The End of the Münster Rebellion

This episode delves into the historical event known as the Münster Rebellion, focusing on its dramatic and bloody conclusion.

1. The Münster Rebellion was a radical experiment in theocratic governance.
2. Jan Mathias and Jan von Leiden's leadership transformed Münster into a societal model based on their interpretation of Christian doctrine.
3. The rebellion faced stern opposition from Catholic forces, leading to a siege.
4. The conflict ended with a violent suppression by Bishop Franz von Waldeck.
5. The episode illustrates the broader religious and political conflicts of the Reformation.

1: The Beginning of the Rebellion

This chapter outlines the initial takeover of Münster by Jan Mathias and his followers, setting the stage for the Anabaptist rule. Jan Mathias: "God has endowed me with special powers."

2: The Siege of Münster

Details the siege laid by Bishop Franz von Waldeck and the internal changes under Jan von Leiden's rule. Jan von Leiden: "Münster will be the new Jerusalem, spared from world's destruction."

3: The Fall of Münster

Covers the final assault on Münster, leading to the overthrow of the Anabaptists and the gruesome end of their leaders. Bishop Franz von Waldeck: "The Catholic Church will retain sovereignty over the city of Munster."

• Reflect on the importance of religious tolerance and the dangers of extremism.
• Recognize the influence of charismatic leaders and ensure diverse viewpoints in governance.
• Understand historical events to appreciate the complex motivations behind political and religious movements.
• Advocate for peaceful resolutions to conflicts to avoid violent escalations.
• Encourage dialogue and education to prevent history's harsher lessons from repeating.

June 24, 1535. A radical political uprising comes to an end when the city of Münster falls to an Bishop’s army.

People

Jan Mathias, Jan von Leiden, Bishop Franz von Waldeck

Companies

None

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

This episode contains descriptions of violence and executions.

Speaker A
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Speaker B
It'S April 5, 1534, outside Munster, a german city in the Holy Roman Empire. 43 year old Bishop Franz von Waldeck. Emerges from a tent into glorious sunshine. It's Easter Sunday, and normally Bishop Waldeck would be preparing for religious services that mark the most important festival in the christian calendar. But this year, Bishop Valdek isn't at church.

He's leading an army. Two months ago, a religious uprising occurred in the city of Munster. A radical sect known as Anabaptists took over the town and expelled anyone who refused to convert to their version of Christianity. This was unacceptable to Franz von Waldeck. He's not only the local catholic bishop, he's also the regent's ruler.

So now he's come to Munster to return the city to what he views as the one true christian faith, and he's prepared to use force to do it. He set up camp outside Munster and deployed his army to besiege the city. Now, as he watches on, the city gates begin to open. Bishop Valdec praises God that the rebellious subjects of Munster have chosen this holy day to surrender. But his celebrations are cut short when he sees a dozen horsemen gallop out of the gates.

They have their weapons drawn, and they're heading straight for the bishop's tent. The bishop's soldiers rush to meet the threat, forming a defensive line. Guards plead for Bishop Valdec to flee to safety, but he's not going to turn away from his enemy, especially when this small group of attackers is hopelessly outnumbered by the hundreds of the bishops pikemen. So instead, Bishop Valduc stands with his soldiers, waiting, expecting the oncoming riders to recognize the overwhelming odds and retreat. Instead, they keep coming until they clash with the bishops well organized line.

It is a one sided fight. The horses are brought down almost immediately, and the riders tumble from their saddles. The leader of the horseman attempts to get to his feet, but hes still on his knees when the bishops soldiers knock him back down and hack him to death. Bishop Valdek just shakes his head. It's yet another senseless death resulting from the Munster rebellion.

Only after this suicidal charge is over does Bishop Franz von Waldeck discover that it was led by Jan Mathias himself, the man who launched the Munster uprising. He was convinced that God had endowed him with special powers and that his enemy's weapons would bounce off his cloak. But this doomed charge would not mark the end of the religious revolution in Munster. Another year will pass before Bishop Valdec's troops finally capture the town from the rebels and put a bloody end to their revolt. On June 24, 1535.

Speaker A
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Speaker B
History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is June 24, 1535 the end of the Munster rebellion its January 1525 in Darpat, a city in the Holy Roman Empire nine years before Jan Mathias suicidal charge outside Munster, 30 year old Melchior Hoffman grabs a large stone and tosses it from hand to hand as he looks up at his target, a stained glass window in Darpat's 20 zero year old cathedral. Melchior leans back, cocks his arm, and throws the stone as hard as he can. He is rewarded by the sound of smashing glass.

As Melchior admires his throw, a mob of followers behind him surged toward the doors of the cathedral. Seven years ago, the german monk Martin Luther published a list of 95 grievances against the Catholic Church. Luther's protest was small, but it sparked something huge, a seismic change in Christianity. Known as the Protestant Reformation, Luther soon won thousands of followers who rejected what they saw as the old fashioned and corrupt traditions of the Catholic Church. Instead, they practiced their own austere version of Christianity, with an emphasis on biblical teaching and personal faith.

This soon became known as Lutheran. Melchior was brought up in southwest Germany as a Catholic, but he was a young man when the Reformation began and was soon attracted to Lutheranism. Melchiar became a wandering lay preacher, traveling far and wide to spread Luther's ideas to new regions of Europe. Now, here in Darpa, Melchior has whipped his followers into an angry frenzy. Breaking the stained glass window is his signal for them to begin the destruction of the rest of the cathedral's ornate decorations.

And when Melkiar and the mob have finished, the cathedral is almost unrecognizable. Windows are smashed, statues broken, holy relics have been stolen and dumped into a nearby river. Although many of Dorpat's citizens have tears in their eyes at the destruction, Melchior is convinced that he is doing gods work, and thanks to him, the people of this city now have a greater chance of salvation. Over the next five years, Melchiar continues his nomadic life, traveling widely across Sweden and Germany, preaching fiery sermons that urge people to follow the teachings of Martin Luther. But Lutheranism is not a united church, and as the years pass, several groups splinter off from Luthers teaching and establish new doctrines and beliefs.

Soon, there are dozens of different protestant branches of Christianity, and it is one of these new congregations that sparks a crisis of faith in Melchior. The Anabaptists are a group of pacifists who argue that infants cannot consciously accept the christian faith and renounce sin, so their baptism is essentially meaningless. Only adults can truly be baptized. Melchiar studies with the anabaptist community in Strasbourg and becomes convinced that they are right. Ashamed of the violence of his past, in 1530, he asks to be rebaptized in an anabaptist ceremony.

As the holy water streams down Melchior's face, he's convinced that he's experiencing a profound transformation. But he hasn't finished his spiritual journey yet. After his re baptism, Melchiar's opinion shifts again and take on an even more radical turn. He declares hes had a vision that. The end of the world is at.

Hand, and he thinks that the city of Strasbourg will arise as a new Jerusalem, a holy city that will be home to righteous christians after the apocalypse. Some Anabaptists are taken in by Melchiars visions, and one young bakery worker is so convinced that he gives up his trade to join the preacher on the road. Jan Matthias is soon Melchiors most fervent disciple and follows him to Amsterdam, where the pair baptized 300 people into the anabaptist faith. But when Melchiar and Matthias return to Strasbourg in 1533, Melchior's radical prophecies draw the disapproval of authorities in the city. They order Melkiar's arrest for heresy, and.

Speaker A
When he refuses to recant his radical. Prophecies, he's thrown into prison. But Melkiar has begun something that even he cannot control anymore. While Melchior languishes behind bars, his position as leader of the radical anabaptist sect is taken by his deputy, Yan Matthias, who reassures Melchiar's followers that he too has divine knowledge of the coming apocalypse. But Matthias vision will differ from Melchior's.

Speaker B
First Matthias will preach that Melchar is mistaken about the location of New Jerusalem. It's not going to be in Strasbourg. Instead, it will arise in the city of Munster. And there's another anabaptist teaching that Matthias will cast off. He'll argue that true believers should not reject violence.

And in fact, the day will soon come when, according to Matthias, true believers will have to fight.

Speaker A
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Speaker B
Its January 5, 1534 in Munster, a few months after the arrest of Melchior Hoffman, Bernard nipperdoling stands by the city gates as hundreds of men carrying weapons march into Munster. The arrival of armed men has brought many curious citizens into the streets to watch, but Bernard is here in an official capacity as mayor of Munster. He is formally welcoming Jan Mathias and his anabaptist followers into the city. Like the rest of Europe, Munster has. Been rocked by the Protestant Reformation.

The city is in the lands ruled by catholic bishop Franz von Waldeck. But two years ago, Bernard was among an influential group of Munster residents who gave up the old faith. They began preaching a radical form of Lutheranism, and many of their ideas were similar to those adopted by Melchior Hoffman in Strasbourg. Bishop Valdec and Mayor Bernard agreed to an uneasy truce in which Catholics and Protestants let each other be. But with the arrival of self proclaimed prophet yon Matthias.

That truce is about to be shattered. Bernard welcomes Matthias as he dismounts from his horse. The city council is summoned, and Matthias addresses them, declaring his intention to convert all of Munster to the anabaptist faith. His words fall on enthusiastic ears, and over the next few days, Matthias carries out over 1000 re baptisms in the city, and Mayor Bernard is among them. But then Matthias goes further than any radical protestant has dared before.

He doesnt just have his followers raid catholic churches and destroy holy relics. Matthias proclaims that Munster is now ruled by him, and it is time to cleanse the city in preparation for its future as the new Jerusalem. Shortly afterwards, Matthias announces the compulsory re baptism of all adults. Those who refuse will be put to death. This news causes widespread panic in the city.

Many a Munster are still catholic. Others are Lutherans who feel that the changes introduced in the reformation have gone far enough. So Mayor Bernard steps in to calm the situation. Negotiating with Matthias, he secures seven days for non Anabaptists to leave Munster before the baptism edict goes into effect. Hundreds flee the city, and news of the expulsion soon reaches the ears of the local bishop, Franz von Waldach.

He is furious that the city has defied him and broken their fragile stalemate between Catholics and Protestants. So he raises an army with the intention of removing the radicals from Munster by force. But when he marches on the city with an army at his back, the anabaptist leaders there do not recognize the bishops authority and refuse him entry. They close the gates, forcing Bishop Waldeck to lay siege to his own city. Behind the walls of Munster, the radicalism of its new anabaptist leadership only grows.

The charismatic Matthias declares that the rest of the world will soon be destroyed by God, and only Munster and the true believers within will be spared. He then decrees that from now on, money is to be outlawed in the city, and all private property, even food, is to be shared communally. The townspeople must address each other as brother and sister. All books except the Bible are banned, and anyone who speaks out against new laws is to be publicly executed. For two months, this social revolution continues unseen behind the sealed gates of the city.

But then, at the beginning of April 1534, Matthias has another vision. He receives what he describes as a divine command to lead a small group of mounted warriors out of the city, where they will win a glorious victory. Despite overwhelming odds, he is wrong. The bishops army camp outside the walls make short work of Matthias attack, and he himself is killed, his head displayed on a pole outside the city walls with his genitals nailed to the city gate. But the death of Matthias does not bring an end to the Munster rebellion.

Matthias is succeeded by one of his followers, 25 year old Jan von Leiden. Under Jans leadership, the radical authoritarianism of Anabaptists rule in the city only accelerates. A new constitution is implemented, giving Jan and his chosen disciples absolute power over life and death. Polygamy is made compulsory, and Jan himself. Takes full advantage of the new rule.

By taking 16 wives. Then, in September 1534, five months after Matthias death, Jan von Leyden proclaims himself king of Munster. But by now, the people of the city are beginning to starve and questioning their new king. Ordinary citizens are not allowed money or property. Jan and his court, though, live in luxury, and as murmurs of dissent grow, Jan only tightens his grip.

Any sign of resistance is ruthlessly stamped out. By June 1535, public executions are a near daily event. But soon the king of Munster, Jan von Leyden, will become so distracted by the enemies he imagines inside the city that he will forget the more dangerous one camped outside the gates.

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Speaker B
It'S 11:00 p.m. on June 24, 1535 in Munster, 14 months after a radical uprising began in the city. Just inside the city walls, a soldier in Bishop Franz von Waldeck's army creeps through the darkness toward the main gates. He moves as slowly as possible, alert for any sign that he's been spotted, but the only sound in the still night is the occasional call of an owl. One month ago, Bishop Franz von Waldeck had an unexpected visitor, a deserter from Munster who knew of a secret route into the city.

Armed with knowledge of their enemy's weak spot, the bishop's generals came up with a plan of attack. Tonight. The soldier is part of an advance group that's just crept through the secret doorway. Now theyre inside, they must open the main gate to allow the rest of the bishops army in. As the soldier nears the gate, he hears heavy breathing and freezes its a sentry leaning against the wall but fast asleep.

With one swift push of his sword, the soldier ensures that this guard will never wake up again, and soon, thanks to the deserters inside knowledge, the bishops men catch the other guards on duty by surprise as well. Then they open the main citys gates and 4000 of the bishops soldiers stream into Munster. Instantly, the siege is over, and Bishop. Valdec has no intention of showing mercy. His soldiers butcher almost every man in the city as they brutally reestablish catholic control.

But a special punishment is reserved from Munsters self proclaimed king, Jan von Leyden. Alongside two other prominent anabaptist leaders, Jan is publicly tortured and then executed. Their bodies are placed in metal cages and hung from Munsters most prominent church steeple as a gruesome warning for all other nonbelievers and heretics, the deterrent seems to work. The Catholic Church will retain sovereignty over the city of Munster for nearly 300 years, and never again will the Anabaptists be allowed to threaten social order in Europe. They will be hunted and oppressed by catholic and protestant rulers alike.

Today, the cages that once held the anabaptist rebels corpses still hang from the church tower. Although the bodies inside have long disappeared, they remain a grisly reminder of the city's rebellion and the bloody retribution that followed the fall of Munster on June 24, 1535.

Next on History daily June 25, 1950 north korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, beginning the Korean War.

From Noiser and airship, this is history daily. Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio editing by Mohammad Shazib Sound Design by Matthew Filler Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves. Edited by Dorian Marina managing producer Emily Burke executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for r.

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