Frans Willemsz (d. 1531)
Frans Willemsz, one of the first Anabaptists in the Netherlands, was executed at The Hague on 5 December 1531 with eight or nine others, one of whom was Jan Volkertsz Trijpmaker. All of them recanted and for this reason were not listed in the martyrbooks. K. Vos, who studied the sentence pronounced on these victims, did not find Frans Willemsz, who is, however, listed by Grosheide. The answer to this puzzle is that Frans Willemsz and Vranck Wimsz (Willemsz), both mentioned by Grosheide, are probably the same person.
Bibliography
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1917): 159.
Grosheide, Greta. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der Anabaptisten in Amsterdam. Hilversum: J. Schipper, Jr., 1938: 50, 302.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 379. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
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MLA style: van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Frans Willemsz (d. 1531)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 25 May 2013. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/frans_willemsz_d._1531.
APA style: van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). Frans Willemsz (d. 1531). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 May 2013, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/frans_willemsz_d._1531.
