Reimann, Heini (d. 1528)

Heini Reimann, an Anabaptist martyr of Grüningen in the Swiss canton of Zürich. He was one of the most loyal of Conrad Grebel's adherents and a zealous preacher of Anabaptist doctrine in 1525 f. With Jakob Falk he baptized several persons and was therefore imprisoned. Both Falk and Reimann had been imprisoned previously, and in April 1525 they were again arrested at Appenzell, but were apparently soon released. On a Sunday in May 1526 they were attending a meeting in the Herrliberg forest between Bubikon and Wetzikon, which was disbanded by the magistrate Berger; 15 participants were arrested, including Rei­mann and Falk, and imprisoned in Grüningen. They boldly confessed to Berger that they had been bap­tized and had also baptized others, although they knew that such baptism was forbidden on a penalty of death, and declared that they intended to con­tinue the practice.

Now the Grüningen Landtag was faced with a serious decision as to whether Reimann and Falk should be sentenced to death "according to law." The Landtag refused to pass this sentence, thereby clashing with the Zürich council, which insisted on death on the basis of the mandate of 7 March 1526. Zürich decided that if these Anabaptists were not immediately drowned they would appeal to the court of Bern. Bern's verdict, favoring Zurich, was pronounced in 1528. The prisoners were then lodged singly in various Zürich prisons for two weeks on bread, water, and "Mus." Reimann and Falk, as the "rabble rousers," were again examined. Upon their persistence in their faith they were sentenced to death by drowning. On 5 September 1528, in the early afternoon, they were drowned in the Limmat. This was the second Anabaptist execution in Zurich, the first victim having been Felix Manz.

Bibliography

Egli, Emil. Die Züricher Wiedertäufer zur Reformationszeit. Zürich, 1878: 58, 82 f.

Geiser, Samuel. Die Taufgesinnten-Gemeinden. Karlsruhe, 1931: 146 f.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 453.

Muralt, Leonhard von and Walter Schmid. Quellen zur Geschichte der Täufer in der Schweiz, I. Band: Zürich. Zürich: S. Hirzel, 1952: 54, 211, 214 f., 217 f., 220, 225, 257, 264, 266, 268, 273 f., 305.

Peachey, Paul. Die soziale Herhunft der Schweizer Taufer in der Reforma-tionszeit. Karlsruhe, 1954: 121.

Author(s)	Samuel Geiser
Date Published	1959

Cite This Article

MLA style

Geiser, Samuel. "Reimann, Heini (d. 1528)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Reimann,_Heini_(d._1528)&oldid=106637.

APA style

Geiser, Samuel. (1959). Reimann, Heini (d. 1528). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Reimann,_Heini_(d._1528)&oldid=106637.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 276. All rights reserved.

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