Martyrs mirror : a social history / David Weaver-Zercher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weaver-Zercher, David, 1960- author.

Series:

Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Braght, Thieleman J. van (Thieleman Janszoon), 1625-1664. Bloedig toneel.

Braght, Thieleman J. van.

Anabaptists--Europe--Biography.

Anabaptists.

Christian martyrs--Europe--Biography.

Christian martyrs.

Persecution.

Bloedig toneel (Braght, Thieleman J. van).

Europe.

Genre:

Biography.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvii, 414 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2016]

Summary:

Approximately 2,500 Anabaptists were martyred in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Europe. Their surviving brethren compiled stories of those who suffered and died for the faith into martyr books. The most historically and culturally significant of these, The Bloody Theater--more commonly known as Martyrs Mirror--was assembled by the Dutch Mennonite minister Thieleman van Braght and published in 1660. Today, next to the Bible, it is the single most important text to Anabaptists--Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites. In some Anabaptist communities, it is passed to new generations as a wedding or graduation gift. David L. Weaver-Zercher combines the fascinating history of Martyrs Mirror with a detailed analysis of Anabaptist life, religion, and martyrdom. He traces the publication, use, and dissemination of this key martyrology across nearly four centuries and explains why it holds sacred status in contemporary Amish and Mennonite households. Even today, the words and deeds of these martyred Christians are referenced in sermons, Sunday school lessons, and history books. Weaver-Zercher argues that Martyrs Mirror was designed to teach believers how to live a proper Christian life. In van Braght's view, accounts of the martyrs helped to remind readers of the things that mattered, thus inspiring them to greater faithfulness. Martyrs Mirror remains a tool of revival, offering new life to the communities and people who read it by revitalizing Anabaptist ideals and values. Meticulously researched and illustrated with sketches from early publications of Martyrs Mirror, Weaver-Zercher's ambitious history weaves together the existing scholarship on this iconic text in an accessible and engaging way.

Contents:

Part I. The prehistory and production of The bloody theater. Anabaptism: origins, spread, and persecution

Memorializing martyrdom before The bloody theater

Thieleman van Braght and the publication of The bloody theater

The bloody theater: martyr stories and more

Part II. Van Braght's martyrology through the years. The bloody theater illustrated: the 1685 Martyrs mirror

A North American edition: the 1748-49 Ephrata Martyrs mirror

Martyrs mirror in nineteenth-century America

Martyrs mirror in twentieth-century America

Part III. Contemporary approaches to Martyrs mirror. Tradition-minded Anabaptists and the use of Martyrs mirror

Assimilated Mennonites and the dilemma of Martyrs mirror

The most usable martyr: putting Dirk Willems to work

Going global: Martyrs mirror in the twenty-first century.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781421418827

1421418827

OCLC:

918940655

Publisher Number:

9781421418827

40025824198

Online:

Klappentext