Batenburgers

Early Anabaptists who believed that it was permissible to kill non-members and make a living off robbing others

1530s - 1580s

Before the Schleitheim Confession was created and Anabaptists agreed on a nonresistance stance, the Batenburgers built a negative reputation towards Anabaptists due to their sprees of violence. They believed that God owned everything, and since they were God's chosen children, all possessions in the world also belonged to them. From this belief, they held wives in common, committed arsons, killed nonmembers, planned attacks on cities, and made a living by robbing others. When the leader was captured, he sold out his followers by telling authorities where they lived.

Religion: Christianity

Denomination: Anabaptists

Founder: Jan van Batenburg

Founded: Early 1530s

Ended: Mostly dissolved by 1545, extinct by the 1580s

Size: Several hundred

Location: Netherlands

Also called: Zwaardgeesten (sword-minded); Children of Emlichheim; Batenborgers

Abusive

Members had to endure a painful initiation to ensure that they would be able to endure torture if they were captured (source)

Anarchist

Founder Jan van Batenburg believed that his followers should punish the papal church and civil authorities who executed Christians (source p. 47)
Terrorized multiple cities by burning crops, killing livestock, and murdering citizens to protest the oligarchy (source p. 297)

Doomsday

Believed that it was not possible to be saved after 1535, although it was still possible to survive the coming apocalypse and live in Heaven as servants (source p. 357)
Believed that the second coming was imminent (source)

Leader-Prophet

Members encouraged founder Jan van Batenburg to declare himself as a new David (source p. 357)
Batenburg believed that he was Elijah (source)
Batenburg thought that God called him to be a prophet and the leader of the future Kingdom of God (source)

Murder

Believed God wanted them to kill anyone who wasn't a member (source p. 357)
Cornelis Appleman, the second leader of the sect, murdered any follower who refused to participate in the illegal activities or who were not severe enough in their robbing, killing, and arson (source p. 358)
Appleman killed his wife because she refused to let him marry her daughter, then killed the daughter too (source p. 358)

Renunciation of Private Property

Held all property in common, including women (source)

Secretive

Members had to swear oaths of secrecy (source p. 357)
Went to church and lived as Lutherans or Catholics to keep their involvement with the sect a secret (source p. 358)
Recognized each other through secret symbols and hairstyles (source p. 358)

Terrorist

Seized a monastery in 1535 and attempted to take over the entire providence (source)
Permitted plundering churches (source)
Planned attacks on cities (source)
Committed arsons, church-sackings, and summary executions (source)
Destroyed the livestock of the wealthy (source p. 47, source p. 89)

Unique Sexual Practices

Both leaders preached polygamy (source p. 358)
Free love: all women were held in common (source p. 357)
In the few marriages that were permitted, the leader would select the wife for a deserving member from the "general stock of women" (source p. 357)

Other info:

Believed that God owned everything and that they were God's chosen children, which caused them to believe that everything on earth belonged to them (source p. 357)
After he was captured, founder Jan van Batenburg betrayed his followers by telling authorities their names and places of residence and claimed that he had always opposed their plundering and plans to attack cities (source)

Other tags:

Communal

Persecuted

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