Bruckmaier, Georg (d. 1585)
Georg Bruckmaier (also Pruckmaier), a Hutterite martyr, was seized with two companions, Hans Aichner and Wolff Rauffer, on Wednesday after Easter in 1585 in an inn on the Geyersberg in the upper Tavern near Ried in Upper Austria (at that time Bavarian), while traveling through. The host suspected that they were Anabaptists, for they prayed before and after eating, and reported to the authorities that "there were some people like Anabaptists in his inn." They were taken to Burghausen, where another Brother, Leonhard Summerauer, had been imprisoned since the previous summer. The city parson of Burghausen and other theologians tried to make them renounce their faith, but in vain. On 5 July 1585 Summerauer was executed. The parson's warning that their fate would be the same unless they recanted made no impression. After 14 weeks in the dungeon they joyfully met their death on 13 August 1585. On the site of execution Bruckmaier said, "Now that we must die, we die only for the sake of divine truth; for we have done evil to no man." They said farewell and were permitted to pray together. Bruckmaier was executed first, then Aichner, and finally Rauffer. The executioner was so moved by their innocence that he exclaimed, "These people have a stronger faith than I or anyone here. I would rather have killed 30 robbers than these men. God have mercy!" (Beck, 293.)
Bruckmaier is the author of several hymns: the Jonaslied, "Mein fröhlich Herz und auch Gemüt verursacht mich von Gottes Güt (22 stanzas), and the Väterlied, "Gott, du gewaltiger Herre, in deiner Majestät" (105 stanzas), which devotes several stanzas to each of the leaders of the Hutterian brotherhood and after Bruckmaier's death was continued until 1734 by unknown authors; and "Dieweil uns musst verlassen" (22 stanzas). All three were published in Die Lieder der Hutterischen Brüder. Two additional hymns are still in the Austrian archives. His death is commemorated in a song of 44 stanzas, "Von den 5 Brüdern, die man zu Baierland gericht" (published by Th. Unger.)
Bibliography
Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967: 68.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. Het Bloedigh Tooneel of Martelaers Spiegel der Doopsgesinde of Weereloose Christenen, Die om 't getuygenis van Jesus haren Salighmaker geleden hebben ende gedood zijn van Christi tijd of tot desen tijd toe. Den Tweeden Druk. Amsterdam: Hieronymus Sweerts, 1685: Part II, 754.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. The Bloody Theatre or Martyrs' Mirror of the Defenseless Christians Who Baptized Only upon Confession of Faith and Who Suffered and Died for the Testimony of Jesus Their Saviour . . . to the Year A.D. 1660. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1951: 1060. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Dedic, Paul. Der Protestantismus in Steiermark im Zeitalter der Reformation und Gegenreformation. Leipzig : M. Heinsius Nachf. Eger & Sievers, 1930: 14.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 278.
Die Lieder der Hutterischen Brüder: Gesangbuch darinnen viel und mancherlei schöne Betrachtungen, Lehren, Vermahnungen, Lobgesänge und Glaubensbekenntnisse, von vielen Liebhabern Gottes gedichtet und aus vielen Geschichten und Historien der heiligen Schrift zusammengetragen, allen frommen Liebhabern Gottes sehr nützlich zu singen und zu lessen. Scottdale, Pa. : Mennonitisches Verlagshaus, 1914. Reprinted Cayley, AB: Hutterischen Brüdern in Kanada, 1962: 768-785.
Unger, Th. Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für die Geschichte des Protestantismus in Oesterreich (1925): 144-154.
Wiswedel, Wilhelm. Bilder and Führergestalten aus dem Täufertum, 3 vols. Kassel: J.G. Oncken Verlag, 1928-1952: v. II, 159.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop: B. De Graaf, 1965: 238.
| Author(s) | Christian Hege |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hege, Christian. "Bruckmaier, Georg (d. 1585)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bruckmaier,_Georg_(d._1585)&oldid=168223.
APA style
Hege, Christian. (1953). Bruckmaier, Georg (d. 1585). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bruckmaier,_Georg_(d._1585)&oldid=168223.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 445. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.