Glaser, Bastel (d. 1538)

Bastel Glaser (Hubmayer) was a Hutterite martyr, one of the Anabaptists connected with Jakob Hutter in 1534-1535. His name "Glaser" probably refers to his trade (glazier); the name "Hubmayer," found in the Anabaptist court records in the archives of Innsbuck, is probably the correct one; at any rate he was not related to Balthasar Hubmaier, the Anabaptist apostle in the Black Forest and in Moravia.

We meet Bastei Glaser first in 1534. He was given the task of leading "a people from the Oberland" (Tyrol) to Moravia, on the usual route down the Inn and the Danube to Krems, and from there to Moravia. Between Krems and Meissau, in the village of Hohenwart, this group was halted, arrested, and taken to Eggenburg. There they were tortured by "burning the cheeks through." After an extended painful imprisonment, during which Jakob Hutter sent them a letter of consolation (Epistel an die Gefangenen zu Hohenwart), they were released, and may have reached Moravia, where, however, persecution was raging more violently than ever.

After three years, during which he was probably preaching, Glaser, together with Hans Grünfelder, the treasurer of the Anabaptists in Lüsen and in the vicinity of Michelsburg and Schöneck, was captured, taken to Imst (Tyrol), and tried. Although Gallus Müller, noted for his success in leading prisoners to recant, took pains to convert Glaser and his fellow prisoners, Hans Grünfelder and the aged Oswald, he did not succeed. In his cross-examination Glaser confessed that he had not come to this country until Michaelmas. He stayed in the woods most of the time and proclaimed his teaching to several brethren, but baptized nobody.

The report of the death of the above Brethren was written by Griesinger to the brotherhood in Moravia: "Out of sincere love we cannot refrain from reporting on our brethren, Bastel Glaser, Hänsl Grünfelder, and the aged Oswald from the Oetztal. These have with great joy proclaimed the Lord's holy Word and truth, as you probably know. ... I cannot adequately describe their joy. When Bastel and Hänsl were executed about 1,000 persons were present. Hänsl cried to the people, admonishing and warning; and Bastel too—until their death together with old Oswald." "The people were horrified. ... It is true, as the wise man says, They will spare neither the aged nor the gray. Their bones could not be entirely burned; they were afterward thrown into the water, and we hope that this witness was not made in vain. The heart of one did not burn; without doubt this was a divine testimony." The date of the execution is unfortunately not given anywhere. Since Gallus Müller wrote on 4 April 1538, that his efforts were not taking effect, the date was probably 1538 (not 1537).

Bastel Glaser is the author of two hymns: (1) "Herr Gott in Deinem höchsten Thron" (15 stanzas); (2) "O Herr Gott, wend mir meine Schmerzen" (23  stanzas).

Bibliography

Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967: 116, 181 f.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 119.

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: 71-74.

Loserth, Johann. Der Anabaptismus in Tirol. Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1892: I, 530; II, 140 f.

Wolkan, Rudolf. Geschicht-Buch der Hutterischen Brüder. Macleod, AB, and Vienna, 1923: 105, 132 f.

Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop: B. De Graaf, 1965: 171, 255.

Author(s)	Johann Loserth
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Loserth, Johann. "Glaser, Bastel (d. 1538)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Glaser,_Bastel_(d._1538)&oldid=94833.

APA style

Loserth, Johann. (1956). Glaser, Bastel (d. 1538). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Glaser,_Bastel_(d._1538)&oldid=94833.

---

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 524. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.