Labels and Identities. Classification of the Moravian Anabaptists in Sources from the 16th and 17th Centuries
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The study critically examines and compares the various 16th and 17th century lists of diverse
Anabaptist groups reported to exist in Moravia between 1526 and 1622. In addition to the
Hutterite Chronicles, the paper analyzes a range of other sources including the documents
of the Moravian government and local authorities; polemical works of Sebastian Franck,
Georg Eder and Christoph Erhard; but also reports of the Italian weaver Marcantonio
Varotta and the Lutheran nobleman Christoph Kereczényi. Comparing the different classifications
of Anabaptists as presented in these sources challenges the dominant narrative
of Hutterite supremacy in Moravia after their establishment in 1530s. Mapping the reports
of non-Hutterite Anabaptist groups reveals that several of them persisted much longer
than previously recognized. Through this analysis, the study initiates a broader critical
reflection on the historical construction of group identities and their transformations from
the early Anabaptist presence in Moravia to its decline in the post-White Mountain period.
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