Hans Hut: preaching, baptism, and imprisonment

Hans Hut worked as a bookbinder and traveling bookseller. Questions about infant baptism led him to examine Scripture and eventually to refuse baptism for his newborn child, at the cost of leaving his home. Hans Denck baptized him at Augsburg on 26 May 1526. He then traveled widely, preaching and baptizing in Bavaria, Franconia, Austria, and neighboring regions.

His preaching joined repentance, the suffering of disciples, and an expectation of coming judgment. He attended the 1527 gathering at Augsburg and was arrested that autumn. The exhibit dates his death to 6 December 1527, following a fire in his prison, and records the public burning of his body afterward. The historical reference preserves differing accounts of how the fire began; the outcome is clear without choosing an unsupported reconstruction.