Martyrs Mirror orThe Bloody Theater, first published in Holland in 1660 inDutch byThieleman J. van Braght, documents the stories and testimonies of Christianmartyrs, especiallyAnabaptists. The full title of the book isThe Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians who baptized only upon confession of faith, and who suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus, their Saviour, from the time of Christ to the year A.D. 1660. The use of the worddefenseless in this case refers to the Anabaptist belief innon-resistance. The book includes accounts of themartyrdom of theapostles and the stories of martyrs from previous centuries with beliefs similar to the Anabaptists.
Next to the Bible, theMartyrs Mirror has historically held the most significant and prominent place inAmish andMennonite homes.[1]
TheMartyrs Mirror is still a beloved book amongAmish andMennonites. While less common now than in the 20th century, in Mennonite homesMartyrs Mirror is a commonwedding gift.
The 1685 edition of the book is illustrated with 104 copper etchings byJan Luyken. Thirty-one of these plates survive and are part of theMirror of the Martyrs exhibit atBethel College in North Newton, Kansas.[2] Two of the copper plates are located at the Muddy Creek Farm Library[3] established by Amos B. Hoover in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.[4]
In 1745,Jacob Gottschalk arranged with theEphrata Cloister to have them translate theMartyrs Mirror from Dutch into German and to print it. The work took 15 men three years to finish and in 1749, at 1,512 pages, it was the largest book printed in America before theRevolutionary War.[5] An original volume is on display at the Ephrata Cloister.
The first English edition, translated from German by I. Daniel Rupp, was published by David Miller near Lampeter Square,Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1837.[6] An edition entitledA Martyrology of the Churches of Christ was translated and printed in England in 1850 in 2 volumes byEdward Bean Underhill under the auspices of theHanserd Knollys Society in England.[7]TheMartyrs Mirror differs fromFoxe's Book of Martyrs in that it only includes those martyrs which were considered nonresistant, while Foxe's book does not include many Anabaptist martyrs.
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