ANABAPTISTS, members of a well known sect, which largely figured in the ecclesiastical and civil history of the 16th century. It began to attract notice within four years of the ever-memorable 31st of October, 1517, on which Luther affixed his "theses" to the gate of the castle church of Wittenberg. The most eminent of its early leaders were Thomas Miinzer, Mark Stubner, and Nicholas Storck. They had been dis ciples of Luther; but, becoming dissatis fied with the moderate character of his reformation, they cast off his authority, and attempted more sweeping changes than he was prepared to sanction. Dur ing his absence, they, in 1521, began to preach their doctrines at Wittenberg. Laying claim to supernatural powers, they saw visions, uttered prophecies, and made an immense number of proselytes. In 1525, the peasants of Suabia, Thu ringia, and Franconia, who had been much oppressed by their feudal supe riors, rose in arms. The Anabaptists
cast in their lot with the insurgent peas antry, and became their leaders in bat tle. After a time the allied princes of the empire, led by Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, put down the rebellion, and Miin zer was defeated, captured, and ulti mately beheaded. In 1532, some extreme Anabaptists from Holland, led by a ba ker called John Matthias, and a tailor, John of Leyden, seized on the city of Miinster, in Westphalia, with the view of setting up in it a spiritual kingdom. The name was changed to Mount Zion and Matthias became its actual king. On June 24, 1535, the Bishop of Mfinster retook the city by force of arms, and John of Leyden, who had succeeded Matthias, was put to death. It was in 1534, when John of Leyden was in the height of his glory in Munster, that Ignatius Loyola took the first step toward founding the Order of the Jesuits.