Brief Extract from the Sentence of Death of Felistis, Daughter of Jans

After her name and her birthplace are given, there are presented first the accusations with which she was charged, grouped in the following divisions:

1. That she had gone to the assembly of the sect of the Anabaptists.

2. That she had separated herself from the obedience and faith of the (so-called) holy (that is, the Roman) church.

3. That she held harmful views concerning the sacrament of the altar.

4. That she had sheltered in her house persons whom she knew to belong to that sect (that is, to the sect of the so-called Anabaptists).

5. That she had drawn several persons away from the obedience of the (Roman) church to her belief.

6. That she herself stubbornly held to the aforementioned (so-called) errors, and refused to give them up.

7. That all this was contrary to the ordinances of the holy church, and the decrees of His Imperial Majesty.

Then follows the conclusion, namely: That for this she should be put to death by fire at the hands of the executioner, and that all her property should be confiscated or forfeited, for the benefit of the Emperor.

Thus pronounced, and so on, as above.

Then the time is mentioned when she was tortured, concerning which these words are found:

"This Felistis was put to the torture, or rack, on the 2nd of January, 1553."

Extracted from the book of criminal sentences, in the keeping of the secretary of the city of Amsterdam.

N. N.

NOTE. The year in which this Felistis died was not correctly noted* by the earlier writers of the History of the Martyrs, nor was her full name* given, until we, by means of the aforementioned sentence, made the necessary corrections. [n745-1]

Besides this, it is also worth noting that the old writers state that she was a virtuous and honorable young maiden, and that through her long imprisonment she became so close to the jailer's wife that the wife employed her as a maidservant, to help her with her household work.

Once, when the jailer's wife had some filth to carry outdoors, but had no one at hand whom she could tell to do it, Felistis said: "Shall I do it?" at which the jailer's wife replied: "Would you not run away?" Felistis said: "No." But thinking on the matter a little, and considering how frail human intentions are, she would not put herself to this test, and so declined to do it, which was certainly a good decision on the part of a seemingly weak young maiden.

Shortly after, the old writers state, she was seen coming to the scaffold to be burned, cleanly dressed and with a white apron, as though by her outward garments she meant to show how purely and uprightly a Christian virgin ought to be adorned within, to be acceptable to her beloved heavenly bridegroom, Christ Jesus.

Thus she offered up her sacrifice, and was numbered among the holy and God-pleasing martyrs. Compare this with the Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians, edition 1631, page 125.