Six Pious Brothers, Namely, Lievijn Jans, Meynert Hermans, Pieter Thymans, in the Year 1552

"The blood of the martyrs," said one of the ancients, "is the seed of the church; the rose grows in and among the thorns; so also the rose of the blooming church of Christ." This appeared in these grievous and sorrowful times, when scarcely anything was heard of but slaying, burning, murdering and shedding the blood of the innocent and defenseless lambs of Christ; so that in that very time far more people were stirred up to follow them and embrace their faith than had been slain before. Whole bands, so to speak, marched to the spiritual conflict, indeed, to the places where nothing but certain death was to be expected. Each one was ready to become an offering for God (if He counted him worthy of it). Neither fire nor sword was feared for the testimony of the Lord; for they looked to His comforting and most glorious promises, which He has given to the steadfast.

This appeared in the year 1552, in the month of August, in the case of six pious Christians who, having fled from Babel, went to the vision of peace, to the spiritual Jerusalem of the true church of God, even though many assaults and storms were made upon them, so that it cost them their lives through the cruel and terrible death by fire.

The circumstances of the case were as follows

Three of them had already, through baptism, been accepted as members of the church, and the other three were ready for it. In the meantime they were all arrested and brought to Amsterdam, where they all made a good confession of that most holy faith which dwelt in their souls, though the last-mentioned three greatly deplored the one fact, namely, that they were not baptized, to which they, if it had been possible, would still have attended before their death.

In short, sentence of death was passed upon them all, namely, that they should be executed as heretics with fire, that is, in common language, burned alive; which cruel death they all steadfastly endured, as appears from the following sentence, which we received from the book of criminal sentences of the city of Amsterdam, just as it was read in the court immediately before their death, and which we shall therefore present here as an undoubted testimony of the matter named above.

Sentence of death of the aforementioned six persons,

Lievijn Jans, Meynert Hermans, Pieter

Thymans, Reyer Egberts, Hendrick

Anthoniss, Claes Gerbrants

Whereas Lievijn, son of Jans of Ghent, otherwise called Liefken de Keyser, a weaver by trade;

Meynert Hermans of Balch, a wood sawyer; Pieter Thymans of Sutphen, formerly a cooper, now a bookbinder by trade; Reyer Egberts, a citizen of this city, and Hendrick Anthoniss of Leyden, both of them weavers; and Claes Gerbrants, a native of Wormer, have resorted to the conventicles and gatherings of the Anabaptist sect, and have gone to hear the doctrines of the heads or teachers of the said sect, namely, the said Claes Gerbrants the doctrines of Menno Simons, ten years ago, and the said Lievijn of Ghent, and all the others, the doctrines of Gillis of Aix la Chapelle; and since they, adhering to the doctrines, errors and heresies put forth by the false teachers named above, have separated from the faith, obedience and unity of the holy Christian church, and hold pernicious views with regard to the sacraments of the holy church, so that the said Lievijn, Meynert and Pieter have been rebaptized by the said Gillis of Aix la Chapelle, thus renouncing the baptism which they received in their infancy, and the said Reyer Egberts, Hendrick Anthoniss, and Claes Gerbrants, likewise renouncing their baptism named above, have confessed themselves to be ready for rebaptism, if they can attain to it, all of which is contrary to the holy Christian faith, the ordinances of the holy church, and the written laws and decrees of his Imperial Majesty, our gracious lord; and as they moreover obstinately persist in their unbelief, heresy and errors; therefore, my lords the judges, having heard the demand made by my lord the bailiff concerning the said offenders, together with their confessions, and having duly considered the circumstances of the said case, condemn the said offenders to be executed with fire by the executioner, and furthermore declare their property confiscated for the benefit of his Imperial Majesty, as Count of Holland and our gracious lord, without derogation or prejudice to the privileges of this city. Done and pronounced in the court, on the 6th day of August, in the year 1552, in the presence of all the judges, dempto Andries Boelen, by the advice of the Burgomaster.

Concerning the Torturing of Hendrick Anthoniss

and Reyer Egberts, and when it Occurred

Of these, two were examined by torture, namely, Hendrick Anthoniss, on the 28th of June, and Reyer Egberts on the last of June, 1552.

Thus taken from the book of criminal sentences, preserved at Amsterdam, in the keeping of the secretary of the city.

N. N.