Elisabeth Wandscherer
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth Wandscherer was a Dutch Anabaptist
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She lived in Münster
during the reign of Jan van Leiden and was chosen by him as one of his sixteen spouses in June 1534, when he introduced polygamy for men. During the starvation of 1535, she openly criticized Leiden by saying that it could not be the will of God that the public should starve while Leiden and his court lived in luxury. She returned the jewelry given to her by Leiden and asked to leave the city, but he refused and executed her by decapitation 12 June.
Her execution was frequently used in propaganda toward the Anabaptists.
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
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She lived in Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
during the reign of Jan van Leiden and was chosen by him as one of his sixteen spouses in June 1534, when he introduced polygamy for men. During the starvation of 1535, she openly criticized Leiden by saying that it could not be the will of God that the public should starve while Leiden and his court lived in luxury. She returned the jewelry given to her by Leiden and asked to leave the city, but he refused and executed her by decapitation 12 June.
Her execution was frequently used in propaganda toward the Anabaptists.