Jakob Portner (Portzner), an Anabaptist evangelist in Upper Austria, had been chaplain of the baron of Regensdorf in the castle at Steyr until Hans Hut arrived in town (15 June 1527). He intro­duced Hut into the homes of the respected citizens and saw to it that Hut could preach soon after his arrival. Soon afterward Portner was chosen by lot with three other Anabaptists, Jerome Herrmann, Leonhard Schiemer, and a former people's priest from Nürnberg, to go out as Ana­baptist evangelists. The ceremony of the lot was conducted by Hans Hut. The government ordered the council of Steyr on 20 September to pursue Portner with placards. In Augsburg he was imprisoned. When Charles V came to Augs­burg in 1530 he demanded that Portner be turned over to imperial authorities. His accusers asserted that he had misled the entire community. The prisoner was transferred after the Emperor had assured the council that this transfer would not dimin­ish their jurisdiction (Roth, 255). Nothing more is known with certainty concerning Portner's fate, but it may be assumed that an Anabaptist leader like Portner who fell into Charles's hands would be executed.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 205. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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