Jakob Hutter

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This scholarly biography and collection of writings by and about an early leader of the Hutterites, a pacifist communal Anabaptist group, illuminates a persecuted religious minority during the Reformation. It features an extensive biography of Jakob Hutter and his wife Katharina, grounded in recent archival research, which contextualizes the Hutterite movement that emerged in sixteenth-century Tyrol and Moravia. The main text begins with Hutter’s eight surviving letters, newly translated from seventeenth-century codices, where he offered pastoral encouragement to various congregations. The second chapter includes material from Hutterite chronicles detailing Hutter’s life, with new translations of previously unpublished texts. The third chapter contains reports from government interrogations of Anabaptists discussing Hutter’s missionary work, often recorded by officials during torturous interrogations. The fourth chapter compiles writings by fellow Hutterites from Hutter’s lifetime and shortly after his death, highlighting his teachings' significance. The fifth chapter presents internal correspondence among government authorities aiming to suppress the Anabaptist movement, revealing their perspective on Hutter's impact. The final chapter includes documents related to Hutter’s death and legacy from both within and outside the Hutterite tradition. This meticulously researched volume, peer-reviewed for the Classics of the Radical