Anabaptist hunters () were armed envoys used by some cantons of the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

and

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in order to drive out or suppress the local

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

population (

Swiss Brethren The Swiss Brethren (Schweizer Brüder) are a branch of Anabaptism that started in Zürich, spread to nearby cities and towns, and then was exported to neighboring countries. Today's Swiss Mennonite Conference can be traced to the Swiss Brethren. ...

). In

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, Dietrich von Hartitsch was hired as a professional Anabaptist hunter by Emperor Ferdinand. In 1539 he captured 136 Anabaptists, many of whom were sold as galley slaves to Admiral

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influe ...

Practices

When the hunters captured an Anabaptist, the Anabaptist's lands would be confiscated and they would generally be executed for nonconformism.

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

decreed that all Anabaptists were to be put to death. The decree stated that if the Anabaptist did not recant they would be suffer

death by burning Death by burning is an execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment for and warning agai ...

, if they did recant then they would be

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

. Anabaptist hunting was common within the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

as they were encouraged Ferdinand I. If any Anabaptists were caught, the hunters would be rewarded by being paid 32

Guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

s for each one captured. These hunts would continue for centuries however the populace eventually became tired of them to the point that by 1702, when Anabaptist hunts were announced by the Anabaptist Commission, the people would assist Anabaptists to escape. This was because the hunters were generally mercenaries who had no ties to the areas they were operating in. The Anabaptist hunters' tactics would result in Anabaptists meeting on mountains or in caves and forests to evade them. Anabaptist hunters would often act as a secret police force, utilising intelligence about secret meetings. However they often tended not to go out searching for Anabaptists in bad weather. Anabaptist hunters were not always knowledgeable about the Anabaptists they were looking for. A story once reported that Anabaptist hunters once stopped a coach driven by

Menno Simons Menno Simons (; ; 1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contempor ...

looking for him. When they asked him if "Menno" was in the coach, Simons responded in the negative. Thus bypassing the hunters without bearing false witness.

References

{{reflist Anabaptism Persecution of Christians