Gerrit Hazenpoet (d. 1557)
Engraving by Jan Luiken in Martyrs' Mirror, v. 2, p. 173 of Dutch edition.
Scan provided by Mennonite Library and Archives
Gerrit Hazenpoet (Hasepoot), an Anabaptist martyr, a tailor, was burned at the stake at Nijmegen, Dutch province of Gelderland in 1557, exact date unknown (not 1556 as van Braght, Martyrs' Mirror, states). When, after torture, he was sentenced to die, "his wife came to him . . . to speak with him once more, and to take leave and to bid her husband farewell. She had in her arm an infant, which she could scarcely hold, because of her great grief. When wine was poured out to him, as is customary to do for those sentenced to death, he said to his wife, 'I have no desire for this wine; but I hope to drink the new wine, which will be given me in the kingdom of my Father.' Thus the two separated with great grief . . . ; for the woman could hardly stand on her feet any longer, but seemed to fall into a swoon through grief. When he was led to death and having been brought from the wagon upon the scaffold, he lifted up his voice and sang the hymn, 'Oorlof aen Broeders en Sisters gemeen' (Farewell to all brethren and sisters). Whereupon he fell on his knees, and fervently prayed to God. Having been placed at the stake, he kicked his slippers from his feet, saying, 'It were a pity to burn them, for they can be of service still to some poor person.' The rope with which he was to be strangled, becoming a little loose, having not been twisted well by the executioner, he again lifted up his voice, and sang the end of said hymn."
Bibliography
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, 173.
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: 560. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1874): 3.
Guyot, P. C. G. Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden te Nijmegen: mede in zich bevattende de geschiedenis der vestiging to Nijmegen van de, thans nog, aldaar bestaande Doopsgezinde Gemeente. Nijmegen: C.A. Vieweg, 1845: 19-23.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 263.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Gerrit Hazenpoet (d. 1557)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerrit_Hazenpoet_(d._1557)&oldid=128683.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1956). Gerrit Hazenpoet (d. 1557). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerrit_Hazenpoet_(d._1557)&oldid=128683.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 503. All rights reserved.
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