his companion knelt +down and wept, and having meditated some moments, they uttered +their decision in voices broken by sobs. "The time for cleansing +the threshing-floor of the Lord is not yet come. The slaughter of +the ungodly must be delayed, that souls may be gathered in, and +that souls may be formed and educated in houses set apart, and not +in churches which were lately filled with idols. But," said they in +conclusion, "the day of the Lord is at hand." + +These words reconciled the council. On the evening of the 29th, the +Anabaptists laid aside their arms and returned to their homes.[138] +The events of the night had utterly dispelled the last traces of +courage in the magistrates; they did not venture to notice the +threatening aspect of the armed fanatics, or to remonstrate with +them for barricading the streets. To avert all possible danger from +themselves was their only object; and to effect this they published +an act of toleration, permitting every man to worship God and +perform his public and private devotions as he thought proper. + + [138] Kerssenbroeck, part i. p. 477 _et seq._ + +The power of Rottmann had become so great, through the events +just recorded, that a false prophecy did not serve to upset his +authority. On the 6th February, at the head of a troop of his +admirers, he invaded the Church of Ueberwasser, "to prevent the +Evangelical flame kindled in the hearts of the nuns from dying +out."[139] Having summoned all the sisters into the church, he +mounted the pulpit and preached to them a sermon on matrimony, in +which he denounced convents and monasteries, in which the most +imperious laws of nature were left unfulfilled, and "he urged the +nuns to labour heartily for the propagation of the human race;" +and then he completely turned the heads of the young women, by +announcing to them with an inspired air, that their convent would +fall at midnight, and would bury beneath its ruins every one who was +found within its walls. "This salutary announcement has been made to +me," said he, "by one of the prophets now present in this town, and +the Heavenly Father has also favoured me with a direct and special +revelation to the same effect."[140] + + [139] Kerssenbroeck, p. 479. + + [140] Hast, p. 329 _et seq._ + +This was enough to complete the conversion of the nuns, already +shaken in their faith by the sermons they had been compelled to +listen to for some time past. In vain did the Abbess Ida and two +other sisters implore them to remain and despise the prophecy. +The infatuated women, in paroxysms of fear and excitement, fled +the convent and took refuge in the house of Rottmann, where they +changed their clothes, and then ran about the town uttering cries of +joy. + +The prophecy of Rottmann had been repeated by one to another +throughout Münster. No one slept that night. Crowds poured down the +streets in the direction of Ueberwasser, and the square in front of +the convent was densely packed with breathless spectators, awaiting +the ruin of the house. + +Midnight tolled from the cathedral tower. The crowd waited another +hour. It struck one, and the convent had not fallen. Master +Bernard was not the man to be disconcerted by so small a matter. +"Prophecies," cried he, "are always conditional. Jonah foretold that +Nineveh should be destroyed in forty days, but since the inhabitants +repented, it remained standing. The same has taken place here. +Nearly all the nuns have repented, have quitted their cloister +and their habit, have renounced their vows--thus the anger of the +Heavenly Father has been allayed."[141] + + [141] Kerssenbroeck, p. 479. + +The preacher Roll was next seized with prophetic inspiration. He ran +through the town, foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling, his hair +and garments in disorder, his face haggard, uttering at one moment +inarticulate howls, and at another, exhortations to the impenitent +to turn and be saved, for that the day of the Lord was at hand.[142] + + [142] Dorpius, p. 394. + +A young girl of eighteen, the daughter of a tailor named Gregory +Zumberge, was next seized. "On the 8th February she was possessed +with a sort of oratorical fury, and she preached with fire and +extraordinary volubility before an astonished crowd." + +The same day the spirit fell on Knipperdolling and Bockelson; they +ran about the streets with bare heads and uplifted eyes, repeating +incessantly in shrill tones, "Repent, repent, repent, ye sinners; +woe, woe!" Having reached the market-place, they fell into one +another's arms before a crowd of citizens and artizans who ran +up from all directions. At the same moment, the tailor, Gregory +Zumberge, father of the preaching damsel, arrived with his hair +flying, his arms extended, his face contorted, and a wild light +playing in his eyes, and cried, "Lift up your heads, O men, O dear +brothers! I see the majesty of God in the clouds, and Jesus waving +the standard of victory. Woe to ye impious ones who have resisted +the truth! Repent, repent! I see the Heavenly Father surrounded by +thousands of angels menacing you with destruction! Be converted! the +great and terrible day of the Lord is come.... God will truly purge +His floor, and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.... Renounce +your evil ways and adopt the sign of the New Convenant, if you wish +to escape the wrath of the Lord." + +"It is impossible," says the oft-quoted writer, who was eye-witness +in the town of all he describes, "impossible to imagine the +gestures and antics which accompanied this discourse. Now the +tailor leaped about on the stones and seemed as though about to +fly; then he turned his head with extraordinary rapidity, beating +his hands together, and looking up to heaven and then down to +earth. Then, all at once, an expression of despair came over his +face, and he fell on the pavement in the form of a cross, and +rolled in the mud. A good number of us young fellows were there," +continues Kerssenbroeck, "much astonished at their howling, and +looking attentively at the sky to see if there really was anything +extraordinary to be seen there; but not distinguishing anything we +began to make fun of the illuminati, and this decided them to retire +to the house of Knipperdolling."[143] + + [143] Kerssenbroeck, p. 483. + +There a new scene commenced. The ecstatics left doors and windows +wide open, that all that passed within might be seen and heard by +the dense crowd which packed the street without. Those in the street +saw Knipperdolling place himself in a corner, his face to the wall, +and carry on in broken accents a familiar conversation with God +the Father. At one moment he was seen to be listening, then to be +replying, making the strangest gestures. This went on for some time, +till another actor appeared. This was a blind Scottish beggar, very +tall and gaunt--a zealous Anabaptist. He was fantastically dressed +in rags, and wore high-heeled boots to add to his stature. Although +blind, he ran about exclaiming that he saw strange visions in the +sky. This was enough to attract a crowd, which followed him to the +corner of the König's Strasse, when, just as he was exclaiming, +"Alas, alas! Heaven is going this instant to fall!" he tumbled over +a dung-heap which was in his way. This accident woke him from his +ecstasy, and he picked himself up in great confusion, and never +prophesied again.[144] + + [144] _Ibid._ p. 479. + +But his place was speedily supplied by another man named Jodocus +Culenburg, who, in order to convey himself with greater rapidity +whither the Spirit called him, rode about the town on a horse, +announcing in every street that he heard the peal of the Last +Trumpet. Several women also were taken with the prophetic spirit, +and one, named Timmermann, declared that "the King of Heaven was +about to appear like a lightning-flash, and would re-establish +Jerusalem." Another woman, whose cries and calls to repentance had +caused her to lose her voice, ran about with a bell attached to her +girdle, urging the bystanders with expressive gestures to join the +number of the elect and be saved.[145] + + [145] Kerssenbroeck, p. 484. + +These fantastic scenes had made a profound impression on many of +the citizens of Münster. A nervous affection accompanying mystic +excitement is always infectious. The agitation of minds and +consciences became general; men and women had trances, prayed in +public, screamed, had visions, and fell into cataleptic fits. In +those days people knew nothing of physical and psychological causes; +the general excitement was attributed by them to supernatural +agency. It was simply a question whether these signs were produced +by the devil or by the Spirit of God. The Catholics attributed +the signs to the agency of Satan; the Lutherans were in nervous +uncertainty. Were they resisting God or the devil? Fear lest they +should be found in the ranks of those fighting against the Holy +Spirit drew off numbers of the timorous and most conscientious to +swell the ranks of the mystical sect. Münster was exhibiting on a +large scale what is reproduced in our own land in many a Wesleyan +and Ranter revival meeting. + +The time had now come, thought Rottmann, for the destruction +of the enemies of God. Secret notice was sent to the different +Anabaptist congregations to be prepared to strike the blow on the +9th of February. Accordingly, early in the morning, 500 fanatics +seized on the gates of the city, the Rath-haus, and the arms it +contained; cannons were planted in the chapel of St. Michael, the +tower of St. Lambert's church, and in the market place; barricades +of stones, barrels, and benches from the church were thrown up. The +common danger united Catholics and Lutherans; they saw clearly that +the intention of their adversaries was either to massacre them, +or to drive them out of the town. They retreated in haste to the +Ueberwasser quarter, and took up their position in the cemetery, +planted cannons, placed bodies of armed men in the tower of the +cathedral, and retook two of the city gates. They also arrested +several of the senators who had joined the Anabaptist sect, but they +had not the courage to lay their hands on the burgomaster, Tilbeck, +who was also of that party. Two of the preachers, Strahl and +Vinnius, were caught, and were lodged in the tower of Ueberwasser +church.[146] + + [146] Dorpius, f. 394. + +Messages were sent to the villages and towns around announcing the +state of affairs, and imploring assistance. The magistrates even +wrote in the stress of their terror to the prince-bishop, asking him +to come speedily to their rescue from a position of imminent peril. +Francis of Waldeck at once replied by letter, promising to march +with the utmost rapidity to Münster, and demanding that one of the +gates might be opened to admit him. This letter was taken to Hermann +Tilbeck; but the burgomaster, intent on securing the triumph of the +fanatics, with whom he was in league, suppressed the letter, and did +not mention either its arrival or its contents to the senate. He, +however, informed the Anabaptists of their danger, and urged them to +come to terms with the Lutherans as speedily as possible. + +At the same time the pastor, Fabricius, unable to restrain his +religious prejudices, even in the face of danger, sped among the +Lutheran ranks, inciting his followers against the Catholics, and +urging them to make terms with the fanatics rather than submit to +the bishop. "Beware," said he, "lest, in the event of your gaining a +victory, the Papists should recover their power, for it is they who +are the real cause of all these evils and disorders."[147] + + [147] Kerssenbroeck, p. 405 _et seq._ Montfort., "Tumult. + Anabap.," p. 15 _et seq._; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 8. + +Whilst the preacher was sowing discord in the ranks of the party +of order, Rottmann and the two prophets, Matthisson and Bockelson, +roused the enthusiasm of their disciples to the highest pitch, +by announcing to them a glorious victory, and that the Father +would render His elect invulnerable before the weapons of their +adversaries. + +The Anabaptist women ran about the streets making the most +extraordinary contortions and prodigious leaps, crying out that they +saw the Lord surrounded by a host of angels coming to exterminate +the worshippers of Baal. + +Thus passed the night. At daybreak Knipperdolling recommenced his +course through the streets, uttering his doleful wail of "Repent, +repent! woe, woe!" Approaching too near the churchyard wall of +Ueberwasser, he was taken and thrown into the tower with Strahl and +Vinnius. + +At eight o'clock the drossar of Wollbeck arrived at the head of a +troop of armed peasants to reinforce the party of order, and several +ecclesiastics entered the town to inform the magistrates that the +prince-bishop was approaching at the head of his cavalry. + +Before the lapse of many hours the city might have been pacified and +order re-established, had it not been for the efforts of Tilbeck the +burgomaster, and Fabricius the divine. Mistrust of their allies had +now fully gained possession of the Lutherans, and the burgomaster +took advantage of the hesitation to dismiss the drossar of Wollbeck +and his armed band, and to send to the prince, declining his aid. By +his advice, also, the Anabaptists agreed to lay down their arms and +make a covenant with the senate for the establishment of harmony. +Hostages were given on either side and the prisoners were liberated. +Peace was finally concluded on these conditions: 1st. That faith +should be absolutely free. 2nd. That each party should support the +other. 3rd. That all should obey the magistrates. + +The treaty having been signed, the two armed bodies separated, the +cannons were fired into the air, the drossar of Wollbeck and the +ecclesiastics withdrew, with grief at their hearts, predicting the +approaching ruin of Münster. The prince-bishop was near the town +with his troops when the fatal news was brought him. He shed tears +of mortification, turned his horse and departed.[148] + + [148] Same authorities; Sleidan, p. 411. + +Peace was secured for the moment by this treaty, but order was +not re-established. No sooner had the armed Anabaptists quitted +the market-place than it swarmed with women who had received +from Rottmann the sign of the New Covenant. "The madness of +the pagan bacchantes," says the eye-witness of these scenes, +Kerssenbroeck,[149] "cannot have surpassed that of these women. +It is impossible to imagine a more terrible, crazy, indecent, and +ridiculous exhibition than they made. Their conduct was so frenzied +that one might have supposed them to be the furies of the poets. +Some had their hair disordered, others ran about almost naked, +without the least sense of shame; others again made prodigious +gambles, others flung themselves on the ground with arms extended +in the shape of a cross; then rose, clapped their hands, knelt +down, and cried with all their might, invoking the Father, rolling +their eyes, grinding their teeth, foaming at the mouth, beating +their breasts, weeping, laughing, howling, and uttering the most +strange inarticulate sounds.... Their words were stranger than their +gestures. Some implored grace and light for us, others besought +that we might be struck with blindness and damnation. All pretended +that they saw in heaven some strange sights; they saw the Father +descending to judge their holy cause, myriads of angels, clouds +of blood, black and blue fires falling upon the city, and above +the clouds a rider mounted on a white horse, brandishing his sword +against the impenitent who refused to turn from their evil ways.... +But the scene was constantly varying. Kneeling on the ground, and +turning their eyes in one direction, they all at once exclaimed +together, with joined hands, 'O Father! Father! O most excellent +King of Zion, spare the people!' Then they repeated these words for +some while, raising the pitch of their voices, till they attained to +such a shriek that a host of pigs could not have produced a louder +noise when assembled on market-day. + + [149] Kerssenbroeck, p. 495 _et seq._ + +"There was on the gable of one of the houses in the market-place a +weathercock of a peculiar form, lately gilt, which just then caught +the sun's rays and blazed with light. This weathercock caused the +error of the women. They mistook it for the most excellent King +of Zion. One of the citizens discovering the cause, climbed the +roof of the house and removed this new sort of majesty. A calm at +once succeeded to the uproar; ashamed and full of confusion, the +visionaries dispersed and returned to their homes. Unfortunately the +lesson did not restore them to their senses." + +Shortly after the treaty was signed, the burgomaster, Tilbeck, +openly joined the Anabaptists, and was rebaptised with all his +family by Rottmann.[150] + + [150] Kerssenbroeck, p. 496. + +The more sensible and prudent citizens, including nearly all the +Catholics and a good number of Lutherans, being well aware that the +treaty was, in fact, a surrender of all authority into the hands of +the fanatics, deserted the town in great numbers, carrying with +them all their valuables. The emigration began on 12th February. +The Anabaptists ordered that neither weapons nor victuals should +be carried out of the gates, and appointed a guard to examine the +effects of all those who left the city. The emigration was so +extensive, that in a few days several quarters of the town were +entirely depopulated.[151] + + [151] Kerssenbroeck; Dorpius, ff. 394-5. + +Then Rottmann addressed a circular letter to the Anabaptists of all +the neighbouring towns to come and fill the deserted mansions from +which the apostates had fallen. "The Father has sent me several +prophets," said he, "full of His Spirit and endowed with exalted +sanctity; they teach the pure word of God, without human additions, +and with sublime eloquence. Come then, with your wives and children, +if you hope for eternal salvation; come to the holy Jerusalem, +to Zion, and to the new temple of Solomon. Come and assist us to +re-establish the true worship of God, and to banish idolatry. Leave +your worldly goods behind, you will find here a sufficiency, and in +heaven a treasure."[152] + + [152] _Ibid._, p. 502; Mencken, p. 1545. + +In response to this appeal, the Anabaptists streamed into the +city from all quarters, from Holland, Friesland, Brabant, Hesse, +Osnabrück, and from the neighbouring towns, where the magistrates +exerted themselves to suppress a sect which they saw imperilled the +safety of the commonwealth. + +In a short while the deserted houses were peopled by these +fanatics. Bernhard Krechting, pastor of Gildehaus, arrived at the +head of a large portion of his parishioners. Hermann Regewart, +the ex-Lutheran preacher of Warendorf, sought a home in the new +Jerusalem. Rich and well-born persons, bitten with the madness, +arrived, such were Peter Schwering and his wife, the wealthiest +citizens of Coesfeld; Werner von Scheiffort, a country gentleman; +the Lady von Becke with her three daughters, of whom the two eldest +were broken nuns, and the youngest was betrothed to the Lord of +Dörlö; and the Grograff of Schoppingen, Heinrich Krechting, with his +wife, his children, and a number of the inhabitants of that town, +with carts laden with their effects. The Grograff took up his abode +in Kerssenbroeck's house, along with his family and servants, and, +as the chronicler bitterly remarks, he took care to occupy the best +part of the mansion.[153] + + [153] Kerssenbroeck, p. 503. + +Amongst those who escaped from the town were the syndic, Von Wyck, +who had led the opposition against the bishop, and the burgomaster, +Caspar Judenfeld. The latter retired to Hamm and was left +unmolested, but Von Wyck had played too conspicuous a part to escape +so easily. By the orders of the prince-bishop he was arrested and +executed at Vastenau.[154] + + [154] _Ibid._ p. 505. + +Münster now became the theatre of the wildest orgies ever +perpetrated under the name of religion. It is apparently a law that +mysticism should rapidly pass from the stage of asceticism into that +of licence. At any rate, such has been the invariable succession of +stages in every mystic society that is allowed unchecked to follow +its own course. In the Roman Church those thus psychologically +affected are locked up in convents. The religious passion verges +so closely on the sexual passion that a slight additional pressure +given to it bursts the partition, and both are confused in a +frenzy of religious debauch. The Anabaptist fanatics were rapidly +approaching this stage. The prophet Matthisson led the way by +instituting a second baptism, administered only to the inner circle +of the elect, which was called the baptism of fire. + +The adepts were sworn to secrecy, and refused to explain the mode of +administration. But public curiosity was aroused, and by learning +the password, some were enabled to slip into the assembly and see +what took place. Amongst these was a woman who was an acquaintance +of Kerssenbroeck, and from whose lips he had an account of the +rite. "Matthisson," says he, "secretly assembled the initiated of +both sexes during the night, in the vast mansion of Knipperdolling. +When all were assembled, the prophet placed himself under a copper +chandelier, hung in the centre of the ceiling, lighted with three +tapers." He then made an instruction on the new revelation of +the Divine will, which he pretended had been made to him, and +the assembly became a scene of frantic orgies too horrible to be +described. + +The assemblies in which these abominations were perpetrated, +prepared the way for the utter subversion of all the laws of decency +and morality, which followed in the course of a few months. + +When Carnival arrived, a grand anti-Catholic procession was +organised, to incite afresh the hostility of the people to the +ancient Church, its rites and ceremonies. First, a company of +maskers dressed like monks, nuns, and priests in their sacred +vestments, led the way, capering and singing ribald songs. Then +followed a great chariot, drawn by six men in the habits of the +religious orders. On the box sat a fellow dressed as a bishop, with +mitre and crosier, scourging on the labouring monks and friars. On +the car was a man represented as dying, with a priest leaning over +him, a huge pair of spectacles on his nose, administering to the +sick man the last sacraments of the Church, and addressing him in +the most absurd manner, loudly, that the bystanders might hear and +laugh at his farcical parody of the most sacred things of the old +religion. The next car was drawn by a man dressed as a priest in +surplice and stole. The other cars contained groups suitable for +turning into ridicule devotion to saints, belief in purgatory, the +mass, &c.[155] + + [155] Kerssenbroeck, p. 509. + +The prophets now decided that it was necessary to be prepared in +the event of a siege. They, therefore, commissioned the preacher +Roll to visit Holland and raise the Anabaptists there, urge them to +arm and to march to the defence of the New Jerusalem. Roll started +from Münster on the 21st of February, but the Spanish Government in +the Netherlands, alarmed at what was taking place in the capital of +Westphalia, ordered a strict watch to be kept on the movements of +the fanatics, and Roll was seized and executed at Utrecht. + +The next step taken by the prophets was to discharge the members +of the senate from the performance of their office, because they +had been elected "according to the flesh," and to choose to fill +their room another body of men "elected according to the Spirit." +Bernard Knipperdolling and Gerhardt Kippenbroeck, both drapers, were +appointed burgomasters. + +One of the first acts of the new magistrates was to forbid the +removal of furniture, articles of food, and money from the town, and +to permit a general pillage of all the churches and convents in the +city. The Anabaptist mob first attacked the religious houses, and +carried off all the sacred vessels, the gold, the silver, and the +vestments. Then they visited the chapel of St. Anthony, outside the +gate of St. Maurice, and after having sacked it completely, they +tore it down. They burnt the church of St. Maurice, then fell upon +the church of St. Ledger, but had not the patience to complete its +demolition. Thence they betook themselves to the cathedral, broke +it open, and destroyed altars, with their beautiful sculptured and +painted oak retables, miracles of delicate workmanship and Gothic +beauty, the choir stalls, statues, paintings, frescoes, stained +glass, organ, vestments, and carried off the chalices and ciboriums. +The great clock, the pride of Münster, as that of Strasburg is +of the Alsatian capital, was broken to pieces with hammers. A +valuable collection of MSS., collected by the poet Rudolf Lange, and +presented to the minister, together with the rest of the volumes in +the library, were burned. Two noble paintings, one of the Blessed +Virgin, the other of St. John the Baptist, on panel, by Franco, +were split up and turned into seats for privies to the guard-house +near the Jews' cemetery. The heads and arms were broken off the +statues that could not be overthrown--statues of apostles, prophets, +and sibyls, which decorated the interior of the cathedral and the +neighbouring square. The tabernacle was broken open, and the Blessed +Sacrament was danced and stamped on. The font was shattered with +crowbars, in token of the abhorrence borne by the fanatics to infant +baptism; the tombs of the bishops and canons were destroyed, and the +bodies torn from their graves, and their dust was scattered to the +winds.[156] + + [156] Kerssenbroeck, p. 510; Sleidan, p. 411; Dorpius, f. 395. + +But whilst this was taking place in Münster, Francis von Waldeck was +preparing for war. On the 23rd February he held a meeting at Telgte +to consolidate plans, and now from all sides assistance came. The +Elector of Cologne, the Duke of Cleves, even the Landgrave of Hesse, +now exasperated at the ill-success of his endeavours to establish +tranquillity and to effect a compromise, the Duke of Brunswick, the +Regent of Brabant, the Counts of Lippe and Berntheim, and many other +nobles and cities sent soldiers, artillery, and munitions. + +The bishop appointed the generals and principal officers, then he +made all the soldiers take an oath of fidelity to himself, and +concluded with them an agreement, consisting of the following ten +articles: + +1. The soldiers are to be faithful to the prince, and to obey their +officers. + +2. The towns, arms, and munitions taken in war shall belong to the +prince. + +3. If, after the capture of the city, the prince-bishop permits +its pillage by the troops, he shall not be obliged to pay them any +prize-money. + +4. If the pillage be accorded, the town hall is not to be touched. + +5. The prince shall have half the plunder. + +6. The nobles, canons, and those who have escaped from the city +shall be allowed the first bid for their articles when offered for +sale. + +7. No fixtures shall be removed by the soldiery. + +8. After the capture of the town, the custody of the gates and +ramparts shall be confided to those whom the prince-bishop shall +appoint. + +9. The city taken, and its pillage permitted, the soldiers shall be +allowed eight days for distribution and sale of the plunder. The +soldiers shall receive their pay with punctuality. + +10. The heads of the revolt shall, as far as possible, be taken +alive and delivered up to the bishop for a recompense.[157] + + [157] Kerssenbroeck, p. 513 _et seq._ Sleidan, lib. x. pp. 412-3; + Heresbach, p. 36. + +The Anabaptists were not afraid at these preparations; they made +ready vigorously for the defence of the New Zion. As a preliminary, +a body of five hundred burnt the convent of St. Maurice, outside +the city gates, and levelled all the houses of the suburbs, which +obscured the view, and might serve as cover for the besiegers. + +On the 26th February Matthisson preached in the afternoon to a +congregation summoned by the discharge of a culverin. At the end of +the sermon he assumed an inspired air, and announced that he had an +important revelation to communicate. Having arrested the attention +of his hearers, he said in a solemn tone, "The Father requires +the purification of the New Jerusalem and of His temple; for our +republic, which has begun so prosperously, cannot grow and endure if +a prey to the confusion produced by the presence of impious sects. +My advice is that we kill without further delay the Lutherans, the +Papists, and all those who have not the right faith, that there may +remain in Zion but one body, one society, which is truly Christian, +and which can offer to the Father a pure and well-pleasing worship. +There is but one way of preserving the faithful from the contagion +of the impious, and that is to sweep them off the face of the earth. +Nothing is easier than the execution of this scheme. We form the +majority in a strong city, abundantly supplied with all necessaries; +there is nothing to fear from within or from without."[158] + + [158] Kerssenbroeck, p. 516. + +This suggestion would have been carried into immediate execution by +the frenzied sectarians, had it not been for the intervention of +Knipperdolling, who, fearing that a general massacre of Lutherans +and Catholics would combine the forces of the Smalkald union and +of the Imperialists against the city, urgently insisted on milder +measures. "Let us be content," said he, "with driving, to-morrow, +out of the city those miserable creatures who refuse the sign of the +New Covenant; thus shall we thoroughly purge the floor of the Lord, +and nothing that is impure will remain in the New Jerusalem."[159] + + [159] _Ibid._ p. 517; Sleidan, p. 412. + +This advice was accepted, and it was unanimously decided that the +morrow should witness the expulsion of Catholics and Lutherans. The +27th February was a bitterly cold day. A hard frost had set in, the +north wind blew, cutting to the bone all exposed to the blast, the +country was white with snow, and the streams were crusted over with +ice. At every gate was a double guard; the squares were thronged +with armed fanatics, and in and out among them passed the prophets, +staff in hand, uttering maledictions on the Lord's enemies, and +words of encouragement to those sealed on their brows and hands. + +Matthisson sought out those who did not belong to the sect, and +with menacing gestures and flaring eyes called them to repentance +before the door was shut. "Turn ye, turn ye, sinners," he cried in +his harsh tones. "Judgment is preparing for you. The elements are in +league against you; your iniquities have made nature rise to scourge +you. The sword of the Lord's anger is hung above your heads. Turn, +ye sinners, and receive the sign of our alliance, that ye be not +cast out from the chosen people!" Then he flung himself down in the +great square, and called on the Father; and lying with arms extended +on the frozen ground, and his face pinched with cold turned towards +the sky, he fell into a trance. The Anabaptists knelt around him, +and lifting their hands to heaven besought the Father to reveal His +will by the mouth of the prophet whom He had sent. + +Then Matthisson, slowly returning from his ecstasy, like one awaking +out of a dream, said, "This is the will and order of the Father: +the miscreants, unless they be converted and be baptised, must be +expelled this place. This holy city shall be purified of all that is +unclean, for the conversation of the ungodly corrupts and defiles +the people of God. Away with the sons of Esau! this place, this New +Zion, this habitation belongs to the sons of Jacob, to the true +Israel." + +The enthusiasm of Matthisson communicated itself to the assembly. +The Anabaptists separated to sweep the streets, sword and pike in +hand, and drove the ungodly beyond their walls, shouting, "The lot +is ours; the tares must be gathered from among the wheat; the goats +from the sheep; the unholy from the godly; away, away!" Doors were +burst open, and the fanatics invaded every house, driving before +them men, women, and children, from garret and cellar, wherever +concealed, in spite of their cries and entreaties. Men of all +professions, men and women of every age were banished; they were +not allowed to take anything with them. The sword of the Lord was +brandished against them; the hale and the infirm, the master and the +servant, none were spared. Those who lagged were beaten; those who +were sick and unable to fly were carried to the market-place to be +rebaptised by Rottmann. + +Through the gates streamed the terrified crowd, shivering, half +clothed, mothers clasping their babes to their breasts, children +sustaining between them their aged parents, all blue with cold, as +the fierce wind thick strewn with sleet rushed upon them at the +corners, and over the bare plain without the city walls, growling +and cruel, as though it too were wrought up into religious frenzy, +and came as an auxiliary to the savage work. + +Thousands traversed the frozen plans, uncertain whither to fly for +refuge, uttering piteous cries, lamentations, or low moans; whilst +from the walls of the heavenly city thundered a salvo of joy, and +the Anabaptists shouted, because the Lord's day of vengeance had +come, and the millennium was set up on earth. + +"Never," says Kerssenbroeck, "never did I see anything more +afflicting. The women carried their naked nurslings in their +arms, and in vain sought rags wherewith to clothe them; miserable +children, hanging to their fathers' coats, ran barefooted, uttering +piercing cries; old people, bent by age, tottered along calling down +God's vengeance on their persecutors; lastly, some sick women driven +from their beds during the pangs of maternity fell in labour in the +snow, deprived of all human succour."[160] + + [160] Kerssenbroeck, p. 5222. + +Amongst those expelled was Fabricius, the Lutheran divine, who +escaped in disguise. He was so greatly hated by the sectarians, that +had he been recognised, he would not have been suffered to quit the +city alive. + +The Frau Werneche, a rich lady, too stout to walk, and unable to +find a conveyance, was obliged to remain in Münster. Rottmann +insisted on her receiving the sign of the New Covenant. + +"I have been baptised already, as were my ancestors," said the good +woman. Rottmann replied that if she persisted in her impiety she +must be slain with the sword, lest the wrath of the Father should +be kindled against the Holy City. The poor lady, who had no desire +for martyrdom, cried out, impatiently, "Well, then, be it so! +baptise me in the name of all the devils of hell, for I have already +been baptised in the name of God." Rottmann, not very particular, +administered the rite, and the stout lady remained in Münster. + +The apostle now sent letters into all the country, announcing the +glad tidings of the approaching reign of Christ on earth, and +inviting the Anabaptists of the neighbourhood to flock into Zion. +One of these epistles of Rottmann has been preserved.[161] + + [161] Kerssenbroeck, p. 520; Dorpius, f. 395. + + "Bernard, servant of Jesus Christ in His + Church of Münster, salutes affectionately his very dear + brother Henry Schlachtschap. Grace and peace from God, and + the strength of the Holy Spirit, be with you and with all + the faithful. + +"Dear Brother in Christ,-- + +"The marvellous works of God are so great and so diverse that it +would not be possible for me to describe them all, had I a hundred +tongues. I am, therefore, unable to do so with my single pen. The +Lord has splendidly assisted us. He has delivered us out of the +hands of our enemies, and has driven them from the city. Seized by +a panic terror, they fled in multitudes. This is the beginning of +what the Lord announced by His prophets--that all the saints would +assemble in this New Zion. These prophets have charged me to write +to you, that you may order all the brethren to hasten to us with all +the gold and silver they can collect; as for their other goods, let +them be left to the sisters, who will dispose of them, and then join +us here also. Beware of doing anything after the flesh; do all in +the Spirit. The rest by word of mouth. Health in the Lord." + +This appeal had all the more success because several executions +had taken place at Wollbeck and Bevergern and other places, +together with confiscation of goods, and this had struck alarm into +the Anabaptists scattered throughout the principality. Numbers, +therefore, answered the appeal, and went up, as the tribes of +the Lord, to Jerusalem, out of Leyden, Coesfeld, Warendorf, and +Gröningen. The vacated houses were re-occupied, the Münster Baptists +selecting for themselves the best. Knipperdolling, Kippenbroeck, and +others, took possession of the residences of the canons; servants +installed themselves in the dwellings of their masters as if they +were their own; and the deserted monasteries were given up as +hostels to receive the influx from the country, till houses could be +provided for them.[162] + + [162] Kerssenbroeck, p. 523. + +On the 28th February, Francis von Waldeck left Telgte at the head +of his army and invested the capital. Batteries were planted, seven +camps were established for the infantry, and six for the cavalry +around Münster. These camps were in connection with one another, for +mutual support in the event of a sortie, and were rapidly fortified. + +Thus began the siege which was to last sixteen months minus +four days, during which a multitude of untrained, undisciplined +fanatics, commanded by a Dutch tailor-innkeeper, held out against a +numerous and well-armed force. But there was an element of strength +in the besieged that lacked in the besiegers. Those within the +walls were members of a vast confraternity, which ramified over +Germany, Switzerland, and the Low Countries, its members bound +together by a common enthusiasm, in more or less direct relation +with the chiefs who commanded in the Westphalian capital. In spite +of the siege, news from without was constantly brought into the +city, and messengers were sent out to stir up the members of the +society in other countries and provinces to rise and march to the +relief of the city which, they all believed, was destined to be +their religious capital. The Münster brothers looked for a speedy +deliverance wrought by the efficacy of the arms of their brothers +in Holland, Juliers, Cleves, and Brabant. The Low Countries swarmed +with Anabaptists who had organised communities in Amsterdam, +Leyden, Utrecht, Haarlem, Antwerp, and Ghent; they had arms stored +in cellars and garrets, and waited only the proper moment to rise +in a body, massacre their opponents, and deliver the Holy City. +Several attempts to rise were made, but the vigilance of the Spanish +Government in the Netherlands prevented the rising; and the hopes of +the besieged were never realised. + +On the other hand, the army of the prince-bishop was composed +of mercenaries, of soldiers from different provinces and +principalities, speaking different dialects, with different +interests, and differing also in faith. The Lutheran troops would +not cordially unite with the Catholics, and the latter mistrusted +their Protestant allies, whose sympathies they believed lay with +the Anabaptist besieged. And the head of the whole army was a +Catholic prelate with Lutheran proclivities, who knew nothing of +war, had an empty purse, and desired to reduce his own subjects by +the aid of foreign mercenaries, with little expense to himself, and +damage to his subjects. + +The Anabaptists organised their defence with prudence. They elected +captains and standard-bearers, and divided all the citizens capable +of bearing arms into regiments and companies. Every one was given +his place and his functions, and it was decided that the magistrates +should be required to mount guard when it came to their turn. Boys +were drilled and taught the use of the arquebus; women prepared +brands steeped in pitch and sulphur to fling at the enemy, and +they melted lead from the roofs into bullets. Mines were dug and +charged with powder, fresh bastions were thrown up, and curtains +were erected before the gates, into which were built the tombs and +sarcophagi of the bishops and canons.[163] + + [163] Kerssenbroeck, p. 531 _et seq._; Hast, p. 344. + +The newly-elected senate, though composed of the most zealous +Anabaptists, was powerless before Matthisson. A sect governed by the +inspiration of the moment, professing to be guided by the Spirit +speaking through the mouths of prophets, ready to spring into the +maddest excesses at the dictates of visionaries, could not long +submit to the government of a magistracy whose power was temporal. +The way was rapidly preparing for the establishment of a spiritual +despotism. + +It was in vain for the senate to pass an order without the sanction +of Matthisson, in vain for them to attempt resistance to the +execution of his mandates. One day he announced that it was the will +of the Father that all the goods of the citizens who had fled, or +had been expelled, should be collected into one place, that they +might be distributed amongst the saints, as every man had need. He +thereupon despatched men to bring together all that was left behind +in the city by the refugees, and convey the articles to houses which +he designated in every parish. He was promptly obeyed. Garments, +linen, beds, furniture, crockery, food, wine--everything was brought +away in carts. The jewels, the gold, and the silver, were deposited +in the chancery. Then the prophet ordered three days of prayer to be +instituted, "that God might reveal to him the persons chosen by Him +to keep guard over the accumulated treasure."[164] + + [164] Kerssenbroeck; Dorpius, f. 395. + +When the three days were at an end, Matthisson announced that the +Father had indicated to him seven individuals who were to be the +deacons to serve tables in the New Jerusalem. He therefore appointed +the men to distribute out of the common store to those who needed +that which would satisfy their necessities.[165] + + [165] _Ibid._ p. 585. + +It must not, however, be supposed that, with the expulsion of the +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. + +One of the soldiers of the Episcopal army, who had taken refuge in +Münster, was lodged in the house of Knipperdolling, in which also +dwelt John Bockleson. The deserter observed that the Leyden prophet +was wont to leave his bedroom at night, and he ventured to watch +his conduct and satisfy himself that it was not what it ought to +be.[188] He mentioned to others what he had observed. The scandal +would soon get wind. One only way remained to cut it short. John +Bockleson consulted with Rottmann and the other preachers, and urged +that polygamy should be not only sanctioned but enjoined on the +elect. + + [188] _Ibid._ p. 38; H. Montfort., p. 28. + +Some of those present having objected to this new doctrine, the +prophet cast his mantle and the New Testament on the ground, and +solemnly swore that this which he enjoined was the direct revelation +of the Almighty. He threatened the recalcitrant ministers, and at +last, half-persuaded and wholly frightened, they withdrew their +objections; and he appointed the pastors three days in which to +preach polygamy to the people.[189] The new doctrine having been +ventilated, an assembly of the people was called, and it was +formerly laid down by the prophet as the will of God, that every man +was to have as many wives as he wanted.[190] + + [189] Sleidan, p. 414; Dorp. f 396. + + [190] Kerssenbroeck, p. 38. + +The result of this new step was to bring about a reaction which for +a moment threatened the prophet's domination with downfall. + +On the 30th July, Heinrich Mollenhecke, a blacksmith, supported by +two hundred citizens, burghers and artisans, declared openly that +he was resolved to put down the new masters of Münster, and to +restore everything upon the ancient footing. With the assistance +of his companions, he captured Bockleson, Knipperdolling, and the +preachers Rottmann, Schlachtscap, Clopris, and Vinnius, and cast +them into prison. Then a council was held, and it was resolved +that the gates should be opened to the bishop, the old magistracy +should be restored, and the exiled burgesses should be recalled, +and their property restored to them: and that all this should be +done _on the morrow_. Had it been done on the spot we should have +heard no more of John of Leyden. The delay saved him and ruined the +reactionary party. It allowed time for his adherents to muster.[191] +Mollenhecke and his party, when they met on the following morning +to execute their design, were attacked and surrounded by a +multitude of fanatics headed by Heinrich Redecker. The blacksmith +had succeeded in collecting only a handful. "No pen can describe +the rage with which their adversaries fell upon them, and the +refinements of cruelty to which they became victims. After having +overwhelmed them with blows and curses, they were imprisoned, but +they continued inflicting upon them such horrible tortures that +the majority of these unfortunates would have a thousand times +preferred death."[192] Ninety-one were ordered to instant execution. +Twenty-five were shot, the other sixty-six were decapitated by +Knipperdolling to economize powder, and lest the sound of the +discharge of firearms within the city should lead the besiegers to +believe that fighting was going on in the streets. Some had their +heads cut off, others were tied to a tree and shot, others again +were cut asunder at the waist, and others were slowly mutilated. +Knipperdolling himself executed the men, so many every day, in the +presence of the prophet, till all were slain.[193] + + [191] Kerssenbroeck, p. 39 _et seq._; Heresbach, pp. 41, 42; H. + Montfort., pp. 29, 30; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 9, p. 56. + + [192] Kerssenbroeck, p. 40. + + [193] _Ibid._ p. 41; Dorpius, f. 536 b. + +"The partisans of the emancipation of the flesh having thus obtained +the mastery in Münster," says the eye-witness, "it was impossible, +a few days later, to discover in the capital of Westphalia the last +and feeble traces of modesty, chastity, and self-restraint." + +Three men, John [OE]chinckfeld, Henry Arnheim, and Hermann Bispinck, +having, however, the hardihood to assert that they still believed +that Christian marriage consisted in the union of one man with one +woman, were decapitated by order of John of Leyden.[194] + + [194] H. Montfort., p. 29; C. Heresbach, p. 42. + +With the death of these men disappeared every attempt at resistance. + +The horrors which were perpetrated in Münster under the name of +religious liberty almost exceed belief. The most frantic licence +and savage debauchery were practised. The prophet took two wives, +besides his favourite sultana, the beautiful Divara, widow of +Matthisson, and his lawful wife at Leyden. These were soon +discovered to be too few, and the harem swelled daily.[195] + + [195] Kerssenbroeck, p. 42. Dorpius confirms the horrible account + given by Kerssenbroeck from what he saw himself, f. 498. + +"We must draw a veil," says Kerssenbroeck, "over what took place, +for we should scandalise our readers were we to relate in detail +the outrageous scenes of immorality which took place in the town, +and the villanies which these maniacs committed to satisfy their +abominable lusts. They were no more human beings, they were foul and +furious beasts. The hideous word _Spiritus meus concupiscit carnem +tuam_ was in every mouth; those who resisted these magic words +were shut up in the convent of Rosenthal; and if they persisted in +their obstinacy after exhortation, their heads were cut off. In one +day four were simultaneously executed on this account. On another +occasion a woman was sentenced to be decapitated, after childbirth, +for having complained of her husband having taken to himself a +second wife."[196] + + [196] Kerssenbroeck, p. 43 _et seq._ + +Henry Schlachtscap preached that no man after the Ascension of +Christ had lived in true matrimony, if he had contracted marriage on +account of beauty, wealth, family, and similar causes, for that true +marriage consisted solely in that which was instigated by the Spirit. + +A new prophet now appeared upon the scene, named Dusentscheuer, +a native of Warendorf. He rushed into the market-place uttering +piercing cries, and performing such extraordinary antics that a +crowd was speedily gathered around him. + +Then, addressing himself to the multitude, he exclaimed, "Christian +brothers, the celestial Father has revealed to me, and has commanded +me to announce to you, that John Bockelson of Leyden, the saint and +prophet of God, must be king of the whole earth; his authority will +extend over emperors, kings, princes, and all the powers of the +world; he will be the chief authority; and none shall arise above +him. He will occupy the throne of his father David, and will carry +the sceptre till the Lord reclaims it from him."[197] + + [197] _Ibid._ p. 47; Sleidan, p. 419; Bullinger, lib. ii. p. + 56; Montfort., p. 31; Heresbach, pp. 136-7, "Historia von d. + Münsterischen Widerteuffer," f. 328 b; Dorpius, f. 397. + +Bockelson and the twelve elders were present. A profound silence +reigned in the assembly. Dusentscheuer, advancing to the elders, +demanded their swords of office; they surrendered them into his +hands; he placed eleven at the feet of Bockelson, and put the +twelfth into his hand, saying--"Receive the sword of justice, and +with it the power to subjugate all nations. Use it so that thou +mayst be able to give a good account thereof to Christ, when He +shall come to judge the quick and the dead."[198] Then drawing from +his pocket a phial of fragrant oil, he poured it over the tailor's +head, pronouncing solemnly the words, "I consecrate thee in the +presence of thy people, in the name of God, and by His command, +and I proclaim thee king of the new Zion." When the unction was +performed, Bockelson cast himself in the dust and exclaimed, "O +Father! I have neither years, nor wisdom, nor experience, necessary +for such sovereignty; I appeal to Thy grace, I implore Thy +assistance and Thy all-powerful protection!... Send down upon me, +therefore, Thy divine wisdom. May Thy glorious throne descend on me, +may it dwell with me, may it illumine my labours; then shall I be +able to accomplish Thy will and Thy good pleasure, and thus shall I +be able to govern Thy people with equity and justice." + + [198] Kerssenbroeck, p. 43 _et seq._ + +Then, turning himself towards the crowd, Bockelson declared that he +had long known by revelation the glory that was to be his, but he +had never mentioned it, lest he should be deemed ambitious, but had +awaited in patience and humility the accomplishment of God's holy +will. He concluded by saying that, destined by the Father to reign +over the whole world, he would use the sword, and slay all those who +should venture to oppose him.[199] + +Nevertheless murmurs of disapprobation were heard. "What!" thundered +the Leyden tailor, "you dare to resist the designs of God! Know +then, that even were you all to oppose me, I should nevertheless +become king of the whole earth, and that my royalty, which begins +now in this spot, will last eternally." + +The new prophet Dusentscheuer and the other preachers harangued the +people during three consecutive days on the new revelation, read to +the people the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah and the 27th of Ezekiel, and +announced that in the King John the prophecies of the old seers were +accomplished, for that he was the new David whom God had promised +to raise up in the latter days. They also read aloud the 13th +chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and accompanied the +lecture with commentaries on the necessity and divine obligation of +submission to authority.[199] + + [199] Kerssenbroeck, p. 47; and the authors before quoted. + +At the expiration of these three days, Dusentscheuer requested John +of Leyden to complete the spoliation of the inhabitants, so that +everything they possessed might be placed in a common fund. "It +has been revealed to me," said he, "that the Father is violently +irritated against the men and women because they have abused +grievously their food and drink and clothing. The Father requires +for the future, that no one of either sex shall retain more than +two complete suits and four shirts; the rest must be collected and +placed in security. It is the will of the Lord that the provisions +of beef and pork found in every house shall also be seized and be +consecrated to the general use."[200] + + [200] Kerssenbroeck, p. 49. + +The order was promptly obeyed. Eighty-three large waggons were laden +with confiscated clothes, and all the provisions found in the city +were brought to the king, who confided the care and apportionment of +them to Dusentscheuer. + +Bockelson now organised his court with splendour. He appointed +his officers, chamberlain, stewards, marshals, and equerries, in +imitation of the Court of the Emperor and Princes of Germany. +Rottmann was named his chaplain; Andrew von Coesfeld, director of +police; Hermann Tilbeck, grand-marshal; Henry Krechting, chancellor; +Christopher Waldeck, the bishop's son, who had fallen into his +power, was in derision made one of the pages; and a privy council +of four, composed of Bernard Krechting, Henry Redecker, and two +others of inferior note, was instituted under the presidency of +Christian Kerkering. John had also a grand-master of the kitchen, a +cup-bearer, taster, carver, gentlemen of the bedchamber, &c.[201] + + [201] _Ibid._ p. 55 Montfort., pp. 31-3; Sleidan, p. 418; + Bullinger, p. 57; Heresbach, pp. 137-8. + +But John Bockelson not only desired to be surrounded by a court; he +determined also to display all the personal splendour of royalty. +Accordingly, at his order, two crowns of pure gold were made, +one royal, the other imperial, encrusted with jewels. Around his +neck hung a gold chain enriched with precious stones, from which +depended a globe of the same metal transfixed by two swords, one +of gold, the other of silver. The globe was surmounted by a cross +which bore the inscription, "Ein König der Gerechtigkeit über all" +(a King of Righteousness over all). His sceptre, spurs, baldrick and +scabbard were also of gold, and his fingers blazed with diamonds. +On one of the rings, which was exceedingly massive, was cut, "Der +König in dem nyen Tempel furet dit zeichen vur sein Exempel" (the +King of the new Temple bears this symbol as his token). The royal +garments were magnificent, of crimson and purple, and costly stuffs +of velvet, silk, and gold and silver damask, with superb lace cuffs +and collars, and his mantle lined with costly furs. The elders, +the prophets, and the preachers followed suit, and exchanged their +sad-coloured garments for robes of honour in gay colours. The small +house of Knipperdolling no longer contented the tailor-king; he +therefore furnished, and moved into, a handsome mansion belonging +to the noble family of Von Büren. The house next door was converted +into the palace of his queens, and was adorned with royal splendour. +A door of communication, broken through the partition wall, allowed +King John to visit his wives at all hours. + +He now took to himself thirteen additional wives, and a large train +of concubines. Among his sixteen legitimate wives was a daughter of +Knipperdolling. Divara of Haarlem remained the head queen, though +she was the oldest. The rest were all under twenty, and were the +most beautiful girls of Münster. They all bore the title of queens, +but Divara alone had a court, officers, and bodyguard, habited in +a livery of chestnut brown and green; the livery of the king being +scarlet and blue.[202] + + [202] Kerssenbroeck, p. 55 _et seq._; and the authors above + cited. Kerssenbroeck gives long details of the dress, ornaments, + and manner of life of the king; also "Historia von d. + Münsterischen Widerteuffer," f. 329. + +The king usually had his meals with his wives, and during the +repasts he examined them with great attention, feasting his eyes on +their beauty. The names of the sixteen queens were inscribed on a +tablet on which the king, after dinner, designated the lady who had +attracted his favour.[203] + + [203] Kerssenbroeck gives the names of all the wives except one, + which he conceals charitably, as the poor child--she was very + young--fell ill, but recovered, and was living respectably after + the siege with her relatives in the city. + +The King of Zion had abolished the names of the days of the weeks, +and had replaced them by the seven first letters of the alphabet. +He ordered that whenever a child was born in the town, it should be +announced to him, and then he gave it a name, whose initial letter +corresponded with the letter of the day on which it entered the +world. But, as Kerssenbroeck observes, the debauchery which reigned +in Münster had the result of diminishing the births, so that the +number of children born during the latter part of the siege was +extraordinarily small. + +Bockelson had only two children by all his wives, and both were +daughters. Divara was the first to give birth; the event took place +on a Sunday, designated by the letter A; it was given the name of +Averall (for Ueberall--Above all); the second child, born on Monday, +was called Blydam (the Blythe).[204] + + [204] Kerssenbroeck, p. 59. + +Thrice in the week Bockelson sat in judgment in the market-place +on a throne decked in purple silk, and richly adorned with gold. +He betook himself to this place of audience with great pomp. A +band of musical instruments headed the pageant, then followed +the councillors in purple, and the grand-marshal with the white +wand in his hand. John, wearing the royal insignia, mounted on a +white horse, splendidly caparisoned, followed between two pages +fantastically dressed, one bearing a Bible, the other a naked sword, +symbols of the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction exercised by his +majesty. The bodyguard surrounded his royal person, to keep off the +crowd and to protect him from danger. Knipperdolling, Rottmann, the +secretary Puthmann, and the chancellor Krechting followed; then +the executioner and his four assistants, a train of courtiers, and +servants closed the procession. The whole ceremony was as regal, as +punctiliously observed, as at a royal court where the traditions +date from many centuries.[205] + + [205] Kerssenbroeck, p. 62; H. Montfort., p. 33; Hast, p. 363 + _et seq._; Sleidan, p. 415; "Historia von de Münsterischen + Widerteuffer," f. 328 b. + +When the king reached the market-place, a squire held the horse, he +slowly mounted the steps of the throne, and inclining his sceptre, +announced the opening of the audience. + +Then the plaintiffs approached, prostrated themselves flat upon the +ground twice, and spoke. The majority of the cases were matrimonial +complaints, often exceedingly indecent; "the greatest abominations +formulated in the most hideously cynical terms before the most +cynical of judges." Capital sentences, or penalties little less +severe, were pronounced against insubordinate wives.[206] + + [206] Kerssenbroeck. Sleidan says, "Almost every case and + complaint brought before him concerned married people and + divorces. For nothing was more frequent, so that persons who had + lived together for many long years now separated for the first + time."--p. 415-6. + +The same ceremonial was observed whenever his majesty went to +hear the preaching in the market-square, with the sole exception, +that on this occasion he was accompanied by the sixteen queens, +magnificently dressed. Queen Divara rode a palfrey caparisoned in +furs, led by a page; the court and the fifteen other queens followed +on foot. On reaching the market-place, the ladies entered a house +opposite the throne, and assisted at the sermon, sitting at the +windows. + +The pulpit and the throne were side by side; a long broad platform +united them. When the sermon was concluded, the king, his queens, +court, ministers, and the preacher, assembled on the platform and +danced to the strains of the royal band. + +It was from this platform that King John, as sovereign pontiff, +blessed polygamous marriages, saying to the brides and the +bridegrooms, "What God hath joined let no man put asunder; go, +act according to the divine law, be fruitful and multiply, and +replenish the earth." This sanction was necessary for the validity +of these unions. + +John, wishing to exercise all the prerogatives of royalty, struck +coins of various values, bearing on one side the inscription, "Das +Wort is Fleisch geworden und wohnet unter uns" (The Word was made +flesh and dwelt among us); or "Wer nicht gebohren ist aus Wasser und +Geist der kann nicht eingehen--" the rest on the reverse--"In das +Reich Gottes. Den es ist nur ein rechter König über alle, ein Gott, +ein Glaube, eine Tauffe" (who is not born of Water and the Spirit, +cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. For there is only one true +King over all, one God, one Faith, one Baptism). And in the middle, +"Münster, 1534." + +Whilst the city of Münster was thus passing from a republic to a +monarchy, the siege continued; but the besiegers made no progress. +Refugees informed the prince-bishop of what had taken place within +the walls. + +On the 25th August he assembled the captains and the princes and +nobles who had come into the camp to observe the proceedings, to +request them to advise him how to put an end to all these horrors +and abominations. It was proposed that a deputation should be sent +into the town to propose a capitulation on equitable terms; and in +the event of a refusal to offer a general assault.[207] + + [207] Kerssenbroeck, p. 65 _et seq._; Montfort., pp. 27, 28. + +On the 28th August an armistice of three hours' duration was +concluded, and the deputation obtained a safe-conduct authorising +them to enter the city. But instead of being brought before the +inhabitants of the town, to whom they were commissioned to make the +propositions, they were introduced to the presence of Bockelson and +his court. + +The envoys informed King John of the terms proposed by the bishop. +They were extremely liberal. He promised a general amnesty if the +place were surrendered, and arms laid down. + +King John replied haughtily, that he did not need the clemency of +the prince-bishop, for that he stood strengthened by the almighty +and irresistible power of God. "It is your pretended bishop," said +he, "who is an impious and obstinate rebel, he who makes war without +previous declaration against the faithful servants of the celestial +Father. Never will I lay down my arms which I have taken up for the +defence of the Gospel; never in cowardly fashion will I surrender my +capital: on the contrary, I know how to defend it, even to the last +drop of my blood, if the honour of God requires it."[208] + + [208] Kerssenbroeck, p. 21. + +The bishop, when he learnt that his deputies had been refused +permission to address the citizens, attached letters, sealed with +his Episcopal seal, to arrows, which were shot into the town. In +these letters he promised a general pardon to all those who would +leave the party of the Anabaptists, and escape from the town before +the following Thursday. + +But Bockelson forbade, on pain of death, any one touching or opening +one of these letters, and ordered the instant decapitation of man, +woman, or child who testified anxiety to leave Münster. + +The bishop and the princes resolved on attempting an assault without +further delay. John of Leyden received information of their purpose +through his spies. He at once mounted his white horse, convoked the +people, and announced to them that the Father had revealed to him +the day and hour of the projected attack; he appointed his post to +every man, gave employment to the women and children, and displayed, +at this critical moment, the zeal, energy, and readiness which would +have done credit to a veteran general.[209] + + [209] Kerssenbroeck, p. 68. + +The assault was preluded by a bombardment of three days. The +battlements yielded, breaches were effected in the walls, the roofs +of the houses were shattered, the battered gates gave way, and all +promised success. But the besieged neglected no precaution. During +the night the walls were repaired and the gates strengthened. +Women laboured under the orders of the competent directors during +the hours of darkness, thus allowing their husbands to take their +requisite repose. They carried stones and the munitions of war to +the ramparts, and learning to handle the cross-bow, they succeeded +in committing no inconsiderable amount of execution among the ranks +of the Episcopal army. Other women prepared lime and boiling pitch +"to cook the bishop's soup for him."[210] On the 31st August, at +daybreak, the roar of the Hessian devil, as a large cannon belonging +to the Landgrave Philip was called, gave the signal. Instantly the +city was assaulted in six places. The ditches were filled, petards +were placed under the gates, the palisades were torn down, and +ladders were planted. But however vigorous might be the attack, +the defence was no less vigorous. Those on the walls threw down +the ladders with all upon them, and they fell bruised and mangled +into the fosse, the heads of those who had reached the battlements +were crushed with stones and cudgels, and their hands, clasping the +parapet, were hacked off. Women hurled stones upon the besiegers, +and enveloped them in boiling pitch, quicklime, and blazing sulphur. + + [210] _Ibid._ p. 70. + +Repulsed, they returned to the charge eight or ten times, but always +in vain. The whole day was consumed in ineffectual assaults, and +when the red sun went down in the west, the clarions pealed the +retreat, and the army, dispirited and bearing with it a train of +wounded, withdrew, leaving the ground strewn with dead. + +Had the Anabaptists made a night assault, the defeat and dispersion +of the Episcopal troops would have been completed. But instead, they +sang a hymn and spent the night in banqueting. + +The prince-bishop, despondent and at his wits' end for money, +called his officers to a consultation on the 3rd September, and it +was unanimously resolved to turn the investment into an effective +blockade. This resolution was submitted to the electors of Cologne +and Saxony, the Duke of Cleves, and the Landgrave of Hesse, and +these princes approved of the design of Francis von Waldeck. + +It was determined to raise seven redoubts, united by ramparts and a +ditch, around the city, so as completely to close it, and prevent +the exit of the besieged and the entrance of provisions. It was +decided that the defence of this circle of forts should be confided +to a sufficient number of tried soldiers, and that the rest of the +army should be dismissed. + +Accordingly, on the 7th September, all the labourers of the country +round were engaged, under the direction of the engineer Wilkin von +Stedingen, in raising the walls and digging the trenches. The work +was carried on with vigour by relays of peasants; nevertheless, the +undertaking was on so great a scale, that several months must elapse +before it could be completed.[211] + + [211] Kerssenbroeck, p. 75 _et seq._; Heresbach, p. 132. + +The cost of this terrible siege had already risen to 600,000 +florins, the treasury was empty, and the country could bear no +further taxes. Francis of Waldeck appealed to the Elector Palatine, +the Electors of Cologne, Mainz, and Trèves, to give help and +subsidies; he had recourse also to the princes and nobles of the +Upper and Lower Rhine; and it was decided that a diet should +assemble on the 13th December, 1534, to make arrangements for the +complete subjugation of the insurgent fanatics. All the princes, +Catholic and Protestant, trembled for their crowns, for the +Anabaptist sect ramified throughout the country, and if John of +Leyden were successful in Münster, they might expect similar risings +in their own principalities.[212] + + [212] _Ibid._ p. 75; Bussierre, p. 372; Hast, p. 366. + +Whilst the preparations for the blockade were in progress, John +Bockelson, inflated with pride, placed no bounds to his prodigality, +his display, and his despotism. He frequently pronounced sentences +of death. Thus Elizabeth Holschers was decapitated for having +refused her husband what he demanded of her; Catherine of Osnabrück +underwent the same sentence for having told one of the preachers +that he was building his doctrines upon the sand; Catherine +Knockenbecher lost her head for having taken two husbands. Polygamy +was permitted, but polyandry was regarded as an unpardonable +offence.[213] + + [213] Kerssenbroeck, p. 75; Bussierre, p. 372. + +However, the people chafed at the tyranny they were subjected to, +and murmurs, low and threatening, continued to make themselves +heard; whereupon, by King John's order, Dusentscheuer announced from +the pulpit, "that all those who should for the future have doubts in +the verities taught them, and who should venture to blame the king +whom the Father had given them, would be given over to the anointed +of the Lord to be extirpated out of Israel, decapitated by the +headsman, and condemned to eternal oblivion." + +Amongst those who viewed with envy the rise and splendour of the +tailor-king was Knipperdolling. He had opened his home to the +prophet, had patronised him, introduced him to the people of +Münster, and now the draper was eclipsed by the glory of the tailor. +Thinking that the time was come for him to assume the pre-eminence, +he made an attempt to dethrone Bockelson. + +On the 12th of September he was seized with the spirit of prophecy, +became as one possessed, rushed through the town howling, foaming +at the mouth, making prodigious leaps and extravagant gestures, +and crying in every street, "Repent! repent!" After having carried +on these antics for some time, Knipperdolling dashed into the +market-place, cast himself down on the ground, and fell into an +ecstasy. + +The people clustered around him, wondering what new revelation was +about to be made, and the king, who was then holding audience, +looked on uneasily at the crowd drifting from his throne towards his +lieutenant-general, whose object he was unable to divine, as this +performance had not been concerted between them. + +He was not left long in uncertainty, for Knipperdolling, rising +from the ground with livid face, scrambled up the back of a sturdy +artisan standing near, and crawled on all fours "like a dog," says +Sleidan, over the heads of the throng, breathing in their faces, +and exclaiming, "The celestial Father has sanctified thee; receive +the Holy Ghost." Then he anointed the eyes of some blind men with +his spittle, saying, "Let sight be given you." Undiscomfited by the +failure of this attempt to perform a miracle, he prophesied that he +would die and rise again in three days; and he indicated a corner +of the market-place where this was to occur. Then making his way +towards the throne, he began to dance in the most grotesque and +indecent manner before the king, shouting contemptuously, "Often +have I danced thus before my mistresses, now the celestial Father +has ordered me to perform these dances before my king."[214] + + [214] Kerssenbroeck, p. 81 _et seq._; Sleidan, p. 416. + +John was highly displeased at this performance; and he ran down the +steps of his throne to interrupt him. But Knipperdolling nimbly +leaped upon the dais, seated himself in the place of majesty, and +cried out, "The Spirit of God impels me: John Bockelson is king +according to the flesh, I am king according to the Spirit; the +two Testaments must be abolished and extirpated. Man must cease +from obeying terrestrial laws; henceforth he shall obey only the +inspirations of the Spirit and the instincts of nature." + +John of Leyden sprang at him, dragged him from the throne, beat +his head with his golden sceptre, and administering a kick to the +rear of his lieutenant, sent him flying head over heels from the +platform, and then calmly enthroning himself, he gave orders for the +removal and imprisonment of the rebel. + +He was obeyed.[215] + + [215] Kerssenbroeck, Hast p. 366. + +Knipperdolling, left to cool in the dungeon, felt that his only +chance of life was to submit. He therefore sent his humble apology +to the king, and assured him that he had been possessed by an evil +spirit, which had driven him, against his judgment and conscience, +into revolt. "And," said he, "last night the Father revealed to me +that one must venerate the royal majesty, and that John is destined +to reign over the whole earth." + +He was at once released, for Bockelson needed him, and the failure +of this attempt only secured the king's hold over him. He sent him +a letter of pardon, concluding with the royal signature in this +eccentric fashion:-- + + "In fide persiste salvus + Carnis curam agit Deus. + Johannes Leydanus. + Potentia Dei, robur meum."[216] + + [216] Persist secure in Faith. God takes care of the Flesh. John + of Leyden. The Power of God is my strength. + +Another event took place at Münster, which distracted the thoughts +of the people from the events of the siege, and the attempt of +Knipperdolling to dethrone the king. + +The prophet Dusentscheuer, on the same day, the 12th September, +sought the King of Zion in his palace, and said to him with an +inspired air, "This is the commandment of the Lord to me: Go and say +unto the chief of Israel, that he shall prepare on the Mount Zion +(that is, the cathedral square) a great supper for all Christian +brethren and sisters, and after supper he shall commission the +teachers of my Word to go forth to the four quarters of the world, +that they may teach all men the way of my righteousness, and that +they may be brought into my fold." + +The king accepted the message with respect, and gave orders for its +immediate execution. + +On the 13th September, Dusentscheuer called together the elect, +traversing the streets playing upon a flute. At noon 1700 men, +capable of bearing arms, 400 old men and children, and 5000 women +assembled on Mount Zion. + +Bockelson left his palace, habited in a scarlet tunic over which was +cast a cloth of silver mantle, on his head was his crown, and his +sceptre was in his right hand. Thirty-two knights, magnificently +dressed, served as his bodyguard. Then came Queen Divara and the +rest of the wives of the court. + +When the king had taken his place, the Grand Marshal Tilbeck made +the people sit down. Tables had been arranged along the sides of the +great square under the trees, with an open space in the centre. + +When all were seated, the king and his familiars distributed food +to those invited. They were given first boiled beef and roots, +then ham with other vegetables, and finally roast meat. When the +plates had been removed, thin round cakes of fine wheat flour were +brought in large baskets, and John, calling the faithful up before +him, communicated them with the bread, saying, "Take and eat this, +and show forth the Lord's death." Divara followed, holding the +chalice in her jewelled hands; she made the communicants drink from +it, repeating the words to each, "Drink this, and show forth the +Lord's death." Then all sang the _Gloria in excelsis_ in German, +and this fantastic parody of the communion was over. Bockelson now +ordered all his subjects to arrange themselves in a circle, and he +demanded if they would faithfully obey the Word of God. All having +assented, Dusentscheuer mounted the pulpit and said, "The Father +has revealed to me the names of twenty-seven apostles who are to +be sent into every part of the world; they will spread everywhere +the pure doctrine of the celestial kingdom, and the Lord will cover +them with the shadow of His wings, so that not a hair of their head +shall be injured. And when they shall arrive at a place where the +authorities refuse to receive the Gospel, there they shall leave a +florin in gold, they shall shake off the dust of their garments, and +shall go to another place." Then the prophet designated the chosen +apostles--he saw himself of the number--and he added, "Go ye into +all the cities and preach the Word of God." The twenty-seven stepped +forward, and the king, mounting the pulpit, exhorted the people to +prepare for a grand sortie.[217] + + [217] Kerssenbroeck, p. 86; Montfort., p. 34; Dorpius, f. 397 b; + Heresbach, p. 139, _et seq._; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 10; Sleidan, + p. 417; this author sets the number of communicants at 5,000, the + "Newe Zeitung" at 4,000, f. 329. This authority adds that the + communicants distributed the sacrament they had received amongst + themselves saying, "Brother and sister, take and eat thereof. As + Christ gave Himself for me, so will I give myself for thee. And + as the corn-wheat is baked into one, and the grape branches are + pressed into one, so we being many are one." Also, "Letter of the + Bishop to the Electors of Cologne," _ibid._ p. 390. + +The banquet was over for the people; but John, his wives and court, +and those who had been on guard upon the walls, to the number of +500, now sat down. + +The second banquet was much more costly than the first. In the midst +of the feast, Bockelson, rising, said that he had received an order +from the Father to go round and inspect the guests. He accordingly +examined those present, and recognising amongst them a soldier of +the Episcopal army, who had been made prisoner, he confronted him +sternly, and asked-- + +"Friend, what is thy faith?" + +"My faith," replied the soldier, who was half drunk, "is to drink +and make love." + +"How didst thou dare to come in, not having on the wedding garment?" +asked the king, in a voice of thunder. + +"I did not come of my own accord to this debauch,"[218] answered the +prisoner; "I was brought here by main force." + + [218] The expression used was somewhat broad--Hurenhochzeit. + +At these words, the king, transported with rage, drew his sword and +smote off the head of the unfortunate reveller. + +The night was spent in dancing.[219] + + [219] Kerssenbroeck, p. 88 _et seq._; Heresbach, p. 139; Dorp. f. + 398. + +Whilst the king was eating and drinking, the twenty-seven apostles +were taking a tender farewell of their 124 legitimate wives,[220] +and making their preparations to depart. + + [220] Evidence of Heinrich Graess. Dorpius says that the number + of apostles was twenty-eight, and gives their names and the + places to which they were sent, f. 398. + +When all was ready, they returned to Mount Zion; Bockelson +ascended the pulpit, and gave them their mission in the following +terms:--"Go, prepare the way; we will follow. Cast your florin of +gold at the feet of those who despise you, that it may serve as a +testimony against them, and they shall be slain, all the sort of +them, or shall bow their necks to our rule." + +Then the gates were thrown open, and the apostles went forth, north +and south, and east and west. The blockade was not complete, and +they succeeded in traversing the lines of the enemy. + +However, the prince-bishop notified to the governors of the towns in +his principality to watch them and arrest them, should they attempt +to disseminate their peculiar doctrines.[221] + + [221] Kerssenbroeck, p. 89 _et seq._; Heresbach, pp. 89, 101, + 141; Montfort., p. 35; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 10; Sleidan, pp. + 417-8; Hast, p. 368; "Historia v. d. Münst. Widerteuffer." p. 329 + a. + +We shall have to follow these men, and see the results of their +mission, before we continue the history of the siege of Münster. +In fact, on their expedition and their success, as John Bockelson +probably felt, everything depended. As soon as the city was +completely enclosed no food could enter: already it was becoming +scarce; therefore an attack on the Episcopal army from the flank +was most essential to success; the palisades and ramparts recently +erected sufficiently defending the enemy against surprises and +sorties from the town. + +Seven of the apostles went to Osnabrück, six to Coesfeld, five to +Warendorf, and eight, amongst whom was Dusentscheuer himself, betook +themselves to Soest.[222] + + [222] For the acts of these apostles, Kerssenbroeck, p. 92 _et + seq._; Menck. p. 1574; Montfort., p. 36 _et seq._; Sleidan, p. + 418; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 10; Heresbach, p. 149. + +On entering Soest, Dusentscheuer and his fellow-apostles opened +their mission by a public frenzied appeal to repentance. Then, +hearing that the senate had assembled, they entered the hall and +preached to the city councillors in so noisy a fashion that the +magistrates were obliged to suspend their deliberations. The +burgomaster having asked them who they were, and why they entered +the town-hall unsummoned and unannounced, "We are sent by the king +of the New Zion, and by order of God to preach the Gospel," was the +reply of Dusentscheuer; "and to execute this mission we need neither +passports nor permission. The kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, +and the violent take it by storm." "Very well," said the burgomaster +collectedly. "Guards, remove the preachers and throw them into +prison." A few days after several of them lost their heads on the +block. + +John Clopris, at the head of four evangelists, entered Warendorf. +They took up their abode in the house of an Anabaptist named Erpo, +one of the magistrates of the town, and began to preach and prophesy +in the streets. The first day they rebaptised fifty persons. Clopris +preached with such fervour and persuasive eloquence, that the whole +town followed him; the senate received the sign of the covenant in a +body, and this was followed by a rebaptism of half the population. + +Alarmed at what was taking place, and afraid of a diversion in his +rear, Francis of Waldeck wrote to the magistrates ordering them to +give up the apostles of error. They refused, and the prince at once +invested the town and bombarded it. The magistrates sent offers +of capitulation, which the prince rejected; they asked to retain +their arms and their franchises. Francis of Waldeck insisted on +unconditional surrender, and they were constrained to yield. Some +of the senators and citizens who had repented of their craze, or +who had taken no part in the movement, seized the apostles and +conducted them to the town-hall. Clopris and his fellows cast down +their florins of gold and declared that they shook off the dust of +their feet against the traitors, and that they would carry the pure +Word of God and the living Gospel elsewhere; but escape was not +permitted, and they were delivered over to the prince-bishop. + +Francis of Waldeck at once placed sentinels in the streets, ordered +every citizen to deliver up his weapons, took the title-deeds of the +city, withdrew its franchises, and executed four of the apostles +and three of the ringleaders of the senators. Clopris was sent to +Cologne, and was burnt there on the 1st February, 1535, by the +Elector. The bishop then raised a fortress to command the town, +and placed in it a garrison to keep the Warendorfians in order. +Seventeen years after, the greater part of the franchises were +restored, and all the rest in 1555. + +The apostles of the east, under Julius Frisius, were arrested at +Coesfeld, and were executed.[223] + + [223] The "Newe Zeitung v. d. Widerteuffer. zu Münster," f. 329 + b, 330 a, gives a summary of the confessions of these men, and + their account of the condition of affairs in the city. They said + that every man there had five, six, seven, or eight wives, and + that every girl over the age of twelve was forced to marry; that + if one wife showed resentment against another, or jealousy, or + complained, she was sentenced by the king to death. + +Those of the north reached Osnabrück. Denis Vinnius was at their +head. They entered the house of a certain Otto Spiecher, whom they +believed to be of their persuasion, and they laid at his feet their +gold florins bearing the title and superscription of King John, +as tokens of their mission. Spiecher picked up the gold pieces, +pocketed them, and then informed his visitors that he did not +belong to their sect, and that the only salvation for their necks +would be reticence on the subject of their mission. + +But this was advice Vinnius and his fellow-fanatics were by no +means disposed to accept. They ran forth into the streets and +market-place, yelling, dancing, foaming, and calling to repentance. +Then Vinnius, having collected a crowd, preached to them the setting +up of the Millennial kingdom at Münster. Thereupon the city-guard +arrived with orders from the burgomaster, arrested the missionaries, +and carried them off to the Goat-tower, where they shut them in, and +barred fast the doors.[224] + + [224] Kerssenbroeck, p. 100 _et seq._ + +The rabble showed signs of violence, threatened, blustered, armed +themselves with axes and hammers, and vowed they would batter open +the prison-gates unless the true ministers of God's Word, pure from +all human additions, were set at liberty. The magistrates replied +with great firmness that the first man who attempted to force +the doors should be shot, and no one caring to be the first man, +though very urgent to his neighbours to lead the assault, the mob +sang a psalm and dispersed, and the ministers were left to console +themselves with the promises of Dusentscheuer that not a hair of +their head should fall. + +A messenger was sent by the magistrates post haste to the +prince-bishop, and before morning the evangelists were in his grasp +at Iburg. + +As they were led past Francis of Waldeck, one of them, Heinrich +Graess, exclaimed in Latin, "Has not the prince power to release +the captive?" and the prince, disposed in his favour, sent for +him. Graess then confessed that the whole affair was a mixture of +fanaticism and imposture, the ingredients being mixed in pretty +equal proportions, and promised, if his life were spared, to abandon +Anabaptism, and, what was more to the point, to prove an Ahitophel +to the Absalom in Zion. + +Graess was pardoned, Strahl died in prison, the other four were +brought to the block. + +Graess was the sole surviving apostle of the seventy-seven, and the +miserable failure of their mission had rudely shaken out of him +all belief in its divine character, and he became as zealous in +unmasking Anabaptism as he had been enthusiastic in its propagation. + +There is no reason to believe that the man was an unprincipled +traitor. On the contrary, he appears to have been thoroughly in +earnest as long as he believed in his mission, but his confidence +had been shaken before he left the city, and the signal collapse of +the mission sufficed to convince him of his previous error, and make +him resolute to oppose it. + +Laden with chains, he was brought to the gates of Münster one dark +night and there abandoned. In the morning he was recognised by the +sentinels, and was brought into the city, and led in triumph before +the king, by a vast concourse chanting German hymns.[225] + + [225] Kerssenbroeck, p. 103 _et seq._; Montfort., pp. 40-1; Hast + p. 368. + +And thus he accounted for his presence:--"I was last night at Iburg +in a dark dungeon, when suddenly a brilliant light filled my +prison, and I saw before me an angel of God, who took me by the hand +and led me forth, and delivered me from the death which has befallen +all my companions, and which the ungodly determined to inflict on +me upon the morrow. The angel transported me asleep to the gate of +Münster, and that none may doubt my story, lo! the chains, wherewith +I was laden by the enemies of Israel, still encumber me." + +Some of the courtiers doubted the miracle, but not so the people, +and the king gave implicit credence to his word, or perhaps thought +the event capable of a very simple explanation, which had been +magnified and rendered supernatural by the heated fancy of the +mystic. + +Graess became the idol of the people and the favourite of Bockelson. +The king passed a ring upon his finger, and covered him with a +robe of distinction, half grey, half green--the first the symbol +of persistence, the other typical of gratitude to God.[226] Graess +profited by his position to closely observe all that transpired of +the royal schemes. + + [226] Montfort., p. 40. + +John Bockelson became more and more tyrannical and sanguinary. He +hung a starving child, aged ten, for having stolen some turnips. A +woman lost her head for having spit in the face of a preacher of the +Gospel. An Episcopal soldier having been taken, the king exhorted +him to embrace the pure Word of God, freed from the traditions of +men. The prisoner having had the audacity to reply that the pure +Gospel as practised in the city seemed to him to be adultery, +fornication, and all uncleanness; the king, foaming with rage, +hacked off his head with his own hand.[227] + + [227] Kerssenbroeck, p. 110. + +Provisions became scarce in Münster, and the inhabitants were driven +to consume horse-flesh; and the powder ran short in the magazine. + +The Diet of Coblenz assembled on the 13th December. The envoys of +the Elector Palatine, the prince-bishops of Maintz, Cologne, and of +Trier, the princes and nobles of the Upper and Lower Rhine and of +Westphalia appeared. Francis of Waldeck, unable to be present in +person, sent deputies to represent him.[228] + + [228] _Ibid._ p. 114. + +These deputies having announced that the cost of the siege had +already amounted to 700,000 florins, besought the assembled princes +to combine to terminate this disastrous war. A long deliberation +followed, and the principle was admitted that as the establishment +of an Anabaptist kingdom in Münster would be a disaster affecting +the whole empire, it was just that the bishop should not be obliged +to bear the whole expenses of the reduction of Münster. The Elector +John Frederick of Saxony, though not belonging to the three circles +convoked, through his deputies sent to the Diet, promised to take +part in the extirpation of the heretics.[229] It was finally +agreed that the bishop should be supplied with 300 horse soldiers, +3000 infantry, and that an experienced General, Count Ulrich von +Ueberstein, should command them and take the general conduct of the +war.[230] + + [229] _Ibid._; Sleidan, p. 419; Heresbach, p. 132. + + [230] Sleidan, p. 419. + +The monthly subsidy of 15,000 florins was also promised to be +contributed till the fall of Münster. It was also agreed that the +prince-bishop should be guaranteed the integrity of his domains; +that each prince, Catholic or Protestant, should use his utmost +endeavours to extirpate Anabaptism from his estates; that the Bishop +of Münster should request Ferdinand, King of the Romans, and the +seven Electors, to meet on the 4th April, at Worms, to consult with +those then assembled at Worms on measures to crush the rebellion, to +divide the cost of the war, and to punish the leaders of the revolt +at Münster. + +Lastly, the Diet addressed a letter to the guilty city, summoning it +to surrender at discretion, unless it were prepared to resist the +combined effort of all estates of the empire. + +But if the princes were combining against the Anabaptist New +Jerusalem, the sectarians were in agitation, and were arming +to march to its relief from all sides, from Leyden, Freisland, +Amsterdam, Deventer, from Brabant and Strassburg. + +The Anabaptists of Deventer were on the point of rising and +massacring the "unbelievers" in this city, and then marching on +Münster, when the plot was discovered, and the four ringleaders +were executed. The vigilance of the Regent of the Netherlands +prevented the adherents of the mystic sect, who were then very +numerous, from rolling in a wave upon Westphalia, and sweeping the +undisciplined Episcopal army away and consolidating the power of +their pontiff-king. + +It was towards the Low Countries that John of Leyden looked with +impatience. When would the expected delivery come out of the west? +Why were not the thousands and tens of thousands of the sons of +Israel rising from their fens, joined by trained bands from the +cities, marching by the light of blazing cities, singing the songs +of Zion? + +Graess offered the king to hie to the Low Countries and rouse the +faithful seed. "The Father," said he, "has ordered me to gather +together the brethren dispersed at Wesel, at Deventer, at Amsterdam, +and in Lower Germany; to form of them a mighty army that shall +deliver this city and smite asunder the enemies of Israel. I will +accomplish this mission with joy in the interest of the faithful. I +fear no danger, since I go to fulfil the will of God, and I am sure +that our brethren, when they know our extremity, and that it is the +will of their king, will rise and hasten to the relief."[231] + + [231] Montfort., p. 40; Kerssenbroeck, p. 104 _et seq._; Hast, p. + 368. + +John Bockelson was satisfied; he furnished Graess with letters of +credit, sealed with the royal signet. The letters were couched +in the following terms:--"We, John, King of Righteousness in the +new Temple, and servant of the Most High, do you to wit by these +presents, that the bearer of these letters, Heinrich Graess, prophet +illumined by the celestial Father, is sent by us to assemble, for +the increase of our realm, our brethren dispersed abroad throughout +the German lands. He will make them to hear the words of life, and +he will execute the commandments which he has received from God and +from us. We therefore order and demand of all those who belong to +our kingdom to confide in him as in ourselves. Given at Münster, +city of God, and sealed with our signet, in the twenty-sixth year +of our age and the second of our reign, the second day of the first +month, in the year 1535 after the nativity of Jesus Christ, Son of +God." + +Graess, furnished with this letter and with 300 florins from the +treasury, left the city, and betook himself direct to Iburg, which +he reached on the vigil of the Epiphany;[232] and appeared before +the bishop, told him the whole project, the names of the principal +members of the sect at Wesel, Amsterdam, Leyden, &c., the places +where their arms were deposited, and their plan of a general rising +and massacring their enemies on a preconcerted day. + + [232] Montfort., p. 40. + +The bishop sent dispatches at once to the Duke of Juliers and +the Governors of the Low Countries to warn them to be on their +guard. They replied, requesting his assistance in suppressing the +insurrection; and as the most effectual aid he could render would be +to send Graess, he commissioned him to visit Wesel, and arrest the +execution of the project. + +Graess at once betook himself to Wesel, where he denounced the +ringleaders and indicated the places where their arms and ammunition +were secreted in enormous quantities. A tumult broke out; but the +Duke of Juliers entered Wesel on the 5th April (1535), at the head +of some squadrons of cavalry, seized the ringleaders, who were +members of the principal houses in the place and of the senate, and +on the 13th executed six of them. The rest were compelled to do +penance in white sheets, were deprived of their arms, and put under +close surveillance. + +Another division of the Anabaptists attempted to gain possession of +Leyden, but were discomfited, fifteen of the principal men of the +party were executed, and five of the women most distinguished for +their fanaticism were drowned, amongst whom was the original wife of +John Bockelson.[233] + + [233] Hast, p. 370; Bussierre, p. 403. + +In Gröningen, the partisans of the sect were numerous; orders +reached them from the king to rise and massacre the magistrates, and +march to the relief of the invested city. As the Anabaptists there +were not all disposed to recognise the royalty of John of Leyden, +an altercation broke out between them, and the attempt failed; but +rising and marching under Peter Shomacker, their prophet, they +were defeated on January 24th, by the Baron of Leutenburg, and the +prophet was executed. + +We must now return to what took place in the town of Münster at the +opening of the year 1535. + +Bockelson inaugurated that year by publishing, on January 2nd, an +edict in twenty-eight Articles. It was addressed "To all lovers of +the Truth and the Divine Righteousness, learned in and ignorant of +the mysteries of God, to let them know how those Christians ought to +live or act who are fighting under the banner of Justice, as true +Israelites of the new Temple predestined for long ages, announced +by the mouths of all the holy prophets, founded in the power of the +Holy Ghost, by Christ and his Apostles, and finally established by +John, the righteous King, seated on the throne of David." + +The Articles were to this effect:-- + + "1. In this new temple there was to be only one king + to rule over the people of God. + + 2. This king was to be a minister of righteousness, and to bear + the sword of justice. + + 3. None of the subjects were to desert their allotted places. + + 4. None were to interpret Holy Scripture wrongfully. + + 5. Should a prophet arise teaching anything contrary to the + plain letter of Holy Scripture, he was to be avoided. + + 6. Drunkenness, avarice, fornication, and adultery were + forbidden. + + 7. Rebellion to be punished with death. + + 8. Duels to be suppressed. + + 9. Calumny forbidden. + + 10. Egress from the camp forbidden without permission. + + 11. Any one absenting himself from his wife for three days, + without leave from his officer, the wife to take another + husband. + + 12. Approaching the enemy's sentinels without leave forbidden. + + 13. All violence forbidden among the elect. + + 14. Spoil taken from the enemy to go into a common fund. + + 15. No renegade to be re-admitted. + + 16. Caution to be observed in admitting a Christian into one + society who leaves another. + + 17. Converts not to be repelled. + + 18. Any desiring to live at peace with the Christians, in trade, + friendship, and by treaty, not to be rejected. + + 19. Permission given to dealers and traders to traffic with the + elect. + + 20. No Christian to oppose and revolt against any Gentile + magistrate, except the servants of the bishops and the monks. + + 21. A Gentile culprit not to be remitted the penalty of his + crime by joining the Christian sect. + + 22. Directions about bonds. + + 23. Sentence to be pronounced against those who violate these + laws and despise the Word of God, but not hastily, without the + knowledge of the king. + + 24. No constraint to be used to force on marriages. + + 25. None afflicted with epilepsy, leprosy, and other diseases, + to contract marriage without informing the other contracting + party of their condition. + + 26. Nulla virginis specie, cum virgo non sit, fratrem + defraudabit; alioquin serio punietur. + + 27. Every woman who has not a legitimate husband, to choose from + among the community a man to be her guardian and protector. + + "Given by God and King John the Just, minister of the Most High + God, and of the new Temple, in the 26th year of his age and + the first of his reign, on the second day of the first month + after the nativity of Jesus Christ, Son of God, 1535."[234] + + [234] Kerssenbroeck, p. 132 _et seq._ + +The object Bockelson had in view in issuing this edict was to +produce a diversion in his favour among the Lutherans. He already +felt the danger he was in, from a coalescence of Catholics +and Protestants, and he hoped by temperate proclamations and +protestations of his adhesion to the Bible, and the Bible only, as +his authority, to dispose them, if not to make common cause with +him, at least to withdraw their assistance from the common enemy, +the Catholic bishop. + +For the same object he sent letters on the 13th January to the +Landgrave of Hesse, and with them a book called "The Restitution" +(Von der Wiederbringung), intended to place Anabaptism in a +favourable light.[235] + + [235] Kerssenbroeck, p. 128; Sleidan, p. 420; Hast, p. 373 _et + seq._; "Acta, Handlungen," &c., f. 365 b. The king's letter began + "Leve Lips" ("Dear Phil"). + +The Landgrave replied at length, rebuking the fanatics for their +rebellion, for their profligacy, and for their heresy in teaching +that man had a free will.[236] + + [236] Sleidan, p. 421. + +This reply irritated the Anabaptists, and they wrote to him again, +to prove that they clave to the pure Word of God, freed from all +doctrines and traditions of men, and that they followed the direct +inspiration of God through their prophet. They also retorted on +Philip with some effect. The Landgrave, said they, had no right to +censure them for attacking their bishop, for he had done precisely +the same in his own dominions. He had expelled all the religious +from their convents, and had appropriated their lands; he had +re-established the Duke of Wurtemburg in opposition to the will +of the Emperor; he had changed the religion of his subjects, and +was unable to allege, as his authority for thus acting, the direct +orders of Heaven, transmitted to him by the prophets of the living +God. They might have retorted upon the Landgrave also, the charge +of immorality, but they forbore; their object was to persuade the +champion of the Protestant cause to favour them, not to exasperate +him by driving the _tu quoque_ too deep home. + +With this letter was sent a treatise by Rottmann, entitled, "On the +Secret Significance of Scripture." + +Philip of Hesse wavered. He wrote once more; and after having +attempted to excuse himself for those things wherewith he had been +reproached, he said, "If the thing depended on me only, you would +not have to plead in vain your _just_ cause, and you would obtain +all that you demand; but you ought ere this to have addressed the +princes of the empire, instead of taking the law into your own +hands; flying to arms, erecting a kingdom, electing a king, and +sending prophets and apostles abroad to stir up the towns and the +people. Nevertheless, it is possible that even now your demands may +be favourably listened to, if you recall on equitable conditions +those whom you have driven out of the town and despoiled of their +goods, and restore your ancient constitutions and your former +authorities."[237] + + [237] Kerssenbroeck, p. 129; Sleidan, p. 421. + +Luther now thundered out of Wittemberg. Sleidan epitomises this +treatise. Five Hessian ministers also issued an answer to the +doctrine of the Anabaptists of Münster, which was probably drawn up +for them by Luther himself, or was at least submitted to him for his +approval, for it is published among his German works.[238] It is +full of invective and argument in about equal doses. A passage or +two only can be quoted here:-- + +"Since you are led astray by the devil into such blasphemous error, +drunk and utterly imprisoned you wish, as is Satan's way, to make +yourselves into angels of light, and to paint in brightness and +colour your devilish doings. For the devil will be no devil, but +a holy angel, yea, even God himself, and his works, however bad +they may be before God and all the world, he will have unrebuked, +and himself be honoured and reverenced as the Most Holy. For that +purpose he and you, his obedient disciples, use Holy Scripture as +all heretics have ever done."[239] + + [238] Luth. "Sämmtliche Werke," Wittenb. 1545-51, ii. ff. + 367-375; "Von der Teuffelischen Secte d. Widerteuffer. zu + Münster." + + [239] _Ibid._ f. 367. + +"What shall I say? You let all the world see that you understand far +less about the kingdom of Christ than did the Jews, who blame you +for your want of understanding, and yet none spoke or believed more +ignorantly of that same kingdom than they. For the Scripture and the +prophets point to Messiah, through whom all was to be fulfilled, and +this the Jews also believed. But you want to make it point to your +Tailor-King, to the great disgrace and mockery of Christ, our only +true King, Saviour, and Redeemer."[240] + + [240] _Ibid._ f. 369. + +But this was the grievous rub with the Reformer--that the Anabaptist +had gone a step beyond himself. "You have cast away all that Dr. +Martin Luther taught you, and yet it is from him that you have +received, next to God, all sound learning out of the Scripture; you +have given another definition of faith, after your new fashion, with +various additional articles, so that you have not only darkened, but +have utterly annihilated the value of saving faith."[241] + + [241] _Ibid._ f. 373. + +In a treatise of Justus Menius, published with Luther's approval, +and with a preface by him, "On the Spirit of the Anabaptists," +it is angrily complained, that these sectaries bring against the +Lutheran Church the following charges:--"First, that our churches +are idol-temples, since God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. +Secondly, that we do not preach the truth, and have true Divine +worship therein. Thirdly, that our preachers are sinners, and are +therefore unfit to teach others. Fourthly, that the common people +do not mend their morals by our preaching." All which charges +Justus Menius answers as well as he can, sword in one hand against +the Papists, trowel in the other patching up the walls of his +Jerusalem.[242] + + [242] _Ibid._ ii. ff. 298-325. + +Melancthon also wrote against the Anabaptist book, combating all its +propositions, and to do so falling back on the maxim, _Abusus non +tollit substantiam_, a maxim completely ignored by the Reformers +when they attacked the Catholics.[243] Thus the new sect fought +Lutheranism with precisely the same weapons wherewith the Lutherans +had fought the Church; and the Lutherans, to maintain their +ground, were obliged to take refuge in the authority of the Church +and tradition--positions they had assailed formerly, and to use +arguments they had previously rejected. + + [243] _Ibid._ ii. ff. 334-363. Melancthon says that things had + come to such a pass in Münster, that no child knew who was its + father, brother, or sister. + +In the treatise of the five Hessian divines, drawn up by Philip of +Hesse's orders, the errors of the Anabaptists are epitomised and +condemned; they are as follows:-- + + "1. They do not believe that men are justified + by faith only, but by faith and works conjointly. + + 2. They refer the redemption of Christ alone to the fall of + Adam, and to its consequences on those born of him. + + 3. They hold community of goods. + + 4. They blame Martin Luther as having taught nothing about good + works. + + 5. They proclaim the freedom of man's will. + + 6. They reject infant baptism. + + 7. They take the Bible alone, uninterpreted by any commentary. + + 8. They declare for plurality of wives. + + 9. They do not correctly teach the Incarnation of Christ."[244] + + [244] "Acta Handlung." &c. f. 366 a. + +This "Kurtze: und in der eile gestelte Antwort," is signed by +John Campis, John Fontius, John Kymeus, John Lessing, and Anthony +Corvinus. + +It was high time that the siege should come to an end, so every one +said; but every one had said the same for the last twelve months, +and Münster held out notwithstanding. + +An ultimatum was sent into the city by the general in command, +offering the inhabitants liberal terms if they would surrender, and +warning them that, in case of refusal, the city would be taken by +storm, and would be delivered over to plunder.[245] No answer was +made to the letter; nevertheless, it produced a profound impression +on the citizens, who were already suffering from want of victuals. A +party was formed which resolved to seize the person of the king, and +to open the gates and make terms with the bishop.[246] Bockelson, +hearing of the plot, assembled the whole of the population in the +cathedral square, and solemnly announced to them by revelation from +the Father that at Easter the siege would be raised, and the city +experience a wonderful deliverance. He also divided the town into +twelve portions, and placed at the head of each a duke of his own +creation, charged with the suppression of treason and the protection +of the gates. Each duke was provided with twenty-four guards for +the defence of his person, and the infliction of punishment on +those citizens who proved restive under the rule of the King of +Zion.[247] These dukes were promised the government of the empire, +when the kingdoms of Germany became the kingdom of John of Leyden. +Denecker, a grocer, was Duke of Saxony; Moer, the tailor, Duke of +Brunswick; the Kerkerings were appointed to reign over Westphalia; +Redecker, the cobbler, to bear rule in Juliers and Cleves. John Palk +was created Duke of Guelders and Utrecht; Edinck was to be supreme +in Brabant and Holland; Faust, a coppersmith, in Mainz and Cologne; +Henry Kock was to be Duke of Trier; Ratterberg to be Duke of Bremen, +Werden, and Minden; Reininck took his title from Hildesheim and +Magdeburg; and Nicolas Strip from Frisia and Gröningen. As these +men were for the most part butchers, blacksmiths, tailors, and +shoemakers, their titles, ducal coronets and mantles, and the +prospect of governing, turned their heads, and made them zealous +tools in the hands of Bockelson. + + [245] Kerssenbroeck, p. 130. + + [246] _Ibid._ p. 140. + + [247] Sleidan, p. 419; Bullinger, l. ii. c. 9; Heresbach, p. 156; + Dorp. f. 498. + +The king made one more attempt to rouse the country. He issued +letters offering the pillage of the whole world to all those +who would join the standard. But the bishop was informed of the +preparation of these missives by a Danish soldier in Münster; +he was much alarmed, as his _lantzknechts_ were ready to sell +their services to the highest bidder. He therefore pressed on the +circumvallation of the city, kept a vigilant guard, and captured +every emissary sent forth to distribute these tempting offers. +On the 11th February, 1535, the moat, mound, and palisade around +the city were complete; and it was thenceforth impossible for +access to or egress from the city to be effected without the +knowledge of the prince and his generals. The unfortunate people of +Münster discovered attempting to escape were by the king's orders +decapitated. Many men and women perished thus; amongst them was a +mistress of Knipperdolling named Dreyer, who, weary of her life, +fled, but was caught and delivered over to the executioner. When +her turn came, the headsman hesitated. Knipperdolling, perceiving +it, took from him the sword, and without changing colour smote +off her head. "The Father," said he, "irresistibly inspired me to +this, and I have thus become, without willing it or knowing it, an +instrument of vengeance in the hands of the Lord."[248] + + [248] Kerssenbroeck, p. 148. + +The legitimate wife of Knipperdolling, for having disparaged +polygamy, escaped death with difficulty; she was sentenced to do +public penance, kneeling in the great square, in the midst of the +people, with a naked sword in her hands.[249] + + [249] _Ibid._ p. 149. + +Easter came, the time of the promised delivery, and the armies of +the faithful from Holland and Friesland and Brabant had not arrived. +The position of Bockelson became embarrassing. He extricated +himself from the dilemma with characteristic effrontery. During +six days he remained in his own house, invisible to every one. At +the expiration of the time he issued forth, assembled the people +on Mount Zion, and informed them that the deliverance predicted +of the Father _had_ taken place, but that it was a deliverance +different in kind from what they had anticipated. "The Father," said +he, "has laid on my shoulders the iniquities of the Israelites. I +have been bowed down under their burden, and was well-nigh crushed +beneath their weight. Now, by the grace of the Lord, health has +been restored to me, and you have been all released from your sins. +This spiritual deliverance is the most excellent of all, and must +precede that which is purely exterior and temporal. Wait, therefore, +patiently, it is promised and it will arrive, if you do not fall +back into your sins, but maintain your confidence in God, who never +deserts His chosen people, though He may subject them to trials and +tribulations, to prove their constancy."[250] One would fain believe +that John Bockelson was in earnest, and the subject of religious +infatuation, like his subjects, but after this it is impossible to +so regard him. + + [250] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 153, 154; Sleidan, p. 422; Bullinger, + lib. ii. c. 2; Heresbach, pp. 159, 160. + +The princes, when separating after the assembly of Coblenz, had +agreed to reassemble on the 4th of April. Ferdinand, King of the +Romans, convoked all the Estates of the empire to meet on that +day at Worms. The deputies of several towns protested against the +decisions taken at Coblenz without their participation, and the +deliberations were at the outset very tumultuous. An understanding +was at length arrived at, and a monthly subsidy of 20,000 florins +for five months was agreed upon, to maintain the efficacy of the +investment of Münster. But before separating, a final effort +to obtain a pacific termination to the war was resolved upon, +and the burgomasters of Frankfort and Nürnberg were sent as a +deputation into the city. This attempt proved as sterile as all +those previously essayed. "We have nothing in common with the Roman +empire," answered the chiefs of Zion; "for that empire is the fourth +beast whereof Daniel prophesied. We have set up again the kingdom of +Israel, by the Father's command, and we engage you to abstain for +the future from assailing this realm, as you fear the wrath of God +and eternal damnation."[251] + + [251] Kerssenbroeck, p. 155; Hast, 394. + +The famine in Münster now became terrible. Cats, rats, dogs, and +horses were eaten; the starving people attempted various expedients +to satisfy their craving hunger. They ate leather, wood, even +cow-dung dried in the sun, the bark of trees, and candles. Corpses +lately buried were dug up during the night and secretly devoured. +Mothers even ate their children. "Terrible maladies," says +Kerssenbroeck, "the consequence of famine, aggravated the position +of the inhabitants of the town; their flesh decomposed, they rotted +living, their skin became livid, their lips retreated; their eyes, +fixed and round, seemed ready to start out of their orbits; they +wandered about, haggard, hideous, like mummies, and died by hundreds +in the streets. The king, to prevent infection, had the bodies +cast into large common ditches, whence the starving withdrew them +furtively to devour them. Night and day the houses and streets +re-echoed with tears, cries, and moans;--men, women, old men, and +children sank into the darkest despair."[252] + + [252] Kerssenbroeck, p. 157 _et seq._; Heresbach, pp. 151, 152; + Hast, p. 395; Montfort., p. 46. + +In the midst of the general famine, John of Leyden lived in +abundance. His storehouses, into which the victuals found in every +house had been collected, supplied his own table and that of his +immediate followers. His revelry and pomp were unabated, whilst his +deluded subjects died of want around him.[253] + + [253] _Ibid._ p. 157. + +When starvation was at its worst, a letter from Heinrich Graess +circulated in the town, informing the people that his miraculous +escape had been a fable, and that he had rejected the follies of +Anabaptism, disgusted at the extravagance to which it had led +its votaries, and assuring them that their king was an impostor, +exploiting to his advantage the credulity of an infatuated mob.[254] + + [254] Montfort., p. 47. + +This letter produced an effect which made the king tremble. He +summoned his disciples before him, reproached them for putting the +hand to the plough and turning back, and gave leave to all those +whose faith wavered to go out from the city. "As for me," said +he, "I shall remain here, even if I remain alone with the angels +which the Father will not fail to send to aid me to defend this +place."[255] + + [255] Kerssenbroeck, p. 161. + +When the king had given permission to leave the city, numbers of +every age and sex poured through the gates, leaving behind only the +most fanatical who were resolved to conquer or die with John of +Leyden. + +Outside the city walls extended a trampled and desolate tract to +the fosse and earthworks of the besiegers, strewn with the ruins +of houses and of farmsteads. The unfortunate creatures escaping +from Zion, wasted and haggard like spectres, spread over this +devastated region. The investing army drove them back towards +the city, unwilling to allow the rebels to protract the siege by +disembarrassing themselves of all the useless mouths in the place. +They refused, however, to re-enter the walls, and remained in the +Königreich, as this desert tract was called, to the number of +900, living on roots and grass, for four weeks, lying on the bare +earth. Some were too feeble to walk, and crawled about on all fours; +their hunger was so terrible that they filled their mouths with +sand, earth, or leaves, and died choked, in terrible convulsions. +Night and day their moans, howls, and cries ascended. The children +presented a yet more deplorable spectacle; they implored their +mothers to give them something to eat, and they, poor creatures, +could only answer them with tears and sobs; often they approached +the lines of the camp, and sought to excite the compassion of the +soldiers. + +The General in command, Graff Ueberstein, sent information, on April +22nd, to the bishop, who was ill in his castle at Wollbeck, and +asked what was to be done with these unfortunates who were perishing +in the Königreich. The bishop shed tears, and protested his sorrow +at the sufferings of the poor wretches, but did not venture to give +orders for their removal, without consulting the Duke of Cleves and +the Elector of Cologne. Thus much precious time was lost, and only +on the 28th May, a month after, were the starving wretches permitted +to leave the Königreich, upon the following terms: 1st. That they +should be transported to the neighbouring town of Diekhausen, where +they should be examined, and those who were guilty among them +executed; 2nd. That the rest should be pardoned and dispersed in +different places, after having undertaken to renounce Anabaptism, +and to abstain from negotiations, open or secret, with their +comrades in the beleagured city.[256] These conditions having been +made, the refugees were transported on tumbrils and in carts to +Diekhausen, at a foot's pace, their excessive exhaustion rendering +them incapable of bearing more rapid motion. They numbered 200; 700 +had perished of famine between the lines of the investing army and +the walls of the besieged town. On the 30th May, those found guilty +of prominent participation in the revolt were executed. + + [256] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 161-8. + +The prince-bishop might have spared his tears and sent loaves. +His hesitation and want of genuine sympathy with the starving +unfortunates serve to mark his character as not only weak, but +selfish and cowardly. + +Whilst this was taking place outside the walls of Münster, John van +Gheel, an emissary of Bockelson, was actively engaged in rousing the +Anabaptists of Amsterdam. Having insinuated himself into the good +graces of the Princess Mary, regent of the Netherlands, he persuaded +her that he was desirous of restraining the sectaries waiting their +call to march to the relief of Münster. She even furnished him with +an authorisation to raise troops for this purpose. He profited by +this order to arm his friends and lay a plot for obtaining the +mastery of Amsterdam. His design was to make that city a place +of rendezvous for all the Anabaptists of the Low Countries, who +would flock into it as a city of refuge, when once it was in his +power, and then he would be able to organise out of them an army +sufficiently numerous and well appointed to raise the siege of +Münster. + +On the 11th May he placed himself at the head of 600 friends, seized +on the town, massacred half the guards, and one of the burgomasters. +Amsterdam would inevitably have been in the power of the sectaries +in another hour, had not one of the guard escaped up the tower +and rung the alarm-bell. As the tocsin pealed over the city, the +citizens armed and rushed to the market-place, fell upon the +Anabaptists and retook the town-hall, notwithstanding a desperate +resistance. Crowds of fanatics from the country, who had received +secret intimation to assemble before the walls of Amsterdam, +and wait till the gates were opened to admit them, finding that +the plan had been defeated, threw away their arms and fled with +precipitation.[257] + + [257] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 73, 74; Hast, p. 37; Montfort., p. 58 + _et seq._ + +Van Gheel had fallen in the encounter. The prisoners were executed. +Amongst these was Campé whom John of Leyden had created Anabaptist +bishop of Amsterdam. His execution was performed with great +barbarity; first his tongue, then his hand, and finally his head was +cut off.[258] + + [258] Montfort., pp. 68, 69. + +We must look once more into the doomed city. + +In the midst of the general desolation John Bockelson and his court +lived in splendour and luxury. Every one who murmured against his +excesses was executed. Heads were struck off on the smallest charge, +and scarcely a day passed in May and June without blood flowing on +Mount Zion. One of the most remarkable of these executions was that +of Elizabeth Wandtscherer, one of the queens. + +This woman had had three husbands; the first was dead, the second +marriage had been annulled, and Bockelson had taken her to wife +because she was pretty and well made. + +She was a great favourite with her royal husband, and for six +months she seemed to be delighted with her position; but at +length, disgusted with the unbridled licence of the royal harem, +the hypocrisy and the mad revelry of the court, contrasted with +the famine of the citizens, a prey to remorse, she tore off her +jewels and her queenly robes, and asked John of Leyden permission +to leave the city. This was on the 12th June. The king, furious at +an apostacy in his own house, dragged her into the market-place, +and there in the presence of his wives and the populace, smote off +her head with his own hands, stamped on her body, and then chanting +the "Gloria in excelsis" with his queens, danced round the corpse +weltering in its blood.[259] + + [259] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 176-7; Dorpius, f. 498 b; Sleidan, p. + 422, says she was executed for having observed to some of her + companions that it could not be the will of God that they should + live in abundance whilst the subjects perished from want of + necessaries. Hast, p. 395; Heresbach, p. 145. + +However, the royal magazines were now nearly exhausted, and the king +was informed that there remained provisions for only a few days. He +resolved to carry on his joyous life of debauchery without thought +of the morrow, and when all was expended, to fire the city in every +quarter, and then to rush forth, arms in hand, and break through the +investing girdle, or perish in the attempt.[260] This project was +not executed, for the siege was abruptly ended before the moment +had arrived for its accomplishment. + + [260] Kerssenbroeck, p. 177. + +Late in the preceding year, a soldier of the Episcopal army, John +Eck, of Langenstraten, or, as he was called from his diminutive +stature, Hansel Eck, having been punished as he deemed excessively +or unjustly for some dereliction in his duty, deserted to the +Anabaptists, and found an asylum in the city, where John Bockelson, +perceiving his abilities and practical acquaintance with military +operations, made him one of his captains. + +But Hansel soon repented bitterly this step he had taken. Little men +are proverbially peppery and ready to stand on their dignity. His +desertion had been the result of an outburst of wounded self-pride, +and when his wrath cooled down, and his judgment obtained the upper +hand, he was angry with himself for what he had done. Feeling +confident that the city must eventually fall, and knowing that +small mercies would be shown to a deserter caught in arms, however +insignificant he might be in stature, Hansel took counsel with eight +other discontented soldiers in his company, and they resolved to +escape from Münster and ask pardon of the bishop. + +They effected the first part of their object on the night of +the 17th June, and crossed the Königreich towards the lines of +the investing force. The sentinels, observing a party of armed +men advancing, with the moon flashing from their morions and +breastplates, fired on them and killed seven. His diminutive stature +stood Hansel in good stead, and he, with one other named Sobb, +succeeded in escalading the ramparts unobserved, and in making +their way to the nearest fort of Hamm, where the old officer, +Meinhardt von Hamm, under whom he had formerly served, was in +command. Hansel and Sobb were conducted into his presence, and +offered to deliver the city into the hands of the prince-bishop if +he would accord them a free pardon; but they added that no time +must be lost, as it was but a question of hours rather than of days +before the city was fired, and the final sortie was executed.[261] + + [261] Kerssenbroeck, p. 179 _et seq._; Sleidan, p. 427; + Montfort., p. 71; Heresbach, p. 162 _et seq._; Hast, p. 395 _et + seq._; Dorpius, f. 499. + +Meinhardt listened to his plan, approved of it, and wrote to Francis +of Waldeck, asking a safe-conduct for Hansel, and urging the utmost +secrecy, as on the preservation of the secret depended the success +of the scheme. + +The safe-conduct was readily granted, and the deserter was brought +to Willinghegen concealed amidst game in a cart covered with +boughs of trees. Willinghegen is a small place one mile outside +the circumvallation. The chiefs of the besieging army met here to +consider the plan of Hansel Eck. The little man protested that with +300 men he could take the city. He knew the weak points, and he +could escalade the walls where they were unguarded. Four hundred +soldiers were, however, decided to be sent on the expedition, under +the command of Wilkin Steding, "a terrible enemy but a devoted +friend;" John of Twickel was to be standard-bearer, and Hansel +was to act as guide; and the attempt was to be made on the eve +of St. John the Baptist's day.[262] However, the bishop and Count +Ueberstein, desirous of avoiding unnecessary effusion of blood, +summoned the inhabitants to surrender, for the last time, on the +22nd June. + + [262] Kerssenbroeck, p. 169; and the authors before cited. + +Rottmann replied to the deputies that "the city should be +surrendered only when they received the order to do so from the +Father by a revelation." + +Midsummer eve was a hot, sultry day. Towards evening dark heavy +clouds rolled up against the wind, and a violent storm of thunder, +lightning, and hail burst over the doomed city. The sentinels +of Münster, exhausted by hunger, and alarmed at the rage of the +elements, quitted their posts and retreated under shelter. The +darkness, the growl of the wind, and the boom of the thunder +concealed the approach of the Episcopal troops. The 400, under +Steding, guided by the deserter, marched into the Königreich between +ten and eleven o'clock, and met with no obstacles till they reached +the Holy-cross Gate. Here they filled the ditch with faggots, trees, +and bundles of straw; a bridge was improvised, the curtain of +palisades masking the bastion was surmounted, ladders were planted, +and without meeting with the least resistance, the 400 reached the +summit of the walls. The sentinels, whom they found asleep, were +killed, with the exception of one who purchased his life by giving +up the pass-word, "Die Erde." The soldiers then advanced along the +paved road which lay between the double walls, captured and killed +the sentinels at every watch tower, and then, entering the streets, +crossed the cemetery of Ueberwasser, the River Aa by its bridge, and +debouched on the cathedral square, where the faint flashes of the +retreating lightning illumined at intervals the gaunt scaffolding of +the throne and gallery and pulpit of the Anabaptist king, looking +now not unlike the preparations for an execution. + +The cathedral had been converted into the arsenal. Hansel led the +Episcopal soldiers to the western gates, gave the word "Die Erde," +and the guards were killed before they could give the alarm. The +artillery was now in the hands of the 400.[263] + + [263] Kerssenbroeck, p. 176 _et seq._; and the authors before + cited. + +The Anabaptists had slept through the rumble of the thunder, but +suddenly the rattle of the drum on their hill of Zion woke them +with a start. They sprang from their beds, armed in haste, and +rushed to the cathedral square, where their own cannons opened +on them their mouths of fire, and poured an iron shower down the +main thoroughfares which led from the Minster green. But they were +not discouraged. Through backways, and under the shelter of the +surrounding houses, they reached the Chapel of St. Michael, which +commanded the position of the Episcopal soldiers, and thence fired +upon them with deadly precision. + +Steding turned the guns against the chapel, but its massive walls +could not be broken through, and the balls bounded from them without +effecting more than a trivial damage. The Anabaptists pursued their +advantage. Whilst Steding was occupied with those who held the +Chapel of St. Michael, a large number assembled in the market-place +and marched in close ranks upon the cathedral square. + +The 400, unable to withstand the numbers opposed to them, were +driven from their positions, and retreated into the narrow Margaret +Street, where they were unable to use their arms with advantage. +Steding burst open the door of a house, and sent 200 of his men +through it; they issued through the back door, filled up a narrow +lane running parallel with the street, and attacked the Anabaptists +in the rear, who, thinking that the city was in the hands of the +enemy, and that they were being assailed by a reinforcement, fled +precipitately. + +By an unpardonable oversight, Steding had forgotten to leave a guard +at the postern by which he had entered the city. The Anabaptists +discovered this mistake and profited by it, so that when the +reinforcements sent to support Steding arrived, the gates were +closed, and the walls were defended by the women, who cast stones +and firebrands, and shot arrows amongst them, taunting them with the +failure of the attempt to surprise the city; and they, uncertain +whether to believe that the plot of Hansel Eck had failed or not, +remained without till break of day, vainly attempting to escalade +the walls. The Anabaptists, who had fled in the Margaret Street, +soon rallied, and the 400 were again exposed to the fury of a +multitude three times their number, who assailed them in front and +in rear, and they were struck down by stones and furniture cast out +of the windows upon them by the women in the houses. + +Nevertheless they bravely defended themselves for several hours, +and their assailants began to lose courage, as news of the onslaught +upon the walls reached them. It was now midnight. King John proposed +a temporary cessation of hostilities, which Steding gladly accepted, +and the messengers of Bockelson offered the 400 their life if they +would lay down their arms, kneel before him, and ask his pardon.[264] + + [264] Kerssenbroeck, p. 385; Heresbach, pp. 162-6; Montfort., p. + 72; Hast, p. 396 _et seq._ + +The soldiers indignantly rejected this offer, but proposed to quit +the town with their arms and ensigns. A long discussion ensued, +which Steding protracted till break of day. + +At the opening of the negotiations, Steding bade John von Twickel, +the ensign, hasten to the ramparts with three men, as secretly +as possible, and urge on the reinforcements. Twickel reached the +bastions as day began to dawn, and he shouted to his comrades +without to help Steding and his gallant band before all was lost. +The Episcopalians, dreading a ruse of the besieged to draw them into +an ambush, hesitated; but Twickel called the watchword, which was +_Waldeck_, and announced the partial success of the 400. + +Having accomplished his mission, Twickel returned to his comrades +within, cheering them at the top of his voice with the cry from +afar, "Courage, friends, help is at hand!" + +At these words the remains of the gallant band of 400 recommenced +the combat with irresistible energy. They fell on the Anabaptists +with such vehemence that they drove them back on all sides; they +gave no quarter, but breaking into divisions, swept the streets, +meeting now with only a feeble resistance, for the soldiers without +were battering at the gates. In vain did the sectarians offer to +leave the town, their offer came too late, and the little band drove +them from one rallying point to another.[265] + + [265] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 188, 189. + +Rottmann, feeling that all was lost, cast himself on their lances +and fell. John of Leyden, instead of heading his party, attempted to +fly, but was recognised as he was escaping through the gate of St. +Giles, and was thrown into chains. + +In the meantime the reinforcement had mounted the walls, beaten +in the gates, and was pouring up the streets, rolling back the +waves of discomfited Anabaptists on the swords and spears of the +decimated 400. Two hundred of the most determined among the fanatics +entrenched themselves in a round tower commanding the market-place, +and continued firing on the soldiers of the prince. The generals, +seeing that the town was in their power, and that it would cost an +expenditure of time and life to reduce those in the tower, offered +them their life, and permission to march out of Münster unmolested +if they would surrender. + +On these terms the Anabaptists in the bastion laid down their arms. +The besiegers now spread throughout the city, hunting out and +killing the rebels. Hermann Tilbeck, the former burgomaster, who had +played into the hands of the Anabaptists till he declared himself, +and who had been one of the twelve elders of Israel, was found +concealed, half submerged, in a privy, near the gate of St. Giles, +was killed, and his body left where he had hidden, "thus being +buried," says Kerssenbroeck, "with worse than the burial of an ass." +When the butchery was over, the bodies were brought together into +the cathedral square and were examined. That of Knipperdolling was +not amongst them. He was, in fact, hiding in the house of Catherine +Hobbels, a zealous Anabaptist; she kept him in safety the whole +of the 26th, but finding that every house was being searched, and +fearing lest she should suffer for having sheltered him, she ordered +him to leave and attempt an escape over the walls.[266] + + [266] Kerssenbroeck, p. 195. + +On the 27th all the women were collected in the market-square, and +were ordered to leave the city and never to set foot in it again. +But just as they were about to depart, Ueberstein announced that any +one of them who could deliver up Knipperdolling should be allowed to +remain and retain her possessions. The bait was tempting. Catherine +Hobbels stepped forward, and offered to point out the hiding-place +of the man they sought. She was given a renewed assurance that +her house and goods would be respected, and she then delivered up +Knipperdolling, who had not quitted his place of refuge. The promise +made to her was rigorously observed; but her husband, not being +included in the pardon, and being a ringleader of the fanatics, was +executed.[267] The women were accompanied by the soldiers as far as +the Lieb-Frau gate; they took with them their children, and were +ordered to leave the diocese and principality forthwith. + + [267] _Ibid._ p. 196; Heresbach, p. 166. + +Divara, the head queen of John of Leyden, the wife of +Knipperdolling, and three other women, were refused permission to +leave. They were executed on the 7th July. + +Münster was then delivered over to pillage; but all those who had +left the town during the government of the Anabaptists were given +their furniture and houses and such of their goods as could be +identified. + +All the property of the Anabaptists was confiscated and sold to +pay the debts contracted by the prince for defraying the expenses +of the war. The division of the booty occasioned several troubles, +parties of soldiers mutinied, and attempted a second pillage, but +the mutineers were put down rigorously. + +Several more executions took place during the following days, and +men hidden away in cellars, garrets and sewers were discovered and +killed or carried off to prison. Among these were Bernard Krechting +and Kerkering.[268] + + [268] Kerssenbroeck, pp. 198-200. Dorpius says, "In the capture + of the city, women and children were spared; and none were killed + after the first fight, except the ringleaders."--f. 399. + +On the 28th June, Francis of Waldeck entered the city at the head +of 800 men. The sword, crown, and spurs of John of Leyden, together +with the keys of the city, were presented to him.[269] + + [269] Montfort., p. 73. + +The prince received, as had been stipulated, half the booty, and the +articles and the treasure deposited in the town-hall and in the +royal palace, which amounted to 100,000 gold florins.[270] + + [270] Kerssenbroeck, Heresbach, p. 168; Hast, p. 400. + +Francis remained in Münster only three days. Having named the new +magistrates, and organised the civil government of the city, he +departed for his castle of Iburg. On the 13th July he ordered a Te +Deum to be sung in the churches throughout the diocese, in thanks to +God for having restored tranquillity; and the Chapter inaugurated a +yearly thanksgiving procession to take place on the 25th June.[271] + + [271] _Ibid._ p. 200. + +On the 15th July, the Elector of Cologne, the Duke of Juliers, and +Francis of Waldeck, met at Neuss to concert measures for preventing +a repetition of these disorders. The leading Protestant divines +wrote, urging the extermination of the heretics, and reminding the +princes that the sword had been given them for this purpose. + +On the same day, the diet of Worms agreed that the Anabaptists +should be extirpated as a sect dangerous alike to morals and to the +safety of the commonwealth, and that an assembly should be held in +the month of November, to decide upon defraying the cost of the war, +and on the form of government which was to be established in the +city.[272] + + [272] _Ibid._ p. 201 + + The diet met on the 1st November, and decided,--That everything + should be re-established in Münster on the old footing, and that + the clergy should have their property and privileges restored to + them. That all who had fled the city to escape the government of + the Anabaptists should be reinstated in the possession of their + offices, privileges, and houses. That all the goods of the rebels + should remain confiscated to defray the expense of the war. + That the princes of neighbouring states should send deputies to + Münster to provide that the innocent should not suffer with the + guilty. That the fortifications should be in part demolished, as + an example; but that Münster should not be degraded from its rank + as a city. That the bishop and chapter and nobles should demolish + the bastions within the town as soon as the city walls had been + razed. That the bishops, the nobles, and the citizens should + solemnly engage, for themselves and for their successors, never + to attempt to refortify the city. Finally, that the envoys of + the King of the Romans and of the princes should visit the said + town on the 5th March, 1536, to see that these articles of the + convention had been executed. + + All these articles were not observed. The bishop did not demolish + the fortifications, and the point was not insisted upon. + + As for the civil constitution of Münster, its privileges and + franchises, they were not entirely restored till 1553. + + Francis of Waldeck now set to work repairing and purifying + the churches, and restoring everything as it had been before. + Catholic worship was everywhere restored without a single voice + in the city rising in opposition. The people were sick of + Protestantism, whether in its mitigated form as Lutheranism, or + in its aggravated development as Anabaptism. + + But Lutherans of other states were by no means satisfied. The + reconciliation of the great city with the Catholic Church, from + which half its inhabitants had previously separated, was not + pleasant news to the Reformers, and they protested loudly. "On + the Friday after St. John's day," wrote Dorpius "in midsummer, + God came and destroyed this hell and drove the devil out, but the + devil's mother came in again.... The Anabaptists were on that day + rooted out, and the Papists planted in again."[273] + + [273] "Hernach auff freitag S. Johanstag mitten in Sommer, kommet + Gott und zerstöret die Helle, und jaget den Teuffel heraus, und + komet sein Mutter wider hinein ... und sind die Widerteuffer + an obgemeltem tag ausgerottet worden, die Papisten aber wider + eingepflantzet."--Dorp. f. 399 (by misprint 499). + +It is time to look at John of Leyden and his fellow-prisoners: they +were Knipperdolling and Bernard Krechting. There could be no doubt +that their fate would be terrible. It was additional cruelty to +delay it. But the bishop and the Lutheran divines were curious to +see and argue with the captives, and they were taken from place to +place to gratify their curiosity. + +When King John appeared before Francis of Waldeck, the bishop asked +him angrily how he could protract the siege whilst his people were +starving around him. "Francis of Waldeck," he answered, "they should +all have died of hunger before I surrendered, had things gone as +I desired."[274] He retained his spirits and affected to joke. At +Dulmen the people crowded round him asking, "Is this the king who +took to himself so many wives?" "I ask your pardon," answered +Bockelson, "I took maidens and made them wives."[275] + + [274] Dorp. ff. 399 a, 400 a, b. + + [275] Dorp. f. 399 b. + +It has been often stated that the three unfortunates were carried +round the country in iron cages. This is inaccurate. They were taken +in chains on horseback, with two soldiers on either side; their +bodies were placed in iron cages and hung to the steeple of the +church of St. Lambert, after they were dead. + +At Bevergern the Lutheran divine, Anthony Corvinus, and other +ministers "interviewed" the fallen king, and a long and very curious +account of their discussion remains.[276] + + [276] Luther's "Sämmtliche Werke." Wittenb. 1545-51. Band, ii. + ff. 376-386. + +"First, when the king was brought out of prison into the room, we +greeted him in a friendly manner and bade him be seated before us +four. Also, we asked in a friendly manner how he was getting on in +the prison, and whether he was cold or sick? Answer of the king: +Although he was obliged to endure the frost, and the sins weighing +on his heart, yet he must, as such was God's will, bear patiently. +And these and other similar conversations led us so far--for nothing +can be got out of him by direct questions--that we were able right +craftily to converse with him about his government." + +Then followed a lengthy controversy on all the heretical doctrines +of the Anabaptist sect, in which the king exhibited no little +skill. The preachers having brought the charge of novelty against +Anabaptism, John of Leyden very promptly showed that those living +in glass houses should not throw stones, by pointing out that +Lutheranism was not much older than Anabaptism, that he had proved +his mission by miracles, whereas Luther had nothing to show to +demonstrate his call to establish a new creed. + +The discussion on Justification by Faith only was most affectionate, +for both parties were quite agreed on this doctrine--surely a very +satisfactory one and very full of comfort to John of Leyden. But on +the doctrine of the Eucharist they could not agree, the king holding +to Zwingli.[277] + + [277] "Denn wiewol ichs fur dieser zeit mit dem Zwingel + gehalten," &c., f. 384. + +"That in this Sacrament the faithful, who are baptised, receive the +Body and Blood of Christ believe I," said the king; "for though I +hold for this time with Zwingli, nevertheless I find that the words +of Christ (This is my Body, This is my Blood) must remain in their +worth. But that unbelievers also receive the Body and Blood of +Christ, that I cannot believe." + +_The Preachers_: "How that? Shall our unbelief avail more than the +word, command and ordinance of God?" + +_The King_: "Unbelief is such a dreadful thing, that I cannot +believe that the unbelievers can partake of the Body and Blood of +Christ." + +_The Preachers_: "It is a perverse thing that you should ever try +to set our faith, or want of faith, above the words and ordinance +of God. But it is evident that our faith can add nothing to God's +ordinance, nor can my unbelief detract anything therefrom. Faith +must be there, that I may benefit by such eating and drinking; but +yet in this matter must we repose more on God's command and word +than on our faith or unbelief." + +_The King_: "If this your meaning hold, then all unbelievers must +have partaken of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. But +such I cannot believe." + +_The Preachers_: "You must understand that our unbelief cannot make +the ordinance of God unavailing. Say now, for what end was the sun +created?" + +_The King_: "Scripture teaches that it was made to rule the day and +to shine." + +_The Preachers_: "Now if we or you were blind, would the sun fail to +execute its office for which it was created?" + +_The King_: "I know well that my blindness or yours would not make +the sun fail to shine." + +_The Preachers_: "So is it with all the works and ordinances of +God, especially with the Sacraments. When I am baptised it is well +if faith be there; but if it be not, baptism does not for all that +fail to be a precious, noble, and holy Sacrament, yes, what St. Paul +calls it, a regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost, because it +is ordered by God's word and given His promise. So also with respect +to the Lord's Supper; if those who partake shall have faith to +grasp the promise of Christ, as it is written, _Oportet accedentem +credere_, but none the less does God's word, ordinance, and command +remain, even if my faith never more turned thereto. But of this we +have said enough."[278] + + [278] _Ibid._ f. 384 b. + +The preachers next catechised John of Leyden on his heresy +concerning the Incarnation. He did not deny that Jesus Christ was +born of Mary, but he denied that He derived from her His flesh and +blood, as he considered that Mary being sinful, out of sinful flesh +sinful offspring must issue. + +The catechising on the subject of marriage follows. + +_The Preachers_: "How have you regarded marriage, and what is your +belief thereupon?" + +_The King_: "We have ever held marriage to be God's work and +ordinance, and we hold this now, that no higher or better estate +exists in the world than the estate of matrimony." + +_The Preachers_: "Why have you so wildly treated this same estate, +against God's word and common order, and taken one wife after +another? How can you justify such a proceeding?" + +_The King_: "What was permitted to the patriarchs in the Old +Testament, why should it be denied to us? What we have held is this: +he who wished to have only one wife had not other wives forced upon +him; but him who wished to have more wives than one, we left free to +do so, according to God's command, Be fruitful and multiply." + +This the preachers combat by saying that the patriarchs were +guiltless, because the law of the land (_die gemeine Policey_) did +not then forbid concubinage, but that now that is forbidden by +common law, it is sinful.[279] Then they asked the king what other +texts he could quote to establish polygamy. + + [279] Wei zweiveln nicht wenn ein bestendig Policey und Regiment + gewesen were, wie itzt est, es würden sich die Vetter freilich + aug der selbigen gehalten haben. + +_The King_: "Paul says of the bishop, let him be the husband of +one wife; now if a bishop is to have only one wife, surely, in the +time of Paul, laymen must have been allowed two or three apiece, as +pleased them. There you have your text." + +_The Preachers_: "As we said before, marriage is an affair of common +police regulation, _res Politica_. And as now the law of the land is +different from what it was in the time of Paul, so that many wives +are forbidden and not tolerated, you will have to answer for your +innovations before God and man." + +_The King_: "Well, I have the consolation that what was permitted to +the fathers cannot damn us. I had rather be with the fathers than +with you." + +_The Preachers_: "Well, we prefer obedience to the State."[280] + + [280] Predicanten: So wöllen wir in diesemfäll viel lieber der + Oberkeit gehorsam sein, f. 386 b. + +Here we see Corvinus, Kymens, and the other ministers placing +matrimony on exactly the same low footing as did Luther. + +Having "interviewed" the king, these crows settled on Knipperdolling +and Krechting in Horstmar, and with these unfortunates they carried +on a paper controversy. + +The captivity of the king and his two accomplices lasted six months. +The Lutheran preachers had swarmed about him and buzzed in his +ears, and the poor wretch believed that by yielding a few points +he could save his life. He offered to labour along with Melchior +Hoffmann, to bring the numerous Anabaptists in Friesland, Holland, +Brabant, and Flanders into submission, if he were given his liberty; +but finding that the preachers had been giving him false hopes and +leading him into recantations, he refused to see them again, and +awaited his execution in sullen despair. + +The pastors failing to convert the Anabaptists, and finding that the +sectaries used against them scripture and private judgment with such +efficacy that they were unable in argument to overcome them, called +upon the princes to exterminate them by fire and sword. + +The gentle Melancthon wrote a tract or letter to urge the princes +on; it was entitled, "Das weltliche Oberkeiten den Widerteuffern +mit leiblicher straffe zu wehren schüldig sey. Etlicher bedenken zu +Wittemberg gestellet durch Philip Melancthon, 1536. Ob Christliche +Fürsten schüldig sind der Widerteuffer unchristlicher Sect mit +leiblicher straffe und mit dem schwert zu wehren." He enumerates the +doctrines of the unfortunate sectarians at Münster and elsewhere, +and then he says that it is the duty of all princes and nobles to +root out with the sword all heresy from their dominions; but then, +with this proviso, they must first be instructed out of God's Word +by the pure reformed Church what doctrines are heretical, that they +may only exterminate those who differ from the Lutheran communion. + +He then quotes to the Protestant princes the example of the Jewish +kings: "The kings in the Old Testament, not only the Jewish kings, +but also the converted heathen kings, judged and killed the false +prophets and unbelievers. Such examples show the office of princes. +As Paul says, the law is good that blasphemers are to be punished. +The government is not to rule men for their bodily welfare, so much +as for God's honour, for they are God's ministers; let them remember +that and value their office." + +But it is argued on the other side that it is written, "Let both +grow together till the harvest. Now this is not spoken to the +temporal power," says Melancthon, "but to the preachers, that they +should not use physical power under the excuse of their office. +From all this it is plain that the worldly government is bound to +drive away blasphemy, false doctrine, heresies, and to punish in +their persons those who hold to these things.... Let the judge know +that this sect of Anabaptists is from the devil, and as a prudent +preacher instructs different stations how they are to conduct +themselves, as he teaches a wife that to breed children is to please +God well, so he teaches the temporal authorities how they are to +serve God's honour, and openly drive away heresy."[281] + + [281] "Das weltliche Oberkeit," &c., in Luth. "Sämt. Werke." + 1545-51, ii. ff. 327-8. + +So also did Justus Menius write to urge on an exterminatory +persecution of the sectaries; he also argues that "Let both grow +together till the harvest," is not to be quoted by the princes as +an excuse for sparing lives and properties.[282] + + [282] "Von dem Geist d. Widerteuffer." in Luth. "Samt. Werke." + 1545-51, ii. f. 325 b. + +On the 12th January, 1536, John of Leyden, Knipperdolling, and +Krechting were brought back to Münster to undergo sentence of +death.[283] + + [283] Kerssenbroeck, p. 209; Kurtze Hist. f. 400. + +A platform was erected in the square before the townhall on the +21st, and on this platform was planted a large stake with iron +collars attached to it. + +When John Bockelson was told, on the 21st, that he was to die on the +morrow, he asked for the chaplain of the bishop, John von Siburg, +who spent the night with him. With the fear of a terrible death +before him, the confidence of the wretched man gave way, and he made +his confession with every sign of true contrition. + +Knipperdolling and Krechting, who were also offered the assistance +of a priest, rejected the offer with contempt. They declared that +the presence of God sufficed them, that they were conscious of +having committed no sin, and that all their actions had been done +the sole glory of to God, that moreover they were freely justified +by faith in Christ. + +On Monday the 22nd, at eight o'clock in the morning, the ex-king of +Münster and his companions were led to execution. The gates of the +city had been closed, and a large detachment of troops surrounded +the scaffold. Outside this iron ring was a dense crowd of people, +and the windows were filled with heads. Francis of Waldeck occupied +a window immediately opposite the scaffold, and remained there +throughout the hideous tragedy.[284] As an historian has well +observed, "Francis of Waldeck, in default of other virtues, might +at least have not forgotten what was due to his high rank and his +Episcopal character; he regarded neither--but showed himself as +ferocious as had been John Bockelson, by becoming a spectator of the +long and horrible torture of the three criminals."[285] John and his +accomplices having reached the townhall, received their sentence +from Wesseling, the city judge. It was that they should be burned +with red-hot pincers, and finally stabbed with daggers heated in the +fire.[286] + + [284] Kerssenbroeck, p. 210; Kurtze Hist. f. 400. + + [285] Bussierre, p. 462. + + [286] Kerssenbroeck, p. 211; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 10; + Montfort., p. 74; Heresbach, pp. 166-7; Hast, pp. 405-6; Kurtze + Historia, f. 400. + +The king was the first to mount the scaffold and be tortured. + +"The king endured three grips with the pincers without speaking or +crying, but then he burst forth into cries of, "Father, have mercy +on me! God of mercy and loving kindness!" and he besought pardon +of his sins and help. The bystanders were pierced to the heart +by his shrieks of agony, the scent of the roast flesh filled the +market-place; his body was one great wound. At length the sign was +given, his tongue was torn out with the red pincers, and a dagger +pierced his heart. + +Knipperdolling and Krechting were put to the torture directly after +the agonies of the king had begun. Knipperdolling endeavoured +to beat his brains out against the stake, and when prevented, he +tried to strangle himself with his own collar. To prevent him +accomplishing his design, a rope was put through his mouth and +attached to the stake so as totally to incapacitate him from moving. +When these unfortunates were dead, their bodies were placed in three +iron cages, and were hung up on the tower of the church of St. +Lambert, the king in the middle.[287] + + [287] Kerssenbroeck, p. 211; Kurtze Hist. f. 401. + +Thus ended this hideous drama, which produced an effect throughout +Germany. The excess of the scandal inspired all the Catholic +governments with horror, and warned them of the immensity of the +danger they ran in allowing the spread of Protestant mysticism. +Cities and principalities which wavered in their allegiance to the +Church took a decided position at once. + +At Münster, Catholicism was re-established. As has been already +mentioned, the debauched, cruel bishop was a Lutheran at heart, and +his ambition was to convert Münster into an hereditary principality +in his family, after the example of certain other princes. + +Accordingly, in 1543, he proposed to the States of the diocese to +accept the Confession of Augsburg and abandon Catholicism. The +proposition of the prince was unanimously rejected. Nevertheless +the prince joined the Protestant union of Smalkald the following +year, but having been complained of to the Pope and the Emperor, +and fearing the fate of Hermann von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne, +he excused himself as best he could through his relative, Jost +Hodefilter, bishop of Lübeck, and Franz von Dei, suffragan bishop +of Osnabrück. + +Before the Smalkald war the prince-bishop had secretly engaged the +help of the Union against his old enemy, the "wild" Duke Henry of +Brunswick. After the war, the Duke of Oldenburg revenged himself +on the principality severely, with fire and sword, and only spared +Münster itself for 100,000 guilders. The bishop died of grief. He +left three natural sons by Anna Polmann. They bore as their arms a +half star, a whole star being the arms of Waldeck. + + Authorities: Hermann von Kerssenbroeck; Geschichte der + Wiederthaüffer zu Münster in Westphalen. Münster, 1771. There is + an abbreviated edition in Latin in Menckenii Scriptores Rerum + Germanicaum, Leipsig, 1728-30. T. iii. pp. 1503-1618. + + Wie das Evangelium zu Münster erstlich angefangen, und die + Widerteuffer verstöret widerauffgehöret hat. Darnach was die + teufflische Secte der Widerteuffer fur grewliche Gotteslesterung + und unsagliche grawsamkeit ... in der Stad geübt und getrieben; + beschrieben durch Henrichum Dorpium Monasteriensem; in Luther's + Sammtliche Werke. Wittemb. 1545-51. Band ii. ff. 391-401. + + Historia von den Münsterischen Widerteuffern. + + _Ibid._ ff. 328-363. + + Acta, Handlungen, Legationen und Schriften, &c., d. + Munsterischen sachen geschehen. _Ibid._, ff. 363-391. + + Kurtze Historia wie endlich der König sampt zweien gerichted, + &c. _Ibid._ ff. 400-9. + + D. Lambertus Hortensius Monfortius, Tumultuum Anabaptistarum + Liber unus. Amsterdam, 1636. + + Histoire de la Réformation, ou Mémoires de Jean Sleidan. Trad. + de Courrayer. La Haye, 1667. Vol. ii. lib. x. [This is the + edition quoted in the article.] + +Sleidanus: Commentarium rerum in Orbe gestarum, &c. Argent. 1555; +ed. alt. 1559. + +I. Hast, Geschichte der Wiederthaüffer von ihren Entstehen in +Zwickau bis auf ihren Sturz zu Münster in Westphalen Münster. 1836. + + * * * * * + +_Cowan & Co., Limited, Printers, Perth._ + + + + +METHUEN'S NOVEL SERIES. + +THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE. + + +Messrs. METHUEN will issue from time to time a Series of copyright +Novels, by well-known Authors, handsomely bound, at the above +popular price. The first volumes (ready) are:-- + + F. MABEL ROBINSON. + 1. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. + + S. BARING GOULD, _Author of "Mehalah" &c._ + 2. JACQUETTA. + + MRS. LEITH ADAMS (_Mrs. De Courcy Laffan_). + 3. MY LAND OF BEULAH. + + G. MANVILLE FENN. + 4. ELI'S CHILDREN. + + S. BARING GOULD. + 5. ARMINELL: A Social Romance. + + EDNA LYALL. + 6. DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST. With Portrait of Author. + + F. MABEL ROBINSON. + 7. DISENCHANTMENT. + + M. 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GRANGER, M.A., London, Lecturer in Philosophy at + University Coll., Nottingham. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's note: + +Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + +Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as +printed. + +Mismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where +the missing quote should be placed. + +The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the +transcriber and is placed in the public domain. + +Page 60: "On Jaspis remarking to him in April, 1820, that there were +circumstances"--The "2" in 1820 was unclear in the book but has been +inserted by the transcriber. + +Page 106: "ordering the umiiatcirdne Jews to be discharged"--The +transcriber has inserted "incarcerated" for "umiiatcirdne". + +Page 221: "No envoys from the capital attended the reunion of the +chambers at Wollbeck on the 20th December.--The word "of" is unclear. + +Page 262: The transcriber has supplied an anchor for footnote 147. +"Kerssenbroeck, p. 405 _et seq._ Montfort., "Tumult. Anabap.," p. 15 +_et seq._; Bullinger, lib. ii. c. 8." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Freaks of Fanaticism, by Sabine Baring-Gould + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43601 *** |