Heresy or Ideal Society? A Study of Early Anabaptism as Minority Religion in German Fiction DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ursula Berit Jany Graduate Program in Germanic Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Professor Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Advisor Professor Katra A. Byram Professor Anna Grotans Copyright by Ursula Berit Jany 2013 Abstract Anabaptism, a radical reform movement originating during the sixteenth-century European Reformation, sought to attain discipleship to Christ by a separation from the religious and worldly powers of early modern society. In my critical reading of the movement’s representations in German fiction dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, I explore how authors have fictionalized the religious minority, its commitment to particular theological and ethical aspects, its separation from society, and its experience of persecution. As part of my analysis, I trace the early historical development of the group and take inventory of its chief characteristics to observe which of these aspects are selected for portrayal in fictional texts. Within this research framework, my study investigates which social and religious principles drawn from historical accounts and sources influence the minority’s image as an ideal society, on the one hand, and its stigmatization as a heretical and seditious sect, on the other. As a result of this analysis, my study reveals authors’ underlying programmatic aims and ideological convictions cloaked by their literary articulations of conflict-laden encounters between society and the religious minority. ii Dedication This work is dedicated to my mother, for her support and her love. iii Acknowledgments I have been very fortunate in the help I received in this study. Katra A. Byram, Anna Grotans, and Joseph Donnermeyer have provided me with words of encouragement, valuable advice, and productive criticism. I am thankful for their support. My gratitude is further due to the staff at several libraries and archives; in particular, the Mennonite Historical Library, Burgerbibliothek Bern, Staatsarchiv Bern, and Dokumentationsstelle für neuere Südtiroler Literatur. Additionally, I would like to thank the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the Ohio State University, which supported me throughout my doctoral study. In particular, I would like to give thanks to Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm and Kathryn Corl, who provided support and encouragement. Finally, I am deeply grateful to Barbara Becker-Cantarino, under whose guidance this thesis took shape. She offered valuable suggestions, corrections, and comments, and shared her knowledge of and passion for literary studies with me. Her attention to this thesis and her commitment to my intellectual and professional development are deeply appreciated. iv Vita 2000................................................................Kreuzschule Dresden 2007................................................................M.A. Cultural Studies, Technische Universität Dresden 2009................................................................M.A. German Literature, The Ohio State University 2009 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Germanic Languages and Literatures v Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication..........................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita...................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents............................................................................................................... vi Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: The Development of Early Anabaptism as Seen in Historical Research ........ 14 A. Anabaptist Origins.................................................................................................... 14 B. Persecution and Martyrdom...................................................................................... 22 C. The Hutterite Brethren.............................................................................................. 31 D. Fundamental Principles of Anabaptist Faith ............................................................ 35 E. Münster ..................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 2: Harmonia –The Ideal Society ......................................................................... 42 A. Grimmelshausen: Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus (1668) and the Hungarian Hutterites ....................................................................................................................... 42 1. Fictionalization of Anabaptists in Early Modern Europe...................................... 42 vi 2. The Notion of Utopia in Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus ................................ 44 3. Simplicissimus’ Contact with Anabaptism and the Matter of Heresy .................. 49 4. Representations of Hutterian Communalism as an Ideal Social Structure........... 54 B. Jung-Stilling: Das Heimweh (1794) and the Swiss Mennonites .............................. 65 1. Jung-Stilling and the Mennonites.......................................................................... 65 2. Das Heimweh and its Reception among Contemporary Mennonites.................... 75 3. Representations of Mennonite Discrimination...................................................... 78 4. Depictions of Mennonite Way of Life................................................................... 81 C. Conclusion................................................................................................................ 90 Chapter 3: Nonconformity–The Ambivalent Community................................................ 96 A. Stern: Die Wiedertäufer (1866) in the German Lowlands ....................................... 96 1. Nineteenth-Century Historical Research on Münster Anabaptism ....................... 96 2. Plot Summary and Narrative Style ........................................................................ 99 3. Münster Anabaptism as a Continuous Threat to the Society............................... 102 4. Representation of Post-Münster Anabaptism...................................................... 110 5. Repentance and Atonement after Münster .......................................................... 114 B. Keller: Ursula (1877) and Early Swiss Anabaptism .............................................. 118 1. Plot Summary ...................................................................................................... 118 2. Keller and the Swiss Kulturkampf ....................................................................... 120 vii 3. Keller’s Historical and Philosophical Sources .................................................... 122 4. Religious Fanaticism and Moral Transgression of Early Swiss Anabaptism...... 125 5. Adaptation of Historical Sources......................................................................... 134 6. Swiss National Unity vs. Anabaptist Sectarianism ............................................. 137 C. Hausrath: Klytia (1883) and Anabaptism in the Palatinate .................................... 142 1. Anabaptism in the Sixteenth-Century Palatinate................................................. 142 2. Plot Summary ...................................................................................................... 143 3. The Author’s Approach to Historical Writing..................................................... 144 4. Nineteenth-Century German Kulturkampf .......................................................... 147 5. Literary Representation of Anabaptist Tenets of Faith ....................................... 149 6. Saint or Sinner: Münster Heritage, Witchcraft, and the Spirit of Charity........... 153 D. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 162 Chapter 4: Nachfolge Christi –The Fellowship of Martyrs ............................................. 168 A. Riehl: Mein Recht (1875) and Fugitive Anabaptists in the Palatinate ................... 168 1. Progressive Historiography and Ethnographic Interest....................................... 168 2. Plot Summary ...................................................................................................... 170 3. Volkskunde : The Study of Culture, Mentality, and Customs .............................. 172 4. Representations of Anabaptist Customs and Theology....................................... 173 5. Principles of Forgiveness and Non-Retaliation ................................................... 177 viii 6. Group Identity through Notions of Discipleship ................................................. 182 B. Stähle: Der Reichsprofos (1904) and Early