John of Leiden (Dutch: Jan van Leiden, Jan Beukelsz or Jan Beukelszoon; aka John Bockold or John Bockelson) (1509? - 1536) was an Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden. He was the illegitimate son of a Dutch mayor, and a tailor's apprentice by trade. 1509 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 2 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... Anabaptists (Greek ανα (again) +βαπτιζω (baptize), thus, re-baptizers [1], German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the Radical Reformation. ... Leyden redirects here. ...

Life

Raised a "bastard" and dogged by poverty, young John became a charismatic leader who was widely revered by his followers. According to his own testimony, he went to the German city of Münster, arriving in 1533, because he had heard there were inspired preachers there. He sent for Jan Matthys, who had baptized him, to come. After his arrival Matthys - recognized as a prophet - became the principal leader in the city. Following a failed military attempt on Easter Sunday 1534, in which Matthys died, John of Leiden became King of Münster until its fall in June of 1535. He set up a theocracy in Münster and led a communalistic and polygamous state. Some sources report that John of Leiden took sixteen wives. He publicly beheaded one of his wives after she rebelled against his authority. Town Hall in the Prinzipalmarkt Münster: the Prinzipalmarkt with St Lamberts church Münster is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... Jan Matthys (also known as Jan Matthias, Johann Mathyszoon, et al. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. ... The term polygamy (literally many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology and sociology. ...

The army of Münster was defeated in 1535 by the prince bishop Franz von Waldeck, and John of Leiden was captured. He was first taken to a dungeon in Dülmen, then brought back to Münster. On January 22, 1536, along with Bernhard Krechting and Bernhard Knipperdolling, he was tortured and then executed. Each attached to a pole by an iron spiked collar, their bodies were ripped with red-hot tongs for the space of an hour, then each was killed with a dagger thrust through the heart. Their bodies were raised in three cages above St. Lambert's Church, the remains left to rot. Their bones were removed about 50 years later, but the cages have remained into the 21st century. Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro April - Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga June 24 - The Anabaptist state of Münster (see Münster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded. ... Franz von Waldeck (or Francis of Waldeck) was Prince-Bishop of Münster, and a leading figure in putting down the Münster Rebellion. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 2 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... Bernhard Knipperdolling (b. ... The 21st century is the present century of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In proverb, on stage and in fiction

John's name still lives on in the Netherlands in the saying zich met een Jan(tje) van Leiden van iets afmaken, which means getting something done with pretty but empty words.

The opera Le prophète (1849) by Giacomo Meyerbeer features John as its hero. Its climactic scene is set in John's palace in Münster but uses only traces of his true story in its melodramatic plot. The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ... Le prophète (The Prophet) is an opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 – May 2, 1864) was a noted German-born opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. ...

John also features in the novel Q. Q is a novel by Luther Blissett, the nom de plume of four Bolognans identified by Time Magazine as Roberto Bui, Giovanni Cattabriga, Federico Guglielmi and Luca Di Meo. ...

See also

• Münster Rebellion

The Münster Rebellion was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a theocracy in the German city of Münster. ...

External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Buckholdt, Johann

• Picture of the cages at St. Lambert's Church
• Polygamy in Münster - by Kate Arms (pdf)
• "Der wedderdoeper eidt" / oath of the Münster Anabaptists

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...

References

• The Tailor-King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster, by Anthony Arthur, ISBN 0-312-26783-5

Work of fiction:

• Q, by Luther Blissett ISBN 0-15-101063-3.
• Kristus, by Robert Schneider ISBN 3-35-103013-4[[Category::Münster]]