Hans Hut
Encyclopedia
Hans Hut was a very active Anabaptist
in Southern Germany
and Austria
.
near Römhild
, south Thuringia
and became a travelling bookseller. Hut was for some years sacristan
in Bibra
to the knight Hans von Bibra
(the brother of Bishop Lorenz von Bibra
). He early came under the influence of Thomas Müntzer and, refusing to have his child baptized, was driven from the community in 1524. Took part in the decisive battle of Thuringia during the Peasants' War
on 15 May 1525 at Bad Frankenhausen
. About a week later at Bibra Hut preached "subjects should murder all the authorities, for the opportune time has arrived." After the battle he managed to flee and traveled throughout the region.
On Pentecost
1526 he was baptized
in Augsburg by Hans Denck
, who had previously been baptized by Balthasar Hubmaier
. Like Denck, Hut helped spread the doctrine of Universal salvation. He expected the 1528 coming of the Kingdom of God
in the form of a violent apocalyptic imposition of the rule of Christ
. Therefore he curtailed his extensive missionary activity to await Pentecost 1528 and be among the 144,000 elect. He baptised not only with water, but sealed the baptism with a sign of the cross on the forehead.
His mission activity extended from the Thuringian-French border in the north to Tyrol
and Moravia
and in his mission journeys he often seemed to seek former Peasants' War participants. His preaching was strongly influenced by Thomas Muentzer's
mysticism. Gottfried Sebaß, an expert on Hut's biography and theology, calls him simply "Muentzer's heir."
In May of 1527, Hans Schlaffer
and others joined Hut in a notable theological controversy taking place in Nicolsburg, Moravia
. Unfortunately, the exact subject of the debate has been lost to history, but it may have involved the question of whether or not a committed Christian could hold a job, e.g. as a soldier, in which he would be required to use violence. In August 1527 Hans Hut was a key participant at the Martyrs' Synod
in Augsburg
, a gathering of 60 Anabatists from the surrounding region, trying to come to a common understanding about various teachings. When the Augsburg town council learned of the meeting, they attempted to arrest the group. Hut was arrested along with the major Augsburg Anabaptists. Though the arrest did not end Hut's teaching, after a trial he and the others were sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. Hans Hut was tortured horribly, and accidentally died as a result of a fire which caused his asphixiation in the Augsburg prison on 6 December 1527. The next day, the authorities sentenced his dead body to death and burned him.
Hut is the author of Ausbund
no. 8, “O Thou Almighty Lord and God” (O Allmächtiger Herr Gott) which is still in the hymnal used today by North American Amish
congregations.
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
in Southern Germany
Southern Germany
The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Life
Hut was born in HainaHaina, Hildburghausen
Haina is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany....
near Römhild
Römhild
Römhild is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 14 km west of Hildburghausen, and 21 km southeast of Meiningen.In the Stadtkirche of Römhild is the tomb of Elisabeth and Hermann VIII of Henneberg...
, south Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and became a travelling bookseller. Hut was for some years sacristan
Sacristan
A sacristan is an officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers , later by the treasurers and mansionarii...
in Bibra
Bibra, Schmalkalden-Meiningen
Bibra is a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany. From December 1, 2007 it is part of Grabfeld.-St. Leo's Church:...
to the knight Hans von Bibra
Bibra family
For other Bibra and Bibran entries, go to Bibra disambiguation pageBibra family was one of the leading families in Franconia and Thuringia from the mid-15th century to about 1600. Later on the family rose from Reichsritter to Reichsfreiherr...
(the brother of Bishop Lorenz von Bibra
Lorenz von Bibra
Lorenz von Bibra, Duke in Franconia was Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg from 1495 to 1519. His life paralleled Maximilian I , who served as Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519, to which Lorenz did serve as an advisor....
). He early came under the influence of Thomas Müntzer and, refusing to have his child baptized, was driven from the community in 1524. Took part in the decisive battle of Thuringia during the Peasants' War
Peasants' War
The Peasants' War was a popular revolt that took place in Europe during 1524–1525...
on 15 May 1525 at Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen is a spa town in the German state of Thuringia. It is located at the southern slope of the Kyffhäuser mountain range, on an artificial arm of the Wipper river, a tributary of the Saale. Because of the nearby Kyffhäuser monument dedicated to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, it is...
. About a week later at Bibra Hut preached "subjects should murder all the authorities, for the opportune time has arrived." After the battle he managed to flee and traveled throughout the region.
On Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
1526 he was baptized
Believer's baptism
Believer's baptism is the Christian practice of baptism as this is understood by many Protestant churches, particularly those that descend from the Anabaptist tradition...
in Augsburg by Hans Denck
Hans Denck
Hans Denck was a German theologian and Anabaptist leader during the Reformation.Denck was born in 1495 in the Bavarian town of Habach. After a classical education, he became headmaster at the St. Sebaldus school in Nuremberg in 1523...
, who had previously been baptized by Balthasar Hubmaier
Balthasar Hubmaier
Balthasar Hubmaier was an influential German/Moravian Anabaptist leader. He was one of the most well-known and respected Anabaptist theologians of the Reformation.- Early life and education:...
. Like Denck, Hut helped spread the doctrine of Universal salvation. He expected the 1528 coming of the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
in the form of a violent apocalyptic imposition of the rule of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. Therefore he curtailed his extensive missionary activity to await Pentecost 1528 and be among the 144,000 elect. He baptised not only with water, but sealed the baptism with a sign of the cross on the forehead.
His mission activity extended from the Thuringian-French border in the north to Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
and in his mission journeys he often seemed to seek former Peasants' War participants. His preaching was strongly influenced by Thomas Muentzer's
Thomas Muentzer
Thomas Müntzer was an early Reformation-era German theologian, who became a rebel leader during the Peasants' War. He turned against Luther with several anti-Lutheran writings, and supported the Anabaptists. In the Battle of Frankenhausen, Müntzer and his followers were defeated...
mysticism. Gottfried Sebaß, an expert on Hut's biography and theology, calls him simply "Muentzer's heir."
In May of 1527, Hans Schlaffer
Hans Schlaffer
Hans Schlaffer was a former Catholic priest, who became an Anabaptist in 1526. In May of 1527, Schlaffer was part of the group surrounding Hans Hut, and therefore involved in a notable theological controversy taking place in Nikolsburg, Moravia...
and others joined Hut in a notable theological controversy taking place in Nicolsburg, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. Unfortunately, the exact subject of the debate has been lost to history, but it may have involved the question of whether or not a committed Christian could hold a job, e.g. as a soldier, in which he would be required to use violence. In August 1527 Hans Hut was a key participant at the Martyrs' Synod
Martyrs' Synod
The Martyrs' Synod took place in Augsburg from 20 to 24 August, 1527. The purpose of this meeting, attended by about sixty representatives from different Anabaptist groups, was to come to an agreement over the differences related to the central Anabaptist teachings among the Swiss and south German...
in Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, a gathering of 60 Anabatists from the surrounding region, trying to come to a common understanding about various teachings. When the Augsburg town council learned of the meeting, they attempted to arrest the group. Hut was arrested along with the major Augsburg Anabaptists. Though the arrest did not end Hut's teaching, after a trial he and the others were sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. Hans Hut was tortured horribly, and accidentally died as a result of a fire which caused his asphixiation in the Augsburg prison on 6 December 1527. The next day, the authorities sentenced his dead body to death and burned him.
Hut is the author of Ausbund
Ausbund
The Ausbund is the oldest Anabaptist hymnal and one of the oldest Christian song books in continuous use. It is used today by North American Amish congregations.-History:...
no. 8, “O Thou Almighty Lord and God” (O Allmächtiger Herr Gott) which is still in the hymnal used today by North American Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
congregations.
Works
- Von dem geheimnis der tauf, baide des zaichens und des Wesens, ein anfang eines rechten wahrhaftigen christlichen Lebens (1527)
- Ein christlicher Underricht, wie göttliche geschrift vergleicht und geurtailt solle werden. Aus kraft des heiligen geists und zeuknus der dreitail christlichen Glaubens sambt iren verstand (1527)
Further reading
- Gottfried Sebaß: Müntzers Erbe. Werk, Leben und Theologie des Hans Hut. Gütersloh 2002.
- Werner O. Packull: Mysticism and the Early South German - Austrian Anabaptist Movement. Scottdale 1977.
- Hans-Jürgen Goertz: Die Täufer. Geschichte und Deutung. München 1988, 2. Auflage
- Gottfried Sebaß: Das Zeichen der Erwählten : zum Verständnis der Taufe bei Hans Hut- in: Umstrittenes Täufertum : 1525 - 1975; neue Forschungen(Hrsg. Hans-Jürgen Goertz) , 1975, S. 138 - 164.