Hendrick Alewijnsz (d. 1569)
Hendrick Alewijnsz (Heijndrick Walewyns) was an Anabaptist martyr. He was a native of Aelburch, in the district of Heusden, Dutch province of North Brabant, by trade a maker of bags or knapsacks. Being thus a simple artisan, he is called by his Catholic opponents a "professoor ende leeraar van den secte van Menno." He lived in Vlissingen, Dutch province of Zeeland, and was active in preaching on the island of Walcheren, was banished in 1567 but remained and continued his activity until he was arrested at Souburg near Vlissingen in August 1568. He was put in prison at Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland, and tortured on 13 September 1568. Remaining steadfast in his faith he was strangled and then burned at the stake on 9 February 1569, with Gerrit Duynherder and Hans Marijnsz. Alewijnsz was 36 years of age when he died. In prison he wrote some devotional letters. These were soon published: (1) Veele schoone grondige leeringen wt des Heeren woort, 1577, n. p.; (2) Een vaderlyck Adieu, Testament en sorchvuldighe onderwysinghe, . . . aan zijne Kinderen, published by Nicolaas Biestkens at Amsterdam in 1578 and included by van Braght, Martyrs' Mirror; (3) a reprint of (1), n.p. (apparently by Gillis Rooman at Haarlem 1581, followed by six letters "written in my prison at Middelburg," the first of which is dated 18 August 1568, the last 20 January 1569). This volume, which is found in the Amsterdam Mennonite Library, also contains two songs made by Alewijnsz: "Och wilt u doch eens schamen, ghy roemers al te samen" (Oh, be ashamed, ye boasters all together), and "Hoert mijn Adieu myn vrienden doch" (Hear my farewell, my friends), included in Wackernagel, Lieder, 203-205; from this book a letter, "Een gantsch Christelijcke groet," and his confession have been copied in the Dutch martyr books, including van Braght, Martyrs' Mirror; (4) Nos. 1 and 3 were reprinted together at Hoorn in 1611 by Zacharias Cornelisz. A French translation of Alewijnsz' booklet Veele schoone grondige leeringen was published in 1626, n.p., under the title Ensuivent Plusieurs belles Instructions, as an appendix to the French edition of Dirk Philips' Enchiridion. The Martyrs' Mirror contains a letter of November 1569, his confession, and his farewell letter to his children.
Bibliography
Bibliographie des martyrologes protestants Néerlandais. La Haye: Mart. Nijhoff, 1890: I, 1-10, 645 f.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. Het Bloedigh Tooneel of Martelaers Spiegel der Doops-gesinde 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: II, 389-405.
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: 742-757. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1870): 51; (1899): 77 f., 90 f., 138; (1908): 16, 62.
Doopsgezind Jaarboekje (1840): 64-65.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 20.
Pekelharing, Klass Rutger. Bijdragen voor de geschiedenis der hervorming in Zeeland 1524-1572. Middelburg: J.C. & W. Altorffer, 1866: 73-86.
Visscher, H. and L. A. van Langeraad. Het protestantsche vaderland: biographisch woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland, 8 vols. Utrecht, 1903-1918: I, 83 f.; Ill, 676 f.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Hendrick Alewijnsz (d. 1569)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hendrick_Alewijnsz_(d._1569)&oldid=146475.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Hendrick Alewijnsz (d. 1569). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hendrick_Alewijnsz_(d._1569)&oldid=146475.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 698. All rights reserved.
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