Twelve Christians at Deventer: Ydse Gaukes, Dirck van Wesel, in the Year 1571

In the year 1571, on the 11th of March, at night, the Spaniards at Deventer (having held a tournament during the day) went out with swords, halberds, guns, and many other implements, to apprehend the sheep of Christ. They went through many houses, searching in some streets from house to house; and all whom they could find they apprehended, and put them in fetters and irons, saying: "O you heretical dogs, because you deny the Roman Catholic faith you will have to die." For a few days the gates were closed, and a proclamation was read at the sound of the town bell, that no one should conceal any of them, and that if anyone should know of any who were concealed, he should report them. But this order was not obeyed; for many were concealed, who secretly fled, and left their goods behind as plunder. In all, twelve were apprehended, namely, Ydse Gaukes, Dirck van Wesel, with Anneken and Janneken, their wives; Harmen the dyer, Bruyn, and Anthonis the weaver, Claes Opreyder, Lijsbet and Catharina Somerhuys, Lijntgen Joris, and Trijntgen her daughter; all of whom at first, when they were apprehended, were valiant, and confessed their faith; but some were greatly afraid according to the flesh, and abandoned the faith even before they were tortured. (In the torture they were drawn up, their hands tied behind their back, and heavy weights of iron, or cannon balls, hung from their feet.) Several others did indeed remain valiant in the torture, but afterwards also apostatized from the faith; and four remained valiant throughout.

So it happened that they were often visited, and that those who had denied the faith with the mouth were very sorrowful, and promised and said that if the Lord should grant them grace so that they got out, they would return to the truth. And when on the 20th of May (they offered up their sacrifice on the 25th) a friend came to them, they asked very closely what news he brought. The friend replied that the news was bad; he feared that they would all have to die; in short, much was said, and the friend remarked: "I love you so much that I wish you were all out of all this, and that I could be imprisoned in your place;" so that the prisoners became very sorrowful, and wept most bitterly, and said to the friend: "It is best that you go, because of the Spaniards."

So it came to pass on the 24th of May, in the evening, that monks came to them, to speak with them, that they should prepare themselves, since they were to die the next day. The monks went away at twelve o'clock at night, but returned at four o'clock in the morning. There were two men, Dirck van Wesel and Harmen the dyer; and four women, Dirck van Wesel's wife, Ydse Gaukes' wife, and Somerhuys' two daughters, Lijsbet and Catharina; who did not listen to the monks, but, by all that could be seen and heard, clung to the eternal truth. First, when they came out of the prison, with very joyful faces and smiling, they bowed their heads and said adieu to a friend whom they knew well, and who had visited them in prison; and he smiled back at them.

So did the four women at first; but the two brothers, Bruyn and Anthonis the weaver, who were brought out with them, were very sorrowful, and did not speak; the women, however, spoke much and sharply reproved the monks who were with them; indeed, they were heard to say that Christ their Bridegroom and Shepherd had gone before them this way, and they would follow Him as His own sheep, and they kissed one another very affectionately, the two sisters holding each other's hand, and began to sing: "My God, where shall I go?" Then they had to separate, and six of them were put into the wagon. When they arrived at the scaffold, they brought Catharina, the younger sister, upon the scaffold first. She was very bold in speaking, and said: "Know, citizens, that it is not for any evil, but for the truth." When she had ascended the scaffold, her sentence was read, which was as follows: "If she would abide in the Catholic church, she should be executed with the sword; but if not, she should be burnt alive." She was then asked whether she would abide in the Catholic church. She answered: "No; I want to abide in the truth." They said, "Then you will be burnt alive." "I do not care for that," she said; "you deal in lies;" and she spoke very boldly. She was then taken from the scaffold again, and put into the wagon; and her mouth was closed, so that she could not speak any more. Then the two brothers (namely, Bruyn and Anthonis) were brought upon the scaffold one after the other, and were both beheaded, without saying anything, except that the one was heard to say: "O Lord, be merciful to me." They then returned to the tower, and fetched Dirck and Harmen. Both of these had their mouths gagged, so that they could not speak; but they made many signs on the way by nodding and smiling, and were very bold, so that the people were astonished.

So these two were brought upon the scaffold, and they often smiled and nodded to those whom they knew, and who stood before them. Harmen then fell upon his knees and prayed to the Lord; but as he made it too long for them, the executioner pulled him up, and he boldly placed himself at the stake. While the executioner was fastening Harmen, Dirck kneeled, and called upon the Lord from the heart; for they could not speak.

Then Dirck arose and affectionately embraced Harmen as he stood at the stake, kissed him, and pointed with his hand up to heaven. Then Dirck went with a joyful, smiling face, and placed himself with his back to the stake, and lifted up his eyes to heaven. When they had thus been fastened to the stakes, the four women were brought from the wagon to the scaffold, and saw the two standing at the stakes. They were very glad and smiled, folded their hands, lifted up their eyes to heaven, kissed one another, and all of them fell upon their knees, and each placed herself very boldly with her back to the stake. While they were kissing one another, there came a noise almost as if it had been thunder, or a wagon without horses, and it seemed to come from the Brink, and it roared before the wagon, so that the people fell over one another, and no one knew what it was, so that a great fear arose. The Spaniards said that it thundered. Earlier, when the two were beheaded, the monks made a speech, that everyone should keep his children away from this people, and that no one should take offense, though they should now be burnt, which was the pleasure of the royal majesty; and that no one should make any disturbance. They had no sooner finished this speech, than there came such a noise, even as though it came from the main street beyond, so that the people did not know what to do with themselves for fear. So the Spaniards began to cry alarm, and the drums also began to sound the alarm; but it all passed off without any harm being done. Some said that they saw a light over the scaffold, like a dark sun; this, however, I did not see, but I saw and heard the noise. Moreover, when they were standing at the stakes, straw and wood were laid around them, so that only their heads were visible. While they stood at the stakes, they made many a friendly sign to those whom they knew, by smiling, by nodding, and by lifting up their eyes to heaven; so that the Spaniards said: "To whom are they nodding like this?" And the one to whom they nodded stood by the Spaniards in front of the scaffold, and heard the Spaniards say it. This brother also nodded and smiled, and pointed with his hand on high, that they should take God for their helper. Then they lifted up their eyes to heaven, all except Dirck van Wesel, who was already unconscious when the wood and straw were laid around him; for the chains around his neck choked him, and he had been greatly tortured, so that his arms were badly injured; and when the executioner fastened his arms behind him around the stake, a faintness came over him, so that he lost consciousness, and was not seen to show any further sign of life. The executioner then lighted the fire, and all six were burnt alive (together with two baskets full of books), some almost to ashes. The bones and bodies were buried near the gallows.

So this was done at Deventer, on the Brink, the 25th of May, in the year 1571.

Afterwards, on the 16th of July of the same year, the other valiant heroes, namely, Claes Opreyder, Ydse Gaukes, Lijntgen Joris, and her daughter, named Catharina, were brought from the tower, with their mouths gagged, so that they could not speak, and they passed along the streets very boldly, smiling and nodding to many. So Claes was brought upon the scaffold first, and he fell upon his knees to pray; but the executioner lifted him up, for the Spaniards would not tolerate it, and cried: "Villains, villains!" But the six before them, who had been offered up first, had said their prayers, and had not been prevented from it; for they had been allowed to come together, and also to kiss one another; but since the people said so much about it, how they had prayed, and so lovingly kissed one another, they had decided to bring only one at a time upon the scaffold. Now when Claes stood at the stake, they also brought Ydse upon the scaffold, and he forced his way to Claes and kissed him. So the Spaniards clamored again, and were enraged. While they were fastening Ydse, a Spaniard, one of the chief men, together with a monk, stood by Catharina; but her mother stood at some distance from them, so that she could not hear what they said to her daughter. Then the monk said: "Your mother has recanted, for she has confessed that she was seduced; and she will be executed with the sword; and if you will recant too, you shall not die, because you are still young; but you shall be married and receive a large dowry, and be helped along." But in reply to all this she shook her head. And then the Spaniards also said much to her, that she should recant, and she would save her life. But others said: "Do not tell her this; but say that if she will renounce her heresy, she shall die as a pious Christian and be executed with the sword." And others said: "She must only be made to believe that she will save her life; when she has recanted she shall die nevertheless." But she shook her head at all this, so that they became discouraged. Then the monk said: "Dear sister, recant, or you will go from this fire into the eternal one; upon this I will pledge my soul." In the meantime the mother also was brought upon the scaffold, and placed at the stake. Then Catharina was seen to rejoice greatly; for she found that it was nothing but lies that they had told her about her mother. Then Catharina was also brought upon the scaffold, and she went up the steps very quickly, since she, like the others, had greatly longed for the hour of her redemption; and so all four were placed at stakes, back to back, so that they could neither see nor nod to one another. While they stood at the stakes, they still smiled and nodded to several. Then the Spaniards said: "There are some more of this people; if we only had them too."

There were also on the scaffold the provost and the quartermaster, to assist the executioner; and the provost wanted to lay the wood about three or four feet from them, in order to roast them from a distance; but the quartermaster said that the sentence was to burn them like the first ones; so they had hard words. The Spaniards also cried that they should be put to death slowly. However, the wood at least was laid around them as it had been around the others; but little straw, with which they lit the wood, in order that they should die the more slowly; however, it was soon over. So these four offered up their sacrifice and were burned to ashes on the 16th of June, in the year 1571; from whom many took a good example, who recognized them as the true people, and tried to follow them, by the grace of God, in a righteous and God-fearing life, which these four showed until death, and so confirmed what they had said and written in prison.