The ''Ausbund'' ("Paragon" in German) is the oldest

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

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

and one of the oldest

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

song books in continuous use. It is used today by North American

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

congregations.

History

The core of the ''Ausbund'' is based on fifty-one songs written by Anabaptists from Passau,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. Eleven of these songs were written by their leader, Michael Schneider. Twelve others may have been written by Hans Betz. The hymns were composed in the

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

of Passau Castle, where the Anabaptists were imprisoned between 1535 and 1540 because of their convictions. Some—among them Hans Betz—did not survive the imprisonment. Many of these imprisoned Anabaptists were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

ed. The collection was printed in 1564. A copy of this first printing is found at the

Mennonite Historical Library The Mennonite Historical Library (MHL) is considered the world's most prominent and complete collection of resources and artifacts pertaining to Mennonites and related Anabaptist groups. It is housed in the Harold and Wilma Good Library on the ...

Goshen College Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the Hig ...

, bearing the title ''Etliche schöne christliche Gesäng wie dieselbigen zu Passau von den Schweizer Brüdern in der Gefenknus im Schloss durch göttliche Gnade gedicht und gesungen warden. Ps. 139'' (Several Beautiful Christian Songs Which Were Written and Sung Through God's Grace by the Swiss Brethren in the Passau Castle Prison). The printed hymnal must have been widely circulated. By the

Frankenthaler Colloquiums Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...

(1571) it was already used as a source of criticism by opponents of Anabaptism. Another edition of the hymnal with eighty more songs appeared in 1583. This is the first edition where the word ''Ausbund'' appears on the title page: ''Ausbund. Das ist etliche schöne christenliche Lieder, etc. Allen und jeden Christen, welcher Religion sie seien, unpartheyisch nützlich.'' Later editions included 137 (Europe) and 140 (North America) songs. In all there are eleven known European editions of the ''Ausbund''. In the 16th and 17th centuries the hymnals were published in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhineland ...

. In the 18th and 19th centuries new editions appeared in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

und Strasbourg. The last European edition was printed in

in 1838. The first American ''Ausbund'' appeared in 1742 and was printed at Christopher Saur's Germantown press.

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Ra ...

Bishop

Henry Funck Joseph Funk (1778–1862) was a pioneer American music teacher, publisher, and an early American composer. He invented a shape note system in 1851 for the Harmonia Sacra. Funk was born April 6, 1778 (though his gravestone states March 9, 1777) ...

was the publisher of this hymnal, which was used until the end of the 18th century by the Swiss Mennonite churches. It was replaced by ''Die kleine geistliche Harfe'' and ''Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch'' of 1804, both from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. The ''Ausbund'' is now exclusively used in Amish worship, preserving the unique spirit of the 17th-century Anabaptists. A number of the hymns have been translated into English both in book reference form and also set to music as found in the ''Christian Hymnary'' where it is used in many Conservative Mennonite worship services.

Characteristics

The oldest songs from the ''Ausbund'' are mainly about the suffering church in a hostile environment. At the center stand those serious Christians who are prepared to die for their faith. They reflect not only

grief Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogn ...

and despair, but also the understanding of God's presence. There are always more reasons to thank God as one pours out their troubles. Among others, song number 131, ''O Gott, Vater, wir loben dich und deine Güte preisen wir'' (O God, Father, we praise you and your kindness we praise), today is sung at beginning of each Amish worship service.

Content

The first song of the ''Ausbund'' is from the pen of

Sebastian Franck Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499 Donauwörth, Swabia – c. 1543 Basel, Switzerland) was a 16th-century German freethinker, humanist, and radical reformer. Biography Franck was born in 1499 in Donauwörth, Swabia. Because of this he styled hims ...

. The song teaches that Christians should sing in spirit and truth, pray and praise God with Psalms. The second song is an adaptation of the

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief ...

. Songs 6, 7 and 8 are written by

Felix Manz Felix Manz (also Felix Mantz) (c. 1498 – 5 January 1527) was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation. Birth and life Manz was born a ...

Michael Sattler Michael Sattler (1490 – 20 May 1527) was a monk who left the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation to become one of the early leaders of the Anabaptist movement. He was particularly influential for his role in developing t ...

and Hans Hut, all Anabaptist martyrs. Other martyr songs are by Leonhard Schiemer, Hans Schlaffer, George Blaurock and Hans Leupold, who were among the victims of the first great persecution of Anabaptists. Hans Büchl, participant in the Frankenthaler Colloquiums, is the writer of five ''Ausbund'' songs. Eleven songs are of Dutch origin. The Dutch Anabaptists wrote another eleven songs. Five songs are from the

Bohemian Brothers The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the ( Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th centur ...

. Many of ''Ausbund'' songs have a teaching character: Bible lessons, the Anabaptist views on

believers baptism Believer's baptism or adult baptism (occasionally called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing ...

, the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

and a focus on

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that neg ...

. Songs in this last topic include Büchl's (Nr. 46): ''Ain new christelich Lied von der gegenwardig schröcklichen letzten Dagen, in welchen so vil verschieden secten, auffrührerisch und falsche Propheten erschainen, auch blutdirstige tyrannen'' (A new Christian song from the current terrible last days, in which many different sects, rebellious and false prophets and bloodthirsty tyrants appear). Until 1809 the European ''Ausbund'' was distributed with no indication of location or publisher. From 1692 the government of Bern forbade the distribution or possession of this hymnal and ordered its confiscation under threat of severe punishment. The American edition contains the

confession of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The e ...

of Thomas von Imbroich (1558) entitled ''Wahrhaftigen Bericht über die große Trübsal, die die Geschwister rund um Zürich für ihre Glaubenssache zwischen 1635 und 1645 zu erleiden hatten'' (a collection of martyr stories). From a literary viewpoint the content of the ''Ausbund'' is of limited quality, yet witnesses of a deep religious belief and sacrificial devotion of the believers.

Music

The ''Ausbund'' contains no notes; most of the songs were sung to popular melodies. According to the research of G. P. Jackson, some melodies came from folk and love songs and others from chorales and hymns. The oldest melodies are from the 13th and 14th centuries. As with most Christian hymnbooks, the Amish normally use the ''Ausbund'' only in church. Their traditional melodies are called "slow tunes", but they put other melodies on the words during singing. Author

Joseph Yoder Joseph Yoder (September 22, 1872 – November 13, 1956) was an educator, musicologist, and writer, the first successful Mennonite literary figure in the United States, especially known for his semi-fictional account of his mother's life, ''Rosanna ...

compared the slow tempo of the music as it is sung today to

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

, but this was not always the case. The Amish slow tunes of the 20th century are probably descended from tunes that the original Anabaptists knew. But over time, and with neither written notation nor musical instruments to keep the beat, the tunes have slowed down and ornamentation has been added in.

Samples

*'' Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir'' Leonhard Schiemer: ''Dein heilig statt'' ''Dein heilig statt hond sie zerstört, / dein Altar umbgegraben, / darzu auch deine Knecht ermördt, / wo sie's ergriffen haben. / Nur wir allein / dein heuflein klein, / sind wenig uberbliben, / mit schmach und schand / durch alle land / verjaget und vertriben.'' ''Wir sind zerstrewt gleich wie die schaf, / die keinen Hirten haben, / verlassen unser hauß und hooff / und sind gleich dem Nachtraben, / der sich auch offt / hewlt in steinklufft. / In Felsen und in klufften / ist unser gmach, / man stellt uns nach, / wie Vöglein in der lufften.'' ''Wir schleichen in den Wälden umb, / man sucht uns mit den Hunden, / man führt uns als die Lemlein stum / gefangen und gebunden. / Man zeigt uns an vor jedermann, / als weren wir Auffrürer, / wir sind geacht / wie Schaf zur schlacht / als Ketzer und verführer.'' ''Vil sind auch in den Banden eng / an ihrem leib verdorben, / ettliche durch die marter streng / umbkommen und gestorben / on alle schuld; / hie ist gedult / der Heiligen auff erden. / (..........?)'' ''Man hat sie an die bäum gehenkt, / erwürget und zerhawen, / heimlich und öffentlich ertrenckt / vil Weiber und jungfrawen. / Die haben frey / ohn alle schew / der warheit zeugnuß geben, / dasz Jesus Christ / die wahrheit ist, / der weg und auch das leben.'' ''Noch tobt die Welt und ruhet nicht, / ist gar unsinnig worden, / vil lügen sie auff uns erdicht, / mit brennen und mit morden / thut sie uns bang. / O Herr, wie lang / willtu dazzu doch schweigen? / Richt den hochmut, / der heiligen bluth / laß wer dein Thron auffsteigen!''

References

External links

*
Ausbund
', Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online

from Mennolink
Scan of the 1815 Lancaster edition

Scan of the 1583 edition

Scan of the 1834 edition
linked to the index (register) pages {{Anabaptist Amish Anabaptism German music history Protestant hymnals 1564 books