sound, his followers held their breath, and so did the burghers of Strasbourg. But when the year passed without any sign of the end of the
world, Hoffmann was seized by the Town Council of Strasbourg and hung up in a cage to die slowly.
In Munster, the capital of Westphalia, a new Anabaptist prophet called Bernard Rothmann preached against Catholicism; his future father-in-law, a rich businessman called Bernard Knipperdolling,
gave him full support. The two fanatics ran through the streets calling on the populace to repent, and dozens of nuns who had deserted their nunneries joined in the hysteria, and began writhing on
the ground and having visions. Munster was beginning to look like a madhouse, and as Anabaptists from a neighbouring duchy flooded in, the Prince-Bishop of Munster, Francis von Waldeck, began to
feel deeply uneasy. And when disciples of a prophet called Jan Matthyson arrived and announced that Munster was the New Jerusalem, even the Protestants began to move out. One of the leading
disciples was a tall, handsome, bearded man called Jan Bockelson, who, because he came from Leyden, was known as John of Leyden.
Soon the messiah Jan Matthyson arrived, accompanied by his beautiful wife, an ex-nun. He proved to be as tall and handsome as John of Leyden, and when he stood up in the market place, dressed in
flowing robes and bearing two tablets under his arms, and told the populace that their city had been chosen by God to be the New Jerusalem, they applauded wildly. Soon the whole town was awash with
religious ecstasy – the women playing a leading role. People had visions every day, and – in the manner of the Brethren of the Free Spirit – felt that all this direct contact with
God enabled them to a little sexual licence – after all, what was the point of being involved in a great religious upheaval if you had to stay chaste?
In February 1534, the worst fears of the Catholics were realized when the Anabaptists were overwhelmingly elected to the Town Council and became, in effect, the rulers of the city. Catholic
churches and homes were sacked. Catholics who refused to be converted were driven naked out of the city. The weather was freezing, and many died.
Munster was surrounded by Bishop von Waldeck’s soldiers, but the Anabaptists were not afraid. God was on their side. And at Easter, the prophet Matthyson had a vision that convinced him
that he could raise the siege with a few followers. The next day he issued forth with twenty men – and was promptly cut down. The soldiers displayed his head on a pike where it could be seen
from the city walls.
A nineteenth-century depiction of a group of Anabaptists
Now John of Leyden was the leader. A bankrupt tailor to whom life had not been kind, he had become the main hope of thousands of enthusiasts. The city of Munster now became a religious
commonwealth in the most literal sense – that is, John of Leyden preached the common ownership of property, and made the citizens take their meals all together in great dining halls. He also
had an idea that made him even more popular. Men and women were sexually free. A man could take as many wives as he wanted, and a woman who wanted to become somebody’s wife merely had to go
and join his household. There was an understandable rush to get into the prophet’s bed, and John of Leyden soon found himself trying to satisfy sixteen women.
Life in the New Jerusalem was delightful; the summer of 1534 turned into one long party, in which the citizens ate their way though twelve hundred oxen and vast quantities of cheese and fish. There were endless processions and banquets. Traitors and unbelievers were executed to provide the populace with entertainment. Money was abolished, but medallions were struck showing John of
Leyden’s face surrounded by the legend “The Word Made Flesh”.
Meanwhile, the Bishop was beginning to despair of ever taking the town; the enthusiastic soldiers of the prophet – 1,700
world, Hoffmann was seized by the Town Council of Strasbourg and hung up in a cage to die slowly.
In Munster, the capital of Westphalia, a new Anabaptist prophet called Bernard Rothmann preached against Catholicism; his future father-in-law, a rich businessman called Bernard Knipperdolling,
gave him full support. The two fanatics ran through the streets calling on the populace to repent, and dozens of nuns who had deserted their nunneries joined in the hysteria, and began writhing on
the ground and having visions. Munster was beginning to look like a madhouse, and as Anabaptists from a neighbouring duchy flooded in, the Prince-Bishop of Munster, Francis von Waldeck, began to
feel deeply uneasy. And when disciples of a prophet called Jan Matthyson arrived and announced that Munster was the New Jerusalem, even the Protestants began to move out. One of the leading
disciples was a tall, handsome, bearded man called Jan Bockelson, who, because he came from Leyden, was known as John of Leyden.
Soon the messiah Jan Matthyson arrived, accompanied by his beautiful wife, an ex-nun. He proved to be as tall and handsome as John of Leyden, and when he stood up in the market place, dressed in
flowing robes and bearing two tablets under his arms, and told the populace that their city had been chosen by God to be the New Jerusalem, they applauded wildly. Soon the whole town was awash with
religious ecstasy – the women playing a leading role. People had visions every day, and – in the manner of the Brethren of the Free Spirit – felt that all this direct contact with
God enabled them to a little sexual licence – after all, what was the point of being involved in a great religious upheaval if you had to stay chaste?
In February 1534, the worst fears of the Catholics were realized when the Anabaptists were overwhelmingly elected to the Town Council and became, in effect, the rulers of the city. Catholic
churches and homes were sacked. Catholics who refused to be converted were driven naked out of the city. The weather was freezing, and many died.
Munster was surrounded by Bishop von Waldeck’s soldiers, but the Anabaptists were not afraid. God was on their side. And at Easter, the prophet Matthyson had a vision that convinced him
that he could raise the siege with a few followers. The next day he issued forth with twenty men – and was promptly cut down. The soldiers displayed his head on a pike where it could be seen
from the city walls.
A nineteenth-century depiction of a group of Anabaptists
Now John of Leyden was the leader. A bankrupt tailor to whom life had not been kind, he had become the main hope of thousands of enthusiasts. The city of Munster now became a religious
commonwealth in the most literal sense – that is, John of Leyden preached the common ownership of property, and made the citizens take their meals all together in great dining halls. He also
had an idea that made him even more popular. Men and women were sexually free. A man could take as many wives as he wanted, and a woman who wanted to become somebody’s wife merely had to go
and join his household. There was an understandable rush to get into the prophet’s bed, and John of Leyden soon found himself trying to satisfy sixteen women.
Life in the New Jerusalem was delightful; the summer of 1534 turned into one long party, in which the citizens ate their way though twelve hundred oxen and vast quantities of cheese and fish. There were endless processions and banquets. Traitors and unbelievers were executed to provide the populace with entertainment. Money was abolished, but medallions were struck showing John of
Leyden’s face surrounded by the legend “The Word Made Flesh”.
Meanwhile, the Bishop was beginning to despair of ever taking the town; the enthusiastic soldiers of the prophet – 1,700
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