Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters (Classics of the Radical Reformation, 14), edited by Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636080901) 2024.

Summary: Biography, letters by Hutter, chronicles of Hutterites, testimony, and Hutterite and government letters.

The Hutterites were a communal Anabaptist movement residing in the regions of Tyrol and Moravia in the late 1520’s and 1530. While heavily persecuted in Tyrol, they persisted in Moravia throughout the sixteenth century. They take their name from Jakob Hutter, who led the communities for six decisive years from about 1529 to 1535, until his arrest, torture, and execution. This was the fate of many Anabaptists in this period.

Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling have gathered and translated a collection of early writings pertaining to the early Hutterite movement, including eight of the letters of Jakob Hutter. This volume, part of the Classics of the Radical Reformation series represents the fruit of their scholarship. The editors introduce the work with the history of the Anabaptist movement in Tyrol and Moravia and a well-researched account of the life of Jakob Hutter and his wife Katherina They recount his acceptance of Anabaptist faith, his study of scripture, his leadership of communities in Tyrol, oversight of communities in Moravia and move there when Tyrol became too dangerous. And we learn of his and Katharina’s decision in 1535 to return to Tyrol, despite the danger. In the months of his freedom, many believed, until their arrest in Klausen. Authorities held them separately. Katharina escaped but later joined her husband in martyrdom.

The second part of the book consists of translations of eight of Jakob Hutter’s letters. The first three cover relations, and conflicts between communities, or individuals within them. The fourth addresses the governor of Moravia after he drove the community from Auspitz, where they had lived peaceably and flourished. It differs greatly from the affection and pastoral tone of his other letters. He speaks of their desperate situation, living out in the open. And he warns the governor that he will fall under the Lord’s judgment if he doesn’t aid the people.

Needless to say, this letter made him persona non grata in moravia, and contributed to his decision to return to Tyrol. The last four letters are written from Tyrol to Moravia, urging their faithfulness, and increasingly expressing his affection for them in the face of the closing noose as the authorities pursue him. Having soaked himself in the Bible, the letters include many biblical references and sound not unlike the Apostle Paul.

The remainder of the book collects a variety of primary source documents regarding Hutter and the nascent Hutterite movement. First are the ‘Chronicles,” the first narratives of Hutterite history. These are followed by “Witnesses,” government accounts of the interrogation, often with torture, of Hutterites, including efforts to gain information about Hutter and other community leaders. “Hutterian Epistles” represent letters mentioning Jakob Hutter. “Governmental Correspondence” includes official communications about the effort to put a stop to the Anabaptist movement. Included is a lengthy ketter of instructions for the interrogation of Hutter after his arrest. “Additional Documents” include a miscellany of early documents including eulogies for Hutter. Document 2 lists twelve ordinances that describes the standards ordering Hutter’s communities. Timelines, maps, notes and indices are also provided.

This was an instance in which reading a collection of historical resources was not a slog. Hutter’s pastoral care is impressive as is the courage of all who die rather than renounce Anabaptism. Equally striking are the accounts of the communal life of the Hutterites. They persist to this day, along with the Bruderhof communities, a related Anabaptist communal movement. I’ve not said much of Katharina, but she is also impressive, not the least because she escaped captivity and eluded recapture for a time. Most of all, Maendel and Seiling have done a great service to Anabaptist scholarship in collecting these sources.

____________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.