John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch
Anabaptist
Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
leader. In 1533 he moved to
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
, capital of the
Prince-Bishopric of Münster
The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (german: Fürstbistum Münster; Bistum Münster, Hochstift Münster) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Low ...
, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into a
millenarian
Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...
Anabaptist theocracy, and proclaimed himself
King of New Jerusalem in September 1534. The insurrection was suppressed in June 1535 after Prince-Bishop
Franz von Waldeck
Count Franz von Waldeck (1491 – 15 July 1553) was Prince-Bishop of Münster, Osnabrück, and Minden in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. He suppressed the Münster Rebellion, a millenarian Anabaptist theocra ...
besieged the city and captured John. John was tortured to death in the city's central marketplace on 22 January 1536, along with
Bernhard Knipperdolling
Bernhard Knipperdolling (c. 1495 – January 22, 1536) was a German leader of the Münster Anabaptists. He was also known as Bernd or Berndt Knipperdollinck or Knypperdollynck or Bertrand Knipperdoling; his birth name was van Stockem.
Early lif ...
and
Bernhard Krechting
Bernhard Krechting (before 1500 – January 22, 1536) was one of the leaders of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster.
Krechting was born in Schöppingen, Münster, the son of the town clerk and church musician Engelbert Krechting. Like his five b ...
.
Life
![Knipperdolling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Knipperdolling.jpg)
John was the illegitimate son of a Dutch mayor, and a
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
's
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
by trade. He was born in the village of
Zevenhoven
Zevenhoven is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Nieuwkoop
Nieuwkoop () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality was enlarged on ...
in the municipality of
Nieuwkoop
Nieuwkoop () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality was enlarged on 1 January 2007, through the amalgamation of Liemeer and Ter Aar. The municipality now covers an area of of whi ...
, located in the Dutch province of
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
. Raised in poverty, young John became a charismatic leader who was widely revered by his followers. John was an
Anabaptist
Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
, secretly at first, but later he became a recognized prophet of a sect which would eventually take over the German town of Münster. According to his own testimony, he moved to Münster in 1533 because he had heard there were inspired preachers there. He sent for
Jan Matthys
Jan Matthys (also known as ''Jan Matthias'', ''Johann Mathyszoon'', ''Jan Mattijs'', ''Jan Matthijszoon''; c. 1500 – 5 April 1534) was a charismatic Anabaptist leader of the Münster Rebellion, regarded by his followers as a prophet.
Matthys w ...
, who had baptized him, to come.
After his arrival Matthys – recognized as a prophet – became the principal leader of the city. Matthys expelled all of the Catholics from the city shortly after his arrival and set up a communal structure based on the Gospels. He outlawed money and forbade owning property. A Catholic supported army, led by
Franz von Waldeck, Prince-Bishop of Münster, Osnabrück and Minden, laid siege to the town of Münster after the Anabaptist takeover. Matthys led an assault on the siege on
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
1534, but died quickly. John of Leiden became a self-proclaimed "king of the New Jerusalem" until its fall in June 1535.
![BerndKrechting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/BerndKrechting.jpg)
John of Leiden would lead the Anabaptists during the siege. When he was the leader, he assumed Matthys' position as the prophet and eventually established a Royal Order complete with a Royal Court and a kingly costume, which was made from the property taken from the citizens of Münster. John of Leiden would make many promises to his starving subjects about salvation from the siege and upcoming rewards for their enduring loyalty. This, along with his charisma, kept his position in the city secure until the eventual defeat by the hands of the prince bishop. His motto was: ''"Gottes macht is myn cracht"'' (God's might is my strength).
The army of Münster was defeated in 1535 by the prince-bishop Franz von Waldeck. John of Leiden was captured. He was found in the cellar of a house, from where he was taken to a dungeon in Dülmen, then brought back to Münster. On January 22, 1536, along with
Bernhard Krechting
Bernhard Krechting (before 1500 – January 22, 1536) was one of the leaders of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster.
Krechting was born in Schöppingen, Münster, the son of the town clerk and church musician Engelbert Krechting. Like his five b ...
and
Bernhard Knipperdolling
Bernhard Knipperdolling (c. 1495 – January 22, 1536) was a German leader of the Münster Anabaptists. He was also known as Bernd or Berndt Knipperdollinck or Knypperdollynck or Bertrand Knipperdoling; his birth name was van Stockem.
Early lif ...
, he was tortured and then executed. Each of the three was attached to a pole by an iron spiked collar and his body ripped with red-hot tongs for the space of an hour.
After Knipperdolling saw the process of torturing John of Leiden, he attempted to kill himself with the collar, using it to choke himself. After that, the executioner tied him to the stake to make it impossible for him to kill himself. After the burning, their tongues were pulled out with tongs before each was killed with a burning dagger thrust through the heart. The bodies were placed in three iron baskets and hung from the steeple of
St. Lambert's Church and the remains left to rot. About fifty years later the bones were removed, but the baskets remain.
Historiography
The conventional view is that John of Leiden set up in Münster a
polygamous
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy origina ...
, best known for a law John passed stating that any unmarried woman must accept the first proposal of marriage made to her, with the result that men competed to acquire the most wives. Some sources report that John himself took sixteen wives aside from his "
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
"
Divara van Haarlem, and that he publicly beheaded one of his wives,
Elisabeth Wandscherer, after she rebelled against his authority.
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. Kautsky was one of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in ...
in his ''Communism in Central Europe at the Time of the Reformation'', notes that this picture of Anabaptist Münster is based almost entirely on accounts written by the Anabaptists' enemies, who sought to justify their bloody reconquest of the city. Kautsky's reading of the sources emphasizes the Anabaptists' emphasis on social equality, political democracy, and
communal living during the time of John's nominal rule.
In proverb, on stage and in fiction
*John's name still lives on in the
Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
, in the saying ' (loosely: '), which means ''not putting too much effort (or any effort) into something''.
*John Leiden features in
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' a ...
's ''
The Unfortunate Traveller
''The Unfortunate Traveller: or, the Life of Jack Wilton'' (originally published as ''The Unfortunate Traueller: or, The Life of Jacke Wilton'') is a picaresque novel by Thomas Nashe first published in 1594 but set during the reign of Henry VIII of ...
'' (1594), whose hero, Jack Wilton, satirically describes the siege of Münster and Leiden's death.
*The
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
''
Le prophète
''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the M ...
'' (1849) by
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...
features John as its hero. It involves the capture of Münster (Acts III and IV), John's coronation as God's elect at the cathedral (Act IV), and its finale is set in John's palace in Münster.
*John appears as a proxy for Hitler in
Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen
Friedrich Percyval Reck-Malleczewen (11 August 1884 – February 1945) was a German author. His best-known work is '' Diary of a Man in Despair'', a journal in which he expressed his passionate opposition to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. He was eve ...
’s 1937 anti-Nazi novel, ''Bockelson: Geschichte eines Massenwahns'' ("Bockelson: A Tale of a Mass Insanity").
*John of Leiden is featured in the 1962
Peter Vansittart
Peter Vansittart OBE, FRSL (27 August 1920 – 4 October 2008) was an English writer. He had 50 novels published between 1942 and 2008; he also wrote historical studies, memoirs, stories for children and three anthologies: ''Voices from the Grea ...
novel published as ''The Siege'' in USA and as ''Friends of God'' in the U.K.
*John (as Jan Bockelson) is one of the main protagonists in the 1967 play ''Die Wiedertäufer'' by
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...
, and in the 1985 opera
Behold the Sun by
Alexander Goehr
Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic.
Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...
.
*John of Leiden appears in the novel ''
L'Œuvre au noir'' or ''The Abyss'' by
Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar (, , ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the ''Prix Fem ...
, from 1968, in which Yourcenar blends fictitious and real characters, describing the whole Münster Rebellion and its downfall. The passage occupies a short chapter.
*The 1993 German TV drama ' about Leiden features
Christoph Waltz as Jan Beuckelszoon and
Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...
as Bishop von Waldeck.
*John is also featured in
Luther Blissett's novel, ''
Q''.
*John (Jan) of Leiden is the central character in
Anita Mason
Anita Frances Mason (1942-2020) was an English novelist, best known as a former Booker Prize nominee. She is the author of eight novels, including ''The Illusionist'' (1983), ''The Racket'' (1990), and ''The Right Hand of the Sun'' (2008).
Bac ...
's 2003 novel ''Perfection''.
*John is a central character in Antonio Orejudo's 2005 novel, "Reconstruction"
*John is a central character in
Jonathon Rainbow's 2010 novel, ''Speak to Her Kindly'',
a novel of historical fiction set during the events of the Munster Rebellion.
*The protagonist of
Richard Powers
Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel ''The Echo Maker'' won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction.[Orfeo
Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015.
History
The Orfeo music label was registered ...]
'' composes an opera with John of Leiden as the main character.
References
Further reading
*''The Tailor-King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster'', by Anthony Arthur,
*''The Pursuit of the Millennium'' by Norman Cohn,
External links
Picture of the cages at St. Lambert's ChurchPolygamy in Münster– by Kate Arms (pdf)
"Der wedderdoeper eidt" / oath of the Münster AnabaptistsOnline Biography of Jan van LeidenJan Beukelszoon (ca. 1509–1536)in ''Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online''
The Siege of Munsterfrom "In Our Time" BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:John of Leiden
1509 births
1536 deaths
Dutch Protestant religious leaders
People from Leiden
Münster
Polygamy
Dutch Anabaptists
Dutch torture victims
Dutch people executed abroad
16th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire
People executed by stabbing
Self-proclaimed monarchy