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Anabaptist Masculinity in Reformation Europe Adam Michael Bonikowske University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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Anabaptist Masculinity in Reformation Europe Adam Michael Bonikowske University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2013 Anabaptist Masculinity in Reformation Europe Adam Michael Bonikowske University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the European History Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Bonikowske, Adam Michael, "Anabaptist Masculinity in Reformation Europe" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 80. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/80 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANABAPTIST MASCULINITY IN REFORMATION EUROPE by Adam Bonikowske A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2013 ABSTRACT ANABAPTIST MASCULINITY IN REFORMATION EUROPE by Adam Bonikowske The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2013 Under the Supervision of Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks This thesis studies the connections between the Anabaptist movement during the Protestant Reformation and the alternative masculinities that developed during sixteenth- century Europe. It argues that Anabaptist men challenged traditional gender norms of European society, and through their unique understanding of the Reformation’s message of salvation, these men constructed new ideas about masculinity that were at odds with Protestant and Catholic culture. Anabaptist men placed piety and ethics at the center of reform, and argued for the moral improvement of Christians. In separation from Catholics and mainstream Protestants, Anabaptists created a new culture that exhibited behavior often viewed as dangerous. The resulting culture was marginalized and challenged by persecution during the sixteenth century, but survived into the modern era. ii © Copyright by Adam Bonikowske, 2013 All Rights Reserved iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Thesis and Main Themes 2 Review of Literature 6 Discussion of Sources 8 Breakdown of Thesis by Chapters 10 Chapter 1: From Boys to Men 11 General Information on Anabaptists 13 Behavior 16 Coming of Age and Education for Men 19 Labor 25 Adult Baptism and the Male Experience 29 Chapter 2: Household and Community 39 Community and Leadership 42 Patriarchal Leadership 46 Family Patriarchy 49 Fatherhood 54 Servants 58 Marriage 61 Heterosocial Relationships 65 Chapter 3: Individuals 68 Honor 69 Missionaries 76 Pacifism and Violence 78 iv Dress 84 Facial Hair 94 Chapter 4: Martyrdom 99 Persecution, Imprisonment, and Death 101 The Martyrs’ Mentality 106 Baptism and Martyrdom 112 Nicodemites and Apostates 114 Martyrs’ Songs, Hymns, and Martyrologies 116 Conclusion 124 Bibliography 131 v Acknowledgments The idea for studying Anabaptist masculinity developed out of an early conversation I had with my advisor, Prof. Merry Wiesner-Hanks. In the spring of 2011, her seminar course on Gender and Sexuality in World History provided the opportunity to write an early paper on “Anabaptist Masculinity”. I cannot thank Merry enough for everything she has done to help me develop this thesis, especially with editing my horrible first drafts. She encouraged and challenged me to produce this thesis, which I hope will be the foundation for my dissertation. There are a number of people who I would like to thank for helping me during the research of this thesis. I must thank the History Department at UW-Milwaukee for awarding me a Travel Grant, which allowed a visit to the archive at the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College in Indiana. I am grateful to everyone at Goshen College and the MHL that helped me while I was there. Joe Springer, the archivist at the MHL, was very kind and provided me with more material than I could have hoped to get through in the little time I was there. I would also like to thank Prof. John Roth at Goshen College who read a paper of mine on Anabaptist masculinity, and provided valuable information about organizing my thesis. I must also thank the Newberry Library in Chicago and the German Studies Association for giving me the opportunity to share my research professionally at conferences in Chicago and Milwaukee. I would also like to thank Prof. Jennifer Watson, Associate Dean of Humanities at UW-Milwaukee. During the spring of 2011, my independent study with her focused on reading and translating various sixteenth-century German and Swiss Anabaptist sources, vi some of which I used in this study. Other professors in the History Department at UW- Milwaukee helped me develop professionally and gave me advice about my research. I would like to thank Martha Carlin, Marcus Filipello, Winson Chu, Joe Austin, and Steve Meyer. I especially would like to thank the committee members of my thesis, Carolyn Eichner and John Hoevler, for providing valuable advice for revision and ideas for the conclusion. Many friends and colleagues supported me during my years at Milwaukee. There are too many to name, but I would like to thank my fellow history graduate students and friends for emotional support and being there when I needed them. Most importantly, I want to thank my family. My mom and dad, Mike and Jenny Bonikowske, gave me constant encouragement and support the past three years. Also, my sister, Danielle. Thanks for always being there for me. vii 1 Introduction The Anabaptist movement began in 1525 with the formation of the Swiss Brethren in Zürich, and spread from there voicing different ideologies about doctrine and how faith should be practiced. Anabaptists rejected infant baptism, believing that only adults should be baptized, because they alone possessed the capacity to understand faith. Although opinions and rituals varied among different communities, Anabaptists generally believed social transformation was necessary for the betterment of society. This was a movement that supported the politically marginalized, the poor and destitute, and the socially oppressed. 1 Because the Anabaptist vision sought the betterment of society, its followers found the objectives of the mainstream Reformation to be seriously lacking in belief and direction. According to Anabaptists, magisterial reformers failed to convey the deep moral significance behind the new understanding of salvation, and therefore, the social “improvement of behavior”. 2 Early attempts to gain support among the magisterial reformers were unsuccessful, as many reformers were against adult baptism. Thus, in order to socially transform and improve people, Anabaptists separated themselves from society. They formed their own communities in isolation, and developed many sectarian characteristics that distinguished their congregation and members from the rest of society. These characteristics centered on strict moral and ethical standards. As Werner Packull 1 Werner O. Packull, “In Search of the ‘Common Man’ in Early German Anabaptist Ideology,” The Sixteenth-Century Journal 17, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 67. 2 Hans-Jürgen Goertz, “Radical Religiosity in the German Reformation,” in A Companion To The Reformation World , ed. R. Po-chia Hsia (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd., 2004), 77. 2 has argued, “In this moral elitist form Anabaptism came to constitute a peripheral social manifestation but no longer a populist movement.” 3 The Anabaptist impulse for improvement of behavior was both spiritualist and scriptural in its formation. At the crux of this social movement was the Anabaptist understanding of salvation: people were to consciously turn away from their lives as sinners, and were challenged to be reborn as “new men,” and live more in accordance with God. Hans-Jürgen Goertz has correctly identified this process, arguing, “It is in all cases, a matter of the ethicization of faith. Practice becomes the visible preservation of salvation.” [...] “Human participation in the process of salvation is unmistakable here.” 4 Above all things for Anabaptists was the serious intention to change everything about one’s life. Mentality, behavior, and lifestyle took new expressions as faith permeated every aspect of life. Religion was expressed and took shape in daily, mundane tasks. Thus, daily acts perpetuated faith and made spiritual change physically evident. Nowhere else among the movements of Reformation was this transformation more apparent than among Anabaptists. The formal rituals of traditional religious services such as the mass were abolished and replaced by faithful acts in day-to-day affairs. Goertz argues, “even if not always systematically developed” the intention to change in the Anabaptist movement was “its essential concept or program.” 5 Thesis and Main Themes This thesis argues that Anabaptist men in sixteenth-century Europe understood manliness and exhibited masculine behavior in significantly different ways than Catholic 3 Packull, “In Search of the ‘Common Man’”, 63. 4 Goertz, 77. Goertz claims that many Anabaptists were inspired by late medieval pious repentance. 5 Goertz, 80. 3 and other Protestant men. I argue that the Reformation was a historical period that not only provided opportunities for men to explore new ways to understand their faith, but it also provided the opportunity for Anabaptist men to break away from masculine conventions and re-construct ideas about masculine identity. Therefore, masculinity in the Reformation era was not static, but fluid and changeable; not homogenous,
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