Rack, Jorg (d. 1561)
Jorg (Georg) Rack (Räck) (Georg Mair), a Hutterite martyr, a deacon from Pfons, a village under the jurisdiction of Steinach, Tyrol, Austria, was seized with Hans Mändl and Eustachius Kotter on 15 November 1560, in the neighborhood of Rosenheim. On 26 and 27 January 1561, he was cross-examined both without and with the use of the rack. He remained steadfast. The confession of faith made by the three martyrs has been preserved in the library of the University of Vienna. On 13 June (some sources say 10 June) they were sentenced to death and were executed at Innsbruck on the same day. Kotter was beheaded first, then Rack, who died happily with the words, "Here I forsake wife and child, house and property, life and body for the sake of divine truth." He is the author of two songs: "Ich ruf zu dir, o Vater mein" (nine stanzas), and "Mein Gott, ich tu dich bitten von ganzem Herzen mein" (ten stanzas). Loserth's statement (Mennonite Encyclopedia: III, 454) that Rack wrote three songs is apparently inaccurate. Jörg Rack, Hans Mändl, and Eustachius Kotter are the subjects of a hymn by Andreas Ehrenpreis.
Bibliography
Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967: 210, 222-25.
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, 276.
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: 645, where he is called Juriaen Raek.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 424.
Die Lieder der Hutierischen Brüder. Scottdale, Herald press, 1914: 634-36.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Geschicht-Buch der Hutterischen Brüder. Macleod, AB, and Vienna, 1923: 302, 308-10.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop : B. De Graaf, 1965: 280, 282.
Zieglschmid, A. J. F. Die älteste Chronik der Hutterischen Brüder: Ein Sprachdenkmal aus frühneuhochdeutscher Zeit. Ithaca: Cayuga Press, 1943: 398, 403-6.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Rack, Jorg (d. 1561)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rack,_Jorg_(d._1561)&oldid=148904.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1959). Rack, Jorg (d. 1561). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rack,_Jorg_(d._1561)&oldid=148904.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 241-242. All rights reserved.
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