Thirty-Six Persons Called Waldenses, Burnt for the Faith, at Bingen, A. D. 1390.
The holy apostle Paul very aptly wrote (2 Tim. 3:12), “And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution;” for this appeared, A. D. 1390, in the case of certain pious Christians, who, being citizens of the city of Mentz, in Germany, had not less their citizenship in the new and heavenly Jerusalem; having accepted the faith and doctrine of the Son of God, whereupon they, as obedient followers of Christ (as may be inferred) had been baptized according to the confession of the Waldensian brethren, in order thus to work out, in the footsteps of faith, their salvation with fear and trembling, according to the rule, Phil. 2:12.
But since the rulers of darkness could not bear this light of truth, it came to pass, in the city of Bingen, that thirty-six (not of the least) of said children of light, were apprehended, and, refusing to depart from the truth once confessed, were condemned to death, namely to be executed with fire; that is, to be burnt alive; which was also done with them, and thus they, through fire, offered up a living, holy sacrifice acceptable unto God.
Concerning the offering of these people, mention is made in the 2d book of the Hist. of the Persecutions, fol. 505, col. 3, ex Matth. Flacc. Illyr. Catal. Test. Ver. Said Illyricus also confesses that at that time (A. D. 1390) thirty-six citizens of Mentz were burnt alive at Bingen, for the faith of the Waldenses.
Note.—Some one may ask himself, whether these martyred persons, who were called citizens of Mentz, and were put to death at Bingen, were not the same martyrs spoken of in a certain place in the preceding century; since it is also stated of them, that they were inhabitants of Mentz, and lost their lives at Bingen; however, this cannot well be reconciled, since there is a great discrepancy, in regard to the time, as well as the number of the persons. For as regards the time, the former lived one hundred and eighty-seven years earlier than the latter; as they were dead already in the year 1212 (according to the account of Bruschius, in his History of the German Monasteries; also, A. Mell., fol. 457, col. 3); but these last mentioned ones were put to death A. D. 1390, as has been shown. Regarding the number of persons, that of the former is given as thirty-nine, but that of the latter as thirty-six—a discrepancy of three. As to their citizenship or residence at Mentz, which is stated of both, as well as that they were both put to death at Bingen, are facts that need not cause any one to think, that because there is an agreement in these respects, that the same people have been noticed twice by the writers; for it may be, that at that time those of Mentz had no court of their own, or power to pronounce sentence of death, and that, hence, they had to deliver those of their prisoners who were confined for capital crimes, to those of Bingen, or at least had to bring them to trial there, as is customary, even at the present day, in many other cities.
GREAT PERSECUTION OF THE BELIEVING WALDENSES ON THE BALTIC SEA; FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE OF THEM SEVERELY TORTURED AND PUT TO DEATH, IN THE MARK AND POMERANIA, ABOUT A. D. 1390.
About the year 1390 there began, in the countries on the Baltic Sea, the very severe persecution of the Waldenses, of which we made mention of our account of the true faith in the fourteenth century; which, continuing until into the year 1391, was the cause that, among very many others, four hundred and forty-three of these people, whose names are mentioned, in Pomerania, the Mark, and the adjacent places, were brought to torture or the rack; who, refusing to apostatize, freely confessed their faith, and how many long years they had believed and confessed the truth of their faith, which was called a heresy. They are stated to have been sober and frugal people, discreet in their speech, careful to avoid lying, swearing, etc. Second book of the History of the Persecutions, fol. 505, col. 3, 4, ex Catal. Test. Verit., lib. 18. Matt. Flacc. Illyr., lib. 15. Tit. de Waldensibus. Vignier recutil de histoire de l’Église, A. D. 1391.
Note.—It seems that these people were not only persecuted and tortured for the faith, but also put to death; according to the account of P. J. Twisck, who says: “Of the believers or Waldenses more than four hundred and forty were apprehended and put to death for their religion, in the countries of Saxony and Pomerania, whose confession showed that they had received that doctrine from their parents, and that their teachers came to Bohemia; and the proceedings in their trial shows among other things that they were sober, and discreet in their speech, carefully avoiding lying, swearing, and all dishonorable practices.189 P. J. Twisck, Chron., page 743, B., from Henr. Boxh., fol. 27.