Willem Droochscheerder (d. 1557)
Willem Droochscheerder (Willem van Thye), an Anabaptist martyr, burned at the stake at Antwerp, Belgium, on 30 January 1557. The sentence was executed in a particularly cruel way, the victim being burned alive without having been strangled before as was usual. Van Braght's Martyrs' Mirror does not mention the exact date of execution. Willem, who was a native of Nere (Neeritter) near Roermond in the present Dutch province of Limburg, wrote a letter from prison to his brother N. and his sister N. In this letter he thankfully writes that prison and torture did not vanquish his faith: "They (the persecutors) cannot harm a hair without the will of our Father; the more we are oppressed, the more we are comforted." In prison he also wrote the song "Christen broeders, weest nu al verblijt" (Christian brethren, now all rejoice). Both the letter and the hymn are found in Offer des Heeren, the letter also in the Martyrs' Mirror. Willem is commemorated in the hymn "Aenhoort God, hemelsche Vader," No. 16 of the Lietboecxken.
Bibliography
Dit Boec wort genoemt: Het Offer des Herren, om het inhout van sommighe opgheofferde kinderen Godts . . . N.p., 1562, 1567, 1570, 1578, 1580, Amsterdam, 1590, n.p., 1591, Amsterdam, 1595, Harlingen, 1599: 443-47, 564, No. 12.
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, 184 f.
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: 568 f.
Génard, P. Antwerpsch archievenblad VIII, 433, 437; XIV, 22 f., No. 238.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 478.
Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes. Geschiedenis van de Doopsgezinden in Nederland II. 1600-1735 Eerste Helft. Haarlem: H.D. Tjeenk Willink & Zoon n.v., 1940: I, 255.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop : B. De Graaf, 1965: 68.
Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
---|---|
Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Willem Droochscheerder (d. 1557)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 31 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willem_Droochscheerder_(d._1557)&oldid=145144.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1959). Willem Droochscheerder (d. 1557). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 31 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willem_Droochscheerder_(d._1557)&oldid=145144.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 953. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.