Seiler, Heini (d. 1529)
Heini (Heinrich) Seiler, an Anabaptist martyr, a hatter of Aarau, Switzerland, who suffered death by drowning at Bern in July 1531 together with Hans Seckler and Hans Dreier. He was one of the eight Anabaptists who had planned to take part in the great religious colloquy of 1528 in Bern but were arrested, tried after the colloquy, and expelled from the city and canton. Seized the second time, Seiler was examined on 24 May 1529, with the two men mentioned above and held prisoner for two years longer. An account of the trial is found in Hansmann, Hans. On 19 April 1531, he had a conversation with Hans Pfistermeyer.
2020 Update
The most recent scholarship indicates that Christian Neff confused Heini Seiler and Heini of Taegeren. Heini of Taegeren had the 1531 conversation with Pfistermeyer and subsequently recanted. The published sources (2008) for Aargau, Bern and Solothurn show that Seckler (Hansmann), Treyer (Dreier) and Seiler (here called "the one from Aarau," but previous imprisonment documents make clear that it was Seiler) were all condemned to death by drowning on 8 July 1529 by the Bernese council. Martin Haas, the editor of these sources, clarified that there has been some scholarly controversy about whether the sentence was actually carried out. He had reviewed the evidence, concluding that yes, it was carried out, citing as convincing evidence a letter from Haller to Bucer mentioning the drowning.
Bibliography
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: 1129. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. IV, 148.
Heiz, J. Die Täufer im Aargau. Aarau, 1902: 11-13.
Müller, Ernst. Geschichte der Bernischen Täufer. Frauenfeld: Huber, 1895; reprinted Nieuwkoop : B. de Graaf, 1972: 44.
Bibliography for Update
Haas, Martin, ed. Aargau – Bern – Solothurn. Quellen zur Geschichte der Täufer in der Schweiz, Bd. 3. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 2008: #132, #399, p. 208.
Haas, Martin, ed. Drei Täufergespräche. Quellen zur Geschichte der Täufer in der Schweiz, Bd. 4. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 1974: 60-65.
Snyder, C. Arnold. "3 drowned in Bern - 1528, 1529, or 1531?." Personal email (29 April 2020).
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian and Samuel J. Steiner. "Seiler, Heini (d. 1529)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 27 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seiler,_Heini_(d._1529)&oldid=167976.
APA style
Neff, Christian and Samuel J. Steiner. (1959). Seiler, Heini (d. 1529). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seiler,_Heini_(d._1529)&oldid=167976.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 498. All rights reserved.
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