Martyrs Mirror
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The Martyrs Mirror or The Bloody Theater, first published in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght, documents the stories and testimonies of Christian martyrs, especially Anabaptists. The full title of the book is The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians who baptized only upon confession of faith, and who suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus, their Saviour, from the time of Christ to the year A.D. 1660. The use of the word defenseless in this case refers to the Anabaptist belief in non-resistance. The book includes accounts of the martyrdom of the apostles and the stories of martyrs from previous centuries with beliefs similar to the Anabaptists.
Next to the Bible, the "Martyrs' Mirror" held the most significant and prominent place in Mennonite homes.[1]
The 1685 edition of the book is illustrated with 104 copper etchings by Jan Luyken. Thirty of these plates survive and are part of the Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit.
[edit] See also
- Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563), by John Foxe
- Martyrology
[edit] References
- ^ Schmidt, Kimberly D. Sacred Farming, or Working Out : The negotiated lives of conservative mennonite farm women, Frontiers, 2001.
