Anabaptists (from the Greek anabaptisein, to rebaptize) was a name given to a Christian sect by their adversaries, because, as they objected to infantbaptism, they re-baptized those who joined their body. The founder of the sect appears to have been Nicolas Storch, a disciple of Luther's, who seems to have aimed also at the reorganization of society based on civil and political equality. Gathering round him a number of fiery spirits, among whom was Thomas Munzer, he incited the peasantry of Suabia and Franconia to insurrection - the doctrine of a community of goods being now added to their creed. This insurrection was quelled in 1525, when Munzer was put to the torture and beheaded. After the death of Munzer the sectaries dispersed in all directions, spreading their doctrines wherever they went. In 1534 the town of Miinster in Westphalia became their centre of action. Under the leadership of Bockhold and Matthias their numbers increased daily, and being joined by the restless spirits of the adjoining towns, they soon made themselves masters of the town and expelled their adversaries. Matthias became their prophet, but he fell in a sally against the Bishop of Munster, Count Waldeck, who had laid siege to the city. Bockhold then became leader, assuming the name of John of Leyden, king of the New Jerusalem, and Munster became a theatre of all the excesses of fanaticism, lust, and cruelty. The town was eventually taken in June, 1535, and Bockhold and a great many of his partisans suffered death. This was the last time that the movement assumed anything like political importance.
In the meantime some of the apostles, who were sent out by Bockhold to extend the limits of his kingdom, had been successful in various places, and many independent teachers, who preached the same doctrines, continued active in the work of founding a new empire of pure Christians. It is true that they rejected the practice of polygamy, community of goods, and intolerance towards those of different opinions which had prevailed in Munster; but they enjoined upon their adherents the other doctrines of the early Anabaptists, and certain heretical opinions in regard to the humanity of Christ, occasioned by the controversies of that day about the sacrament. The most celebrated of those Anabaptist prophets were Melchior Hoffmann, the founder of the Hoffmannists or Millenarians; Galenus Abrahamssohn, from whom the sect of the Galenists were called; and Simon Menno, founder of various sects known as Mennonites.
Menno's principles are contained in his Principles of the True Christian Faith, 1556, a work which is held as authoritative on points of doctrine and worship among the Baptist communities of Germany and the Netherlands. The application of the term Anabaptist to the general body of Baptists throughout the world is unwarranted, because these sects have nothing in common with the bodies which sprung up in various countries of Europe during the Reformation, except the practice of adult baptism. The Baptists themselves repudiate the name Anabaptist, as they claim to baptize according to the original institution of the rite, and never repeat baptism in the case of those who in their opinion have been so baptized. Research Anabaptists
The Babington Plot of 1586 was a conspiracy to co-ordinate a Spanish invasion of England with a rising of English Catholics, to assassinate Elizabeth I, and to replace her on the throne with Mary, Queen of Scots. Sir Anthony Babington was the go-between in the secret preparations. Walsingham monitored Babington's correspondence with the captive Queen Mary until he had enough evidence of her treasonable intentions to have her tried and executed in 1587, Babington having been executed after torture at Tyburn. Research Babington Plot
Bastinado is a form of torture or punishment (often used in SMsexgames) involving beating the soles of the feet. Originally, bastinado was employed as a method of corporal punishment, consisting of blows upon the soles of the feet, applied with a stick, in the Far East. Research Bastinado
A bootikin was a wood and iron boot used in torture to extract confessions from the victim. Wooden wedges were hammered between the leg and the boot with a mallet so as to crush the victims bone. Research Bootikin
The brazen bull was an article of torture invented by Perilaus for the tyrant Phalaris. The device was a hollow, metal model of a bull with a trap door at the back. The idea being that the victim should be placed inside and a fire lit underneath. The victim's screams would then be conveyed by an ingenious collection of flutes in the head of the bull to sound like the bellowing of a real bull. Ironically, the tyrant Phalaris was appalled by the invention and tricked the inventor inside it where he locked him in and lit a fire underneath, before having the man dragged out still alive and hurled from a high rock. Research Brazen Bull
The ducking stool was in which shrewish offenders were bound and plunged in water as a punishment and torture. They were of different forms, but that most commonly in use consisted of an upright post and a transverse movable beam on which the seat was fitted or from which it was suspended by a chain. The penalty was inflicted on scolds of both sexes, quarrelsome married couples being immersed tied back-to-back. Ducking stools were extensively used throughout Britain from the 15th until the beginning of the 18th century, the last recorded use of the ducking stool in England was in 1809 at Leominster. Research Ducking Stool
The Gunpowder Plot was a terrorist conspiracy formed in England in 1604, the second year of the reign of James I, by some Roman Catholics, to blow up the King and parliament in revenge for the severities against their religion that they had suffered by the government. The time ultimately fixed for the execution of the plot was the 5th of November, 1605, when parliament was to be opened by the king in person. The plot originated with Robert Catesby, Thomas Winter, and John Wright, and was at once made known to Guy Fawkes, a zealous Catholic, who had served in the Spanish army in Flanders, and to Thomas Percy, a relation of the Earl of Northumberland. These five were the original conspirators, but the plot was subsequently communicated to Sir Everard Digby, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham, Thomas Keyes, Christopher Wright (a brother of John), and to some Jesuit fathers and others.
The conspirators took a house next to the Parliament House, and their original plan was by digging under this house to undermine the House of Parliament. They latterly discovered, however, that there was a cellar right under the chamber of parliament, which was occupied by a coal-dealer. They at once hired this cellar, and filled it with gunpowder, faggots, and billets. The plot was discovered by means of a letter sent to Lord Mounteagle, a Catholic peer in favour with the court, who laid it before the secretary of state, Cecil. The letter was a warning couched in mysterious terms, not to be present at the approaching meeting of parliament. Cecil showed it to some of the council, and did nothing until the return of the king from a hunting party. On hearing the letter James at once worked out its meaning, and declared that it referred to gunpowder. This led to investigation and to the arrest of Fawkes in the cellar, where a hogshead and thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were discovered.
It generally thought that Tresham, the reputed author of the letter to Lord Mounteagle, had previously informed bis lordship of the plot, and that the sending and publication of the letter were merely intended as blinds. It seems also that Cecil, knowing the king's vanity, wanted to make him the discoverer of the plot.
Guy Fawkes was arrested at the scene, tortured and revealed the names of his co-conspirators, Catesby, Percy, and the two Wrights were killed while defending Holbeach House, in which they had taken refuge, against the sheriff. Sir Everard Digby was tried and executed at Northampton, Tresham died in prison., Rookwood, Winter, and others were arrested, confessions extracted under torture, and subsequently condemned at Westminster on the 27th of January 1606, and executed on the 30th and 31st.
There is serious doubt about the plot - it was for example too conveniently discovered in the nick of time, and the accused were not tried, but all confessed under torture, and it has been suggested that the entire plot was fabricated by the English authorities to discredit the catholic church and the Pope. Certainly following the alleged plot, persecution of the Catholics within Britain not only continued, but also increased in intensity. Research Gunpowder Plot
Immuring is the ancient torture of burying someone alive in a wall. Nuns of the Roman Catholic church who broke their vow of chastity were formerly immured until they died, their skeletons being found many years later by archaeologists. Research Immuring
The Inquisition was the name of two historic Roman Catholic tribunals. The first, mediaeval Inquisition was established in 1233 by Pope Gregory X in response to the spread of heretical sects, such as the Albigenses and Waldenses in northern Italy, southern France, and Germany. Judges of the Inquisition were chosen from among the Dominicans to try and judge cases of heresy, then considered intolerable by civil and ecclesiastical authorities alike. If found guilty of heresy, the heretic was turned over to secular authorities for punishment. Though burning at the stake was the ultimate penalty for unrecanted heresy, this penalty was uncommon in mediaeval times. The usual punishment was penance, fine, or imprisonment. Torture was used in the civil courts of the time and was also admitted in trials for heresy by Innocent IV in 1252, despite earlier papal denunciations of torture.
During the Catholic Reformation, the functions of the mediaeval Inquisition were assigned to the Holy Office in 1542. Called the Roman Inquisition, it was active against Protestantism and heard charges of heresy against Galileo in what became a famous trial. Its typical function in modern times was the examination of theological writings. The Holy Office was replaced by the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965. The Spanish Inquisition was a quasi- ecclesiastical tribunal established in 1478 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella primarily to examine converted Jews, and later converted Muslims, and punish those who were insincere in the conversion.
Pope Sixtus IV reluctantly approved the Spanish Inquisition, which was largely controlled by the Spanish monarchs. The Grand Inquisitor was always a Dominican, however, and the first and most notorious was T. de Torquemada. The Spanish Inquisition was much harsher than the mediaeval Inquisition and the death penalty was more often exacted, sometimes in mass autos-da-fe. It judged cases of bigamy, seduction, usury, and other crimes, and was active in Spain and her colonies. Estimates of its victims vary widely, ranging from less than 4,000 to more than 30,000 during its existence. By the 17th century the harshness of the Inquisition was greatly reduced and it was abolished altogether in 1834. Research Inquisition
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Abacination
