Three groups within the civic and religious sphere in Münster jockey for position as the tension in the city mounts. The traditional catholic families and their money, the new evangelical Lutheran families with their newfound credibility, and the radical/Anabaptist group and their zeal make for a tumultuous time as the city grapples with religious changes within and without.
Timeline:
- After Easter 1531 – Bernhard Rothmann’s Reformation tour of Wittenberg, Marburg, and Strasbourg
- Oct. 5, 1531 – Bishop Freirdrich von Wien prohibits Rothmann from preaching
- Nov. 1, 1531 – Rothmann writes bishop submitting to God rather than bishop
- Dec. 17, 1531 – Philip Melancthon writes, advising caution and tolerance from Rothmann
- Jan. 7, 1532 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles V expels Rothmann from his territory
- Feb. 18, 1532 – Rothmann elected as a preacher at St. Lamberi Cathedral
- Apr. 17, 1532 – new Bishop Erich von Braunschweig demands no more religious innovations
- May 14, 1532 – Bishop Erich von Braunschweig attends inauguration party, dies
- June 1, 1532 – Franz von Waldeck chosen as new bishop
- July 15, 1532 – Münster town council forbids the preaching of any gospel different than what Bernhard Rothmann preaches
- December 25, 1532 – group of Münster citizens attack estate properties in Telgte to get independence from nobility
- February 14, 1533 – Agreement signed meeting the demands that led to the Telgte raids
- March 3, 1533 – City Council election that shifted power from Catholics to Lutherans/Evangelicals
- August 7 & 8, 1533 – Public disputation on baptism, resulting in a decree that they will adhere to the Lutheran model
- September 7, 1533 – Two city councillors bring their children to pastor Herman Staprade to be baptized and he refuses
- December 8, 15 – John Schroeder agitates against Lutheran preaching, is arrested and sentenced to death, resulting in his guild revolting in his defense
- January 5, 1534 – Two emissaries of Jan Matthis (Willen De Kuyper and Batholomeus Boekbinder) arrive in Münster and baptize a group of people at the home of Bernhard Knipperdolling (including Bernhard Rothmann)
