Born (Limburg, Netherlands)
Born, a village in the Dutch province of Limburg, in the 16th century belonging to the dukedom of Jülich, was shortly after 1530 a center of Anabaptist activity as were other villages in the neighborhood, such as Wassenberg, Dieteren, Susteren, and Millen. The rise of Anabaptism was furthered by the fact that the Roman Catholic clergy in this area had shamefully neglected their task, as well as by the inclination toward the Reformation on the part of the bailiff, Wilhelm von Rennenberg. Lenart van Ysenbroek baptized here frequently. During and before September 1534, 30 Anabaptists, mostly men, were put to death, and in 1535 six more. This is stated by Rembert (Wiedertäufer, 419), without mentioning the source from which he drew, or giving the names of the victims. Peter Vrancken was beheaded in Born as a martyr; the year of his death is not known. It is mentioned that in 1557 there were still 14 living here who belonged to the Anabaptists; it appears that a congregation existed here. The well-known elder Lemke baptized a number of persons here in 1558. In spite of persecution the congregation maintained itself; in 1575 there were 18 Mennonite families in Born. In 1619 Anabaptists presented a petition to the government for religious freedom, which actually resulted in a lightening of their oppression. On 1 September 1622, the Count Palatine, who was also the lord of Jülich, decided to root out entirely the "souls of the Anabaptists, the rebaptized, or the Mennonites"; their gatherings were to be prevented; they were to be driven out of the country with confiscation of their goods if they refused to be converted to Roman Catholicism. Nevertheless, in 1670 there were Mennonites in Born and vicinity, for in this year their property was confiscated. Shortly afterwards the Mennonites disappeared from this area.
Bibliography
Bax, Willem. Het protestantisme in het bisdom Luik en vooral te Maastricht. s-Gravenhage: Nijhoff, 1937-1941:
Rembert, Karl. Die "Wiedertäufer" im Herzogtum Jülich. Berlin: R. Gaertners Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1899: 419 et passim.
Maps
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Born (Limburg, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Born_(Limburg,_Netherlands)&oldid=110560.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1953). Born (Limburg, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Born_(Limburg,_Netherlands)&oldid=110560.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 390-391. All rights reserved.
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