Marcus Eder and Hans Poltzinger, in the Year 1605

On the 24th of April, in the year 1605, two brothers, named Marcus Eder, a cartwright, and Hans Poltzinger, a tailor, were arrested for their faith and for the sake of the divine truth, at Nimbach in Bavaria, where they were traveling through and were betrayed. Early in the morning on the 26th of April both were taken as prisoners to Riet, where they remained in confinement until the fifteenth week. In the meantime they dealt with them in many and various ways, seeking to make them fall away from the faith. Two Jesuits were also brought to them from the town of Oting, who were to instruct them and teach them their faith. But they continued firmly and steadfastly in the true faith, and would not listen to the voice of strangers. The priests at Riet often came to them and wanted to persuade them to accept their faith; but the brothers said: "It is a faith of idolatry and fornication, a faith of sin and blasphemy, as the fruits testify." And so they did not in any way let themselves be moved, but always defended themselves well according to the truth and the simplicity of Christ, concerning what God had made known to them; and to this they would hold to the end; and though they, by God's permission, should take their lives from them, they could not harm their souls.

Now when all the false doctrine of the priests could accomplish nothing with them, they handed them over to the executioner to try his skill on them, and had them tortured twice very cruelly, wanting to know from them who had lodged them, and who they were to whom they meant to go; the brothers, however, would not tell them, but said that it was not necessary for them to know.

Now when they could in no way accomplish their purpose with them, there came, after much proceeding, an order from the government at Berckhausen, that they should be executed with the sword, and then burned with fire.

When they arrived at the place of execution, Brother Marcus asked the executioner that he should execute Hans first, which he also did; and when this had been done, Marcus said to the people, of whom many were present: "God be praised, my brother has overcome; and I will do the same." After these words Brother Marcus was also beheaded, after which both were burned together. This happened on the twenty-sixth day of the month of August of the year mentioned above. The executioner had received orders that if he should notice that one of them wanted to recant, even though he had already drawn out the sword, he should still hold back and not go through with it; but in this hope they were disappointed. So these two brothers testified to the faith and the divine truth valiantly and steadfastly to death, with their blood; God, who gave them the power and the strength for it, be praised and thanked forever.

The following brief account, which is found in the Chronijck van den Ondergang, page 1590, column 2, will serve as a confirmation of what is written above.

In the year 1605 (says the writer), on the 24th day of April, Marcus Eder and Hans Polzinger, Anabaptists, were arrested for the faith, at Nimback, in Bavaria, and taken as prisoners to Riet, where they remained in confinement until the fifteenth week.

When they could move them from the faith neither by the Jesuits nor by the priests, they handed them over to the executioner to try his skill on them, and had them tortured twice very cruelly, wanting to know from them who had lodged them, and who they were to whom they meant to go; but the brothers would not tell them. Then both of them were executed with the sword, and their bodies burned together, on the 26th of August of the same year. Compare the chronicle named above with Jac. Th. Oal., and W. Att. letters. [n1220-1]