Jakob Hutter
His Life and Letters
by Jakob Hutter
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Pub Date 4 Jun 2024 | Archive Date 4 Jun 2024
Plough Publishing | Plough Publishing House
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Description
This scholarly biography and collection of writings by and about an early leader of the Hutterites, a pacifist communal Anabaptist group, sheds light on a persecuted religious minority during the Reformation.
This comprehensive, annotated collection of Jakob Hutter’s letters and related documents begins with an extensive biography of Hutter and his wife Katharina, based on recent archival research. This introduction serves to contextualize the Hutterite movement, a communal and pacifist Anabaptist group that emerged as part of the Radical Reformation in sixteenth-century Tyrol and Moravia.
The main text of the book opens with Hutter’s eight surviving letters, newly translated directly from the seventeenth-century codices where they have been preserved. As the leader of a scattered, persecuted movement, Hutter wrote pastoral letters of encouragement and admonition to various congregations in Tyrol and Moravia. The second chapter consists of material from Hutterite chronicles that describe Hutter’s life and context. Some of these are previously unpublished; in all cases, new translations have been made from the original codices. The third chapter is a collection of reports on government interrogations of Anabaptists who describe Hutter’s missionary activity, typically written by a state official during an interrogation process which often involved torture. Chapter four is a compilation of writings by fellow Hutterites written during Hutter’s life and in the decade after his death, which show the importance of Hutter’s life and teachings. The fifth chapter includes internal correspondence between government authorities trying to suppress the Anabaptist movement. The accounts offer insight into the government’s perspective on the significance of Hutter and the Anabaptist communities in his spheres of activity. Additional documents relating to Hutter’s death and legacy from both within and outside of the Hutterite tradition are included in a final chapter.
This meticulously researched volume, peer-reviewed for inclusion in the Classics of the Radical Reformations series, is a valuable contribution to the scholarship of a volatile and fruitful chapter of church history.
A Note From the Publisher
Major anniversary: part of a year-long international celebration leading up to the 500-year anniversary of the Anabaptist movement on January 21, 2025.
Strong regional interest: Existing Hutterite colonies are concentrated in North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington state in the US; and Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in Canada.
All documents newly translated from original sources, with new material on the origins, beliefs, and persecution of the Anabaptist movement in South Germany and Tirol.
Plough’s first addition to the recently-acquired Classics of the Radical Reformation series.
Advance Praise
Like so many of the early Anabaptist leaders, Hutter’s ministry lasted less than adecade before he was martyred. His leadership of the community that still bearshis name nearly five centuries later lasted only two years. This biographyreveals a complex character, criticized by contemporaries and some historians,but evidently a respected leader and community builder. The letters included inthis comprehensive collection of writings by and about him reveal a pastor whowas deeply concerned for the flourishing of those he served. This is a welcomeaddition to the Classics of the Radical Reformation series, in which weencounter not only Hutter but his wife, Katharina, and a number of other littleknown but significant early Anabaptist leaders. —Stuart Murray Williams, director, Centre for Anabaptist Studies, Bristol Baptist College
In the years-long process of creating and editing theirvolume, Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling have produced a most worthyaddition to the Classics of the Radical Reformation series. They have thereinilluminated, brilliantly, the unique communitarian faith and early history ofone of the three Anabaptist movements that would outlast the centuries. Thein-depth and highly readable biographical introduction on Jakob Hutter bringstogether a whole spectrum of new scholarship. All eight of Hutter’s extantwritings and a wealth of parallel contextual materials rounds out the scope ofthe volume. This is a must-read, particularly now as we celebrate five hundredyears since the birth of Anabaptism, of which Hutterianism is an essentialpart. —Leonard Gross, author, The Golden Years of the Hutterites
This volume is of great significance for the study of early Anabaptism. Jakob Hutter offered a vision of communal living that was more radical than others in the Radical Reformation. His call to mission was also a powerful feature of his leadership. The introduction sets Hutter carefully and clearly in his context. Then follows a comprehensive and splendidly scholarly range of primary source material. This task has never been undertaken before and it makes Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters essential reading for all who wish to understand – and be challenged by – what Hutter said and did, in seeking to follow Jesus. —Ian Randall, Cambridge
For many years, the sources on early Hutterite history most accessible to English-speakers have been dominated by the Hutterite Chronicle and the writings of Peter Riedemann and Peter Walpot. Now, for the first time, we have access to a remarkable collection of writings by and about the founding leader of the Hutterites: Jakob Hutter. This exhaustively curated source collection gathers into one volume the primary sources relevant to Hutter's literary and historical legacy. I highly recommend Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters not only to scholars but to anyone interested in the fascinating and inspiring story of Hutterite beginnings. —John D. Roth, Goshen College
The letters of Jakob Hutter, newly translated here, supply a searing exposure to the profound inner life and pastoral compassion of a consequential Anabaptist leader. Written amid polarization within Reformation-era Christendom on the one hand and persistent schismatic conflict among the early Anabaptist fellowships in Central Europe on the other hand, Hutter’s letters acknowledge anxiety, display grief, summon solidarity, manifest longing, offer encouragement, and express joy. These letters also channel the emotional valence of Paul’s epistles in a way that brings Paul’s apocalyptic theology of grace to life, not in abstract doctrinal statements but in the heartfelt disclosure of God’s mercy amid extreme stress and suffering. The editors have provided many helpful tools for reading and understanding these letters well, from a detailed biographical introduction to a wealth of other primary sources that illuminate the context for Jakob Hutter’s life and letters. —Gerald J. Mast, series editor, Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History
This volume provides the best scholarly introduction to the life and pastoral career of Jakob Hutter, the founding father of the Hutterites. This work has greatest emphasis on English translations of the eight preserved letters authored by Hutter, but it places them in the context of chronicle sources as well as published official records. It helps us to understand how and why the continuing religious communitarian movement has retained the name of Jakob Hutter. —James M. Stayer, professor emeritus, Queen’s University
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781636080901 |
| PRICE | US$32.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 388 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Richard P, Reviewer
It is fair to say that attempting to actually review "Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters" is an almost futile task. This isn't so much a book you read to enjoy as you read to learn, absorb, and educate yourself about Hutter, the Hutterites, and the Anabaptist movement that emerged out of the 16th century Radical Reformation.
"Jakob Hutter" is a scholarly biography and collection of writings by and about Hutter, an early leader of the Hutterites - a pacifist communal Anabaptist group. At this time in history, Anabaptists (think also Friends/Quakers, Amish, Brethren, Mennonite) were a heavily persecuted religious minority for their beliefs outside what was accepted as the religious norm at the time.
This collection includes Hutter's eight surviving letters (newly translated directly from the seventeenth century codices where they have been preserved), related documents beginning with an extensive biography of Hutter and his wife Katharina based on recent archival research, Hutterite chronicles, government reports, witness reports, and a final chapter detailing information known about Hutter's death and legacy.
The Hutterite movement was focused around the areas of Tyrol and Moravia. It was a scattered movement and the letters included here document Hutter's known pastoral letters of encouragement and admonition to various congregations in Tyrol and Moravia. The work here is remarkably researched and peer-reviewed for inclusion in the "Classics of the Radical Reformations" series. Those invested in religious history will be fascinated by this documentation, both intellectually resonant and surprisingly emotional in presentation. As someone who spent several years within the Anabaptist tradition, I found myself fiercely fascinated here and learning much about names I knew but didn't necessarily fully understand.
This is the first peer-reviewed book on Hutter and serves as part of a year-long international celebration leading up to the 500-year anniversary of the Anabaptist movement on 1/21/2025.
While Hutterites may seem like a thing of the past, existing Hutterite colonies are concentrated in the Dakotas, Montana, and Washington state along with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in Canada.
Strong regional interest: Existing Hutterite colonies are concentrated in North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington state in the US; and Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in Canada.
This isn't a book likely to experience wide appeal, however, for those interested it will most certainly captivate as it did me.
Reviewer 1391485
Jakkob Hutter
This is a closely researched biography of Jakkob Hutter, the founder of the Hutterite movement in the Tyrol in the mid-16th century. Hutterites were an Anabaptist, community close in belief systems to the Mennonites and Amish that arose out of the radical reformation of protestants in the 16h century in central Europe. The Hutterites lived communally sharing money and food. They espoused a general, nonreactive world view-they didn’t participate in military service, policing endeavors, and refused to pay taxes on any activities related to these agencies
The book, a biography, is laid out based on Hutters writings and subsequent government investigations and persecutions of this community. The letters (8 newly translated and researched), give insight into the Hutterite movement and Jakkob’s ideas on building a pastoral community. The authors allow Hutter to speak for himself, which makes for an interesting perspective into the early Hutterite movement. These letters are reminiscent of Paul’s missives to early Christ Communities in the founding stages of the Early Church.
The authors, Emily Bart Mandel and Johnathan Seeling have unique positions with the Bruderhof Archives-Ms. Mandel is the senior archivist-which afforded them access to the letters of Hutter and the government documents surrounding government investigations, interrogations of Hutter, his wife Katrina. Additionally, their biography covers government correspondence and thinking into the persecutions of this community. These offer a unique perspective into Government thinking related to persecutions of early Christian Sects.
Jakkob Hutter isn’t meant to be read, at least in my opinion, from beginning to end. Rather, it’s laid out in a way, that allows the scholarly researcher and the casual reader to focus on areas of interest.
Jakkob Hutter makes an excellent addition to any academic collection, and, specifically for any collection that’s focused on the early Radical Reformation Movement.
