Hendrik Verstralen (d. 1571)
Hendrik Verstralen was an Anabaptist martyr, executed in 1571 in Rypermonde (Rupelmonde) in Flanders, Belgium. There is not much information about this martyr; even the three letters found in <em>Offer des Heeren</em> and following martyr books do not give many particulars. He found it difficult to leave his wife Janneken and again and again asks her to kiss his children for him. He expected the congregation to take care of his family after his death. He was imprisoned in the castle in irons shackles; Maeyken Deynoots was in prison at the same time. In prison he wrote three letters—two to his wife, the first of which was undated, the second dated Palm Sunday (2 March), 1571; one letter, dated Jorisdach 1571, i.e., 23 April, is written to the congregation. These letters, together with those of Maeyken Deynoots, entitled Twee schoone Brieven, were published in 1577 and in 1579, and perhaps as early as 1571 (see Bibliographie I, 465). The [[Amsterdam Mennonite Library (Bibliotheek en Archief van de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam)|Amsterdam Mennonite Library]] has a copy of the 1577 edition. The letters were also included in a 1578 edition of the Offer des Heeren. Hendrik was the author of three songs, of which only the first is found in the Offer des Heeren. It begins, "O Heere Godt van grooter machte" (O God, Lord of great might). The two other songs begin: "Genade ende Vrede van Godts bermharticheyt" (Grace and peace of God's mercy) and "O Heere van Hemel en aarde mee" (O Lord of heaven and earth). They are found in Twee schoone Brieven, in the <em>Hoorns Liedt-boeck</em> of 1630, and reprinted in Wackernagel, Lieder.
Bibliography
Dit Boec wort genoemt: Het Offer des Herren, om het inhout van sommighe opgheofferde kinderen Godts . . . N.p., 1570: 628-645.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. Het Bloedigh Tooneel of Martelaers Spiegel der Doops-gesinde of Weereloose Christenen, Die om 't getuygenis van Jesus haren Salighmaker geleden hebben ende gedood zijn van Christi tijd of tot desen tijd toe. Den Tweeden Druk. Amsterdam: Hieronymus Sweerts, 1685: II, 542.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. The Bloody Theatre or Martyrs' Mirror of the Defenseless Christians Who Baptized Only upon Confession of Faith and Who Suffered and Died for the Testimony of Jesus Their Saviour . . . to the Year A.D. 1660. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1951: 877. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Catalogus der werken over de Doopsgezinden en hunne geschiedenis aanwezig in de bibliotheek der Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. Amsterdam: J.H. de Bussy, 1919: 100.
Haeghen, Ferdinand van der., Thomas Arnold and R. Vanden Berghe. Bibliographie des Martyrologes Protestants Néerlandais. II. Receuils. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1890: I, 643 ff., 674 f.
Wackernagel, Philipp. Lieder der niederlandischen Reformierten aus der Zeit der Verfolgung im 16. Jahrhundert. Frankfurt: Hender & Zimmer, 1867. Reprinted Nieuwkoop: B. de Graaf, 1965: 104 f., 205-207.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Hendrik Verstralen (d. 1571)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hendrik_Verstralen_(d._1571)&oldid=65098.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). Hendrik Verstralen (d. 1571). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hendrik_Verstralen_(d._1571)&oldid=65098.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 702. All rights reserved.
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