Bocskai, Stephen (1556-1606)
Stephen Bocskai (Bocskay) or István Bocskai, a Transylvanian prince (1 January 1557-29 December 1606), was leader of the Hungarian revolt of 1604-1605. Bocskay, with Bethlen Gabor and other Hungarian and Transylvanian partisans, led the revolt against Emperor Rudolf II, because Rudolf had threatened the religious freedom of the Hungarian Protestants. The entry of the Hungarian rebels and the Turkish troops into Moravia in May 1605 caused the Hutterian Brethren there untold suffering. Sixteen Bruderhofs (including 11 schools) were burned down, 87 inmates were murdered, 238 Hutterites were abducted, some to Turkey, of whom only 70 returned (Beck, Geschichts-Bücher). It is not likely that Bocskay, who was fighting for freedom of religion, knew of the atrocities committed by the soldiers; Bethlen Gabor was a patron of the Anabaptists and had given them shelter on his estates in Transylvania. The event is described in a special chapter in the Hutterite chronicle.
The suffering of the Hutterian Brethren during this period of war is described in several songs known as the Botschkay-Lieder (Beck, 349). Three of them, by unknown authors, have been preserved: "Gott gib mir zu betrachten," 66 stanzas; "Herr Gott Vater im Himmelreich," 40 stanzas; and "Nun hören zu all in Gemein," 158 stanzas. The last is reprinted in Die Lieder der Hutterischen Brüder.
Bibliography
Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967: 347.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 240..
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: 804-812.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop : B. De Graaf, 1965: 239.
| Author(s) | Christian Hege |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hege, Christian. "Bocskai, Stephen (1556-1606)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bocskai,_Stephen_(1556-1606)&oldid=144852.
APA style
Hege, Christian. (1953). Bocskai, Stephen (1556-1606). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bocskai,_Stephen_(1556-1606)&oldid=144852.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 377. All rights reserved.
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