Sentence of Death of Sander Wouterss of Bommel and Evert Hendricks Of…

Whereas it has appeared to my lords of the court that Sander Wouterss of Bommel and Evert Hendrick of Warendorp, both tailors and inhabitants of this city, at present prisoners, unmindful of the obedience which they owed to our mother, the holy church, and to his royal majesty, as their natural lord and prince, and rejecting the ordinances of the holy church, have for many years past been neither to confession nor to the holy, worthy sacrament, and have further dared repeatedly to attend the assembly of the condemned sect of the Mennonists, or Anabaptists, and also to permit preaching after the manner of the aforesaid sect to be done in their houses; and the aforementioned Sander Wouterss, twelve years ago, and the aforesaid Evert Hendricks, seven years ago, renouncing and forsaking the baptism they received in their infancy from the holy church, have also allowed themselves to be rebaptized, and afterwards repeatedly received the breaking of the bread, according to the manner of the aforementioned sect; and although they have been repeatedly urged and admonished, by various spiritual persons, to forsake the aforementioned sect, and to return to our mother, the holy church, they nevertheless refuse to do the same, persisting in their stubbornness and obstinacy, disturbing by said sect the common peace and welfare of the land,* according to the import of the decrees of his majesty existing in regard to this, which crimes, for an example to others, ought not to go unpunished; therefore my lords of the court, having heard the demand of my lord the bailiff, and having seen the voluntary confession of the prisoners, and having taken their stubbornness and obstinacy into account, have condemned, and do condemn by these presents, said prisoners, and each of them separately, to be executed with fire, according to the decrees of his majesty, and declare all their property confiscated for the benefit of his majesty aforesaid. [n1075-1] Done in court, this 3rd of September 1572, by all the judges, and with the advice of all the burgomasters, in the presence of me, the secretary.

Signed, W. PIETERSS.

Thus extracted from the book of criminal sentences of the city of Amsterdam, preserved in the archives of that city.

N. N.