Snapshots of Danzig Mennonites, late 1600s & early 1700s

A picture can be worth a thousand words. We do not have photographs, but we have a few colour paintings of life in and around Danzig in the late 1600s and early 1700s, as well as maps. We also have a limited number of "textual snapshots" of Mennonites at this time and place, which offer an instructive window into that foreign world. These snapshots of work, worship, health, education, community relationships, smaller repressions, and security can contribute to the creation of a larger collage of Mennonite life in Danzig and Polish Prussia. 

Snapshot 1: In 1681 there were approximately 180 Mennonite families who lived in the “gardens” or villages outside Danzig, with 113 of those families within the jurisdiction of the city. At this time Mennonites were barred from owning houses within the walls of the city. Of these 113 family heads, we know: 43 were retailers of spirits, 24 merchants, 9 lacemakers, 7 dyers, 3 silk dyers, 3 pressers, 2 brokers, 2 treasurers, 2 waitresses, etc. (note 1). They remained vitally connected with Mennonites abroad; in 1676 the wealthy Mennonite apologist and Hamburg elder Gerrit Roosen of Hamburg, for example, made an extensive visit to strengthen the congregations in Danzig and the Vistula Delta region (note 2).

Snapshot 2: In the latter half of the 1600s the Danzig city treasury was empty after a series of wars, plagues and natural disasters. The devastating Thirty Years War ended in 1648; in 1653 some 600 people died weekly of the plague in Danzig, with 11,116 deaths over the year. During the Swedish War of 1657, 7,569 Danzigers died of the plague, compared to 2,569 births. And again in 1660, 5,515 died of the plague in Danzig, compared to 1,916 births (note 3).

Here is an interesting picture from these times:

“In order to address the city’s dire financial situation, significant reductions to the city’s garrisons were ordered by royal decree. Soon after the Carmelite monastery was stormed, however, which made the folly of this decision all too obvious. Consequently city council found it necessary to immediately increase the number of soldiers.— In order to defend against enemies, or to restore peace in the city, an improved sentry policy was announced in 1672. Citizens were now obliged to appear at designated gathering points when a summons is made. Widows were required to send one representative [substitute], and Mennonites two, and only those who were too poor to arrange for their own weapons, were supplied by the armory.

In response to nighttime eruptions and disturbances, fire pans of tar were lit on street corners, and every citizen was also obliged to put out a large lantern in front of their front door. Little was done during this period to fortify the city, however. In 1664 there were some improvements on the Hagelsberg, and similar improvements began in 1697 on the Bishofsberg, which were only completed in 1701.” (Note 4)

Snapshot 3: Polish King John III Sobieski ordered Mennonites to appear before Bishop Stanislao Sarnowsky (outside city of Danzig) and a commission of Papal theologians on charges of doctrinal unsoundness. The cobbler and Flemish minister Georg Hansen—“a man of great reading, skillful both in word and pen” (note 5)—presented his account of Mennonite doctrine at the bishop’s residence on January 20, 1678, followed by a three-hour oral examination before the bishop, a professor of Church history, two Dominicans, two Franciscans, two Jesuits, and two Carmelites. Hansen was preceded by his Frisian colleague Hendrick van Dühren, who assured the examining committee that Mennonites did think that many Catholics were “‘holy people’ who shared in God’s salvation,” and certainly did not believe that the Pope was the Antichrist (note 6). Hansen answered the key doctrinal questions on the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, the incarnation, the impassibility of God, and the Apostles Creed with sufficient adequacy that Mennonites were pronounced free of the worst heresies—Arianism and Socinianism, that is, a denial of Christ’s divinity and of the Trinity (note 7). A substantial financial contribution was also required by the bishop to free Mennonites from any further suspicion; it “was very hard for us to raise, but God helped us overcome everything” (note 8).

Snapshot 6: The more separatist vision with strict cultural boundaries regularly resulted in a loss of members in urban contexts where sworn citizenship and Protestant baptism were prerequisites for certain professions and guilds. In 1660 the Mennonite water engineer Abraham Wiebe of Letzkau (near Danzig) was rebaptized as a Lutheran at the age of 40, and he chose a Danzig City Councillor as his godfather (note 9). Wiebe is thought to be the son of the Dutch-born Danzig city engineer and inventor Adam Wybe, who was permitted to build three houses near the city gate. More is known about Adam Wybe's son-in-law, Abraham Janzen who married Wybe’s daughter Mechelina (note 10).

Snapshot 7: By the mid-1600s, education in the Danzig territories became more formalized with recorded “visitations” by both Protestant clergy and village mayors. Village pastors tested students regularly and monitored the teacher’s work and lifestyle. A 1664 directive for Danzig’s rural villages prescribed that children “be taught in spelling, reading, writing, prayer, proverbs, and the [Lutheran] catechism.” School was held from 7 AM to 5 PM, for ages seven to fourteen. By 1705, serious financial penalties were imposed on families who kept their children home from school. The influence of Luther’s Catechism combined with prayers and singing gave Mennonite children a greater familiarity with German Protestant faith expression (note 11). Though educational competencies varied, Hansen’s Glaubens-Bericht assumed that youth preparing for baptism had a strong ability to read complex German.

Snapshot 8: 1694 travel diary of Carl Arndt of Rostock, describing Mennonite worship in Danzig (note 12). Here a summary translation:

The Frisian Mennonites “gather outside the city walls in a house [Neu-Garten]. They begin with hymn singing, and a call to worship: “O Lord God we ask you through Jesus Christ, Give your Spirit to us … etc.” Their ministerial consists of seven “deacons [ministers], who make their living with various handicrafts. These seven stand at the front of the congregation until the singing ends, and then they all sit down in order. One of them then steps up and preaches. The sermon language is a mix of Dutch and Plattdeutsch; the preacher is an old goateed merchant. The sermon is on Lamentations 1:1" (Arndt then gives a brief summary). "The Lord’s Supper is administered in such a way that they break bread and drink from one vessel. They serve it to each other (in a row) with these words: Remember the suffering of Christ ... . Their clothing is unique: the men are all dressed in black with short collars and short hair. The women are also in black and without head-coverings, with hair up behind in a black cloud (Wolcke?) Very beautiful girls. The Flemish Mennonites in Schottland (Danzig) have similar manners, but are more rigorous with respect to clothing. Those that “fall away” join the other group (Frisians), whom the Flemish refer to as “dirt wagons” [i.e., they will take anyone].

Snapshot 9: An autobiographical account by a German military deserter and convert speaks of the attractive simplicity and integrity of the Mennonite community that he observed while stationed in Elbing and the Vistula delta, circa 1713:

"I went to their public worship service. It took place without much word-crafting and without any kind of invective against other religious groups. Rather, the listeners were instructed in godliness and humility, and the Word of God was preached in a simple way. Summa: not a faith that is simply recited, but an active heart-love was taught. … I wrote my parents to tell them that I desired to leave the army ... .” (Note 13)

Snapshot 10: Mennonite congregations in Polish-Prussia typically met in the living rooms of large farm homes in the winter, and in freshly cleaned barns and cowsheds in the summer. Their preachers were regularly referred to as Vermahner (based on 2 Corinthians 5:20)—those through whom God admonishes, warns and exhorts. The Biblical word can also mean “encourage,” which the Luther Bible translation does not capture well. In this role, teaching church doctrine and dogma “took a second place” to a focus on “the requirements of a truly Christian life and walk.” In the longer tradition the task of the elected but untrained Vermahner “was not so much to teach and interpret [the biblical text], as to exhort his people.” according to Danzig Mennonite minister and historian H. G. Mannhardt (note 14). Nonetheless, they were also called “teachers” (Lehrer) and their exhortations could last up to three hours!

            --Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Note 1: Eduard Grigoleit-Ackelningken, „Danziger Mennoniten aus dem Jahre 1681,“ Danziger Familiengeschichtliche Beiträge, II (1934): 124-127, https://dlibra.bibliotekaelblaska.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=7808. Listed are only those in the city’s jurisdiction, and not those in bishopric lands or in the country-side. See also Stefan Samerski, “‘Die Stillen im Lande’: Mennonitische Glaubensflüchtlinge in Danzig im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert,” in Glaubensflüchtlinge: Ursachen, Formen und Auswirkungen frühneuzeitlicher Konfessionsmigration in Europa, edited by Joachim Bahlcke, 71–94 (Berlin: LIT, 2008), 77, n. 31, https://d-nb.info/98311224X/04.

Note 2: Cf. Mechteld Gravendeel, Willem Stuve, and Sjouke Voolstra, Bezweegen Broederschap: Het wel en wee van de Dantziger Oude Vlamingen te Haarlem in de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw (Hilversum: Verloren, 2005); see Gerhard Roosen’s sermon collection: Unschuld und Gegen-Bericht. Unschuld und Gegen-Bericht der Evangelischen Tauff-gesinneten Christen, so Mennonisten genandt werden (Ratzeburg, 1753), https://books.google.ca/books?id=zMY8AAAAcAAJ. Also a similar kind of visit form Holland in 1719: “Bezoekreis van Hendrik Berents Hulshoff aan de Doopsgezinden Gemeenten der Oude Vlamingen in Pruisen in Polen in 1719,” Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap 59 (1938), 32-82, http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005193801_01/_bij005193801_01_0006.php.

Note 3: Cf. Reinhold Curicken, Der Stadt Dantzig: Historische Beschreibung (Amsterdam/ Dantzigk: Janssons, 1687), bk. 3, ch. 31, https://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/publication/61987/edition/55645/content.

Note 4: Gotthilf Löschin, Geschichte Danzigs von der ältesten bis zur neuesten Zeit, vol. 2 (Danzig: Ewert, 1823), 57f., https://books.google.ca/books?id=9zRTAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Note 5: Hermann G. Mannhardt, Die Danziger Mennonitengemeinde. Ihre Entstehung und ihre Geschichte von 1569–1919 (Danzig, 1919), 73, https://archive.org/details/diedanzigermenno00mannuoft.

Note 6: Van Dühren, cited in Peter J. Klassen, Homeland for Strangers: An Introduction to Mennonites in Poland and Prussia, rev’d ed. (Fresno, CA: Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 1989), 144, https://archive.org/details/ahomeland-for-strangers-an-introduction-to-mennonites-in-poland-and-prussia-revised-ocr.

Note 7: Socinians or “Polish Brethren” made advances to merge with the Danzig Waterlander-Frisian Mennonite group ca. 1610, and called for debate with Frisian elder Jan Gerrits. Cf. G. H. Williams, Polish Brethren (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1980).

Note 8: Report by Hansen, cited by H. Mannhardt, Danziger Mennonitengemeinde, 78. For Hansen’s account, see his Confession oder Kurtze und einfältige Glaubens-Bekänetenüsse derer Mennonisten in Preußen, so man nennet die Clarichen (N.p. 1678), http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?from=rss&id=35959.

Note 9: See archival report by Hermann Thiessen,“Gelegenheitsfunde,” Ostdeutsche Famielienkunde 10 no. 3 (1985): 417.

Note 10: Curicken, Stadt Dantzig [1687], 348; George Cuny, Danzigs Kunst und Kultur im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt a. Main: Keller, 1910), 56, 58, https://archive.org/details/danzigskunstundk01cunyuoft/. Wybe’s son-in-law Abraham Jantzen was also granted special trading rights in an “unusual gesture of appreciation” by the Danzig City Council (P. Klassen, Mennonites in Early Modern Poland and Prussia [Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009], 61, 105; cf. Horst Penner, Die ost- und westpreußischen Mennoniten in ihrem religiösen und sozialen Leben in ihren kulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Leistungen, Teil 1, 1526–1772, 2nd edition (Weierhof: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, 1994), 392. On Adam Wiebe’s daughter Mechelina, and her family, cf. Kurt Kauenhowen, “Adam Wiebe, Wasserbaumeister, Stadtingenieur und Erfinder in Danzig, und sein Schwiegersohn Abraham Jantz Kauenhoven,” Mitteilungen des Sippenverbandes der Danziger Mennoniten Familien Epp-Kauenhowen-Zimmermann 2, no. 2 (April 1936), 37ff., https://www.mharchives.ca/download/1408/.

Note 11: Emil Waschinski, Das kirchliche Bildungswesen in Ermland, Westpreussen und Posen vom Zeitalter der Reformation bis zum Beginn der preussischen Herrschaft 1793 (Breslau: F. Hirt, 1928), 483, 477, http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=77886&.

Note 12: G. Kohfeldt, "Eine akademische Ferienreise von Rostock bis Königsberg im Jahre 1694," Baltische Studien 9 (1905), 1-54; 17f., https://www.digitale-bibliothek-mv.de/viewer/fullscreen/PPN559838239_NF_9/1/. Compare however Abraham Hartwich's circa 1701 description of the unique Frisian practice of placing communion bread on a clean handkerchief and eating with caution and respect (Geographisch-Historische Landes-Beschribung [sic] derer dreyen im Pohlnischen Preußen liegenden Werdern [Königsberg, 1723], 291, http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/resolve/display/bsb10000874.html).

Note 13: F. Lützner, “Wie einer die Mennoniten fand, als er sein Glück in der Welt suchte, Marienburg anno 1753,” Mennonitischer Gemeinde-Kalender für das Jahr 1895 4, https://www.dilibri.de/rlb/periodical/pageview/1406512.

.Note 14:  H. Mannhardt, “Geschichte der Predigt in den deutschen Mennoniten-Gemeinden (Fortsetzung),” Mennonitische Blätter 38, no. 4 (February 16, 1891), 22, https://mla.bethelks.edu/gmsources/newspapers/Mennonitische%20Blaetter/1854-1900/1891/DSCF1340.JPG.