1 Portions of this chapter have been published in the Mennonite Quarterly Review, 53 (1978), 328-32 (hereafter MQR).
2 John H. Yoder, The Legacy of Michael Sattler (Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1973), 10 (italics mine).
3 The original artide for the Mermonitisches Lexikon, IV, 29-38 (hereafter ML) was translated into English and printed in the MQR, 25 (1951), 201-18, and for the Mennonite Encyclopedia, IV, 427-34 (hereafter ME). All references will be to the latter version.
4 Wilhelm Wiswedel, Bilder und FĂŒhrergestalten aus dem TĂ€ufertum (Kassel, 1952), 111, 9-23.
5 Walther Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich Vereinigung,â in Flugschriften aus den ersten Jahren der Reformation, ed. by Otto Clemen (Halle, 1907; Nieukoop, 1967), 11, 277-99.
6 Martin Haas,âMichael Sattler: Auf dem Weg in die tĂ€uferische Absonderung,â Radikale Reformation, ed. by H.-J. Goertz (Munich: C H. Beck, 1978), 115-24. Now available in English translation. See H.-J. Goertz, ed., and Walter Klaassen, English edition ed.. Profiles of Radical Reformers (Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1982).
7 See Bossert, ME, IV, 427; Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich,ââ 277; Wiswedel, Bilder, III, 9; L von Muralt and W, Schmid, eds., Quellen zur Geschichte der TĂ€ufer in der Schweiz, I (ZĂŒrich, 1952), 136 (hereafter TA, zu. 1).
8 See Sattlerâs exchange at his trial with the city clerk of Ensisheim. Translation in Yoder, Legacy, 74 and 83, n. 32.
9 See Bossert. ME, IV, 427; Köhler,âBrĂŒderlichâ 277; Wiswedel, Bilder, III, 9. Haas says only that Sattler was a person âmit guter theologischer Bildung.â âSattler,â 116.
10 A. J. F. Zieglschmid, Die Ă€lteste Chronik der Hutterischen BrĂŒder (Ithaca, N.Y., 1943), 54-55.
11 Yoder, Legacy, 80, n. 2.
12 Bossert, ME, IV, 427.
13 See the letter from Ottelinus to Bucer in M. Krebs and H. G. Rott, eds., Quellen zur Geschichte der TĂ€ufer, Elsass, I, (GĂŒtersloh, 1959), 72-73 (hereafter TA, el. I). Translation of relevant portions in Yoder, Legacy, 19.
14 Valerius Anshelm, Die Berner Chronik, V, (Bern, 1896), 185:âwas (sic) prior gewesen zu S. Peter im Schwarzwald.â
15 âThe 17th century was a difficult time for the monastery, not only because of the Thirty Yearsâ War, but also because of the French War in whose second half the monastery was repeatedly taxed, plundered and burned.â W. MĂŒller, âSt. Peter im Schwarzwald,â in Die Benediktiner-klöster in Baden-WĂŒrttemberg, Germania Benediktina, VoL 5, ed. by F. Quarthal et al. (Augsburg, 1975), 476.
16 Yoderâs suggestions in this area are a breakthrough in the literature dealing with Sattler. See Yoder, Legacy, 25, n. 18 and n. 19.
17 Yoder, Legacy, 72.
18 See Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich,â 280: âThe force of a Lutheran experience of faith allowed the monk to remove the cowl and ⊠to take a wife.â See also Wiswedel, Bilder, III, 10: âNot contenting himself with the study of the Church Fathers and the available theological literature, he rather held to Holy Scripture itselfâ Like Luther, so Sattler came to certainty of belief and salvation in the monastery. This inner transformation allowed the monk from St. Peterâs to takeoff his cowl and take a wife.â
19 Kehler, âBrĂŒderlich,â 280. Haas is a little more cautious here and says only: âDie Reformation berĂŒhrte ihn jedoch sehr stark.â âSattler,â 115. Haas qualifies this still further by saying: âAus GrĂŒnden, die wir nicht genau kennen, begab er sich dann nach ZĂŒrich.ââ Ibid.
20 See Bossert, ME, IV, 427; Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich,â 280; Wiswedel. Bilder, III, 10; Haas, âSattler,â 115-16.
21 TA, zu. 1, 73. Translation in Yoder, Legacy, 15, n. 1.
22 TA, zu. 1, 136. Translation in Yoder, Legacy, 16, n. 2.
23 TA, zu. 1, 270-73. See especially 273, n. 5.
24 Ibid., 200-02.
25 See Bessert, ME, IV, 427; Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich,â 280; Wiswedel, Bilder, III, 10. Haas, although he speaks of the influence of Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock upon Sattler, does place Sattlerâs missionizing following the November imprisonment.
26 TA, eL 1, 68. The dating of the letter is possible because of Sattlerâs request for a âmerciful judgementâ for those who are in prison. These Anabaptist prisoners, Jörg TĂŒcher, Jacob Gross, Wilhelm Echsel, Matthias Hiller, and Jörg Ziegler, appear in the record as well. They were arrested in late December 1526 and expelled from Strasbourg before January 15, 1527. See Ibid., 67, for the data concerning the dates in question. Sattlerâs letter thus falls within this range of time.
27 Ibid., 72-74.
28 Yoder, Legacy, 87. Original in TA, eL 1, 80ff.
29 Yoder, Legacy, 19. Original in TA, eL 1, 110.
30 See Bossert, ME, IV, 427; Köhler, âBrĂŒderlich,â 281.
31 Bossert, ME, IV, 427. The apparent origin of this story is C Gerbertâs Geschichte der Stnssburger Sectenbewegung zur Zeit der Reformation, 1524-1534, (Strasbourg, 1889), 49. If Gerbert had a source concerning this, that source has since disappeared. Krebs and Rott note that Gerbertâs work is ânicht frei von LĂŒcken, IrrtĂŒmem und falschen Urteilen.â TA, el. 1, x. Cf. Yoder, Legacy, 24, n. 1.
32 Ibid., 18; TA, eL 1, 60-62.
33 There is never a mention of Sattler in connection with Denck. Rather, Bucer and Capito take pains to distinguish between the two.
34 TA, eL 1, 114. Translation in Yoder, Legacy, 18.
35 As in Bossert, ME, IV, 428.
36 âBoth (Denck and Sattler] questioned the Lutheran doctrine of justification and also held works to be important to manâs salvation, but they differed on Christâs work of redemption. Sattler agreed with Protestant teaching.â Bossert, ME, IV, 427. Bossertâs source here is Bucerâs comment that âwith regard to the redemption of Christ, upon which everything depends, we have found no such error in this Michael Sattler as in Denck.â Yoder, Legacy, 19; TA, el. I, 110. Bucerâs word cannot be taken as authoritative here without support in Sattlerâs writings.
37 Heinold Fast, ed., Quellen zur Geschichte der TĂ€ufer in der Schweiz, II (ZĂŒrich, 1973), 26ff (hereafter TA, osts. II).
38 See H. Stricker, âMichael Sattler als Verfasser der Schleitheimer Artikel,â Mennonitische GeschichtsblĂ€tter, 21 (1964) (hereafter MGB).
39 âEr hat sich damals entweder nach SĂŒddeutschland oder wieder ins ZĂŒrcher Unterland begeben.ââ Haas, âSattler,â 116.
40 See Bossert, ME, IV, 428; Köhler. âBrĂŒderlich,â 283; Wiswedel, Bilder, III, 10-11.
41 Amold Snyder,âRottenburg Revisited: New Evidence Concerning the Trial of Michael Sattler,â MQR, 54 (July 1960), 206-28.
42 Archduke Ferdinand makes reference to a letter from Count Joachim, dated March 18, 1527, in which Count Joachim reports the arrest. Ferdinandâs letter is found in the Tiroler Landesarchiv, Vonder königlichen MajestĂ€t, II, 25r-25v.
43 C F. Sattler, Geschichte da Henogthums WĂŒrttemberg unter der Regienmg der Herzogen, Zweyter Theil (TĂŒbingen, 1770), 169-70.
44. Four Anabaptist prisoners arrested in Rottenburg in mid-February had escaped already in March, presumably with aid from sympathizers outside the prison. See G Bossert, âDas Blutgericht in Rottenburg am Neckar,â Christliche Welt (1891), 503. See the reference to this escape by Ferdinand in the letter cited in a 42 above.
45 TA, zu. 1, 250-51.
46 The exact number of defendants, and their names, is given in Lina Beger,âWiedertflufer in der Herrschaft Hohenberg,â Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, 22 (1882), 444-47. Translation in Snyder, âRottenburg,â 213-15.
47 According to the trial account of Klaus von Graveneck See translation in Yoder, Legacy, 75.
48 See Snyder, âRottenburg,â 219-22.