# A Letter From Ydse Gaukes, Skipper, Which He Wrote In Prison, At Deventer, To His Brother, And To The Friends, According To The Spirit.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: A LETTER FROM YDSE GAUKES, SKIPPER, WHICH HE WROTE IN PRISON, AT DEVENTER, TO HIS BROTHER, AND TO THE FRIENDS, ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

Grace and peace from God our heavenly Father,
this I wish to all my dear brethren and sisters in the
Lord, and especially to you, my brother according
to the flesh, and your beloved wife, and my sister
according to the Spirit. I wish you the true, penitent
faith, that works by love.

Furthermore, dear friends, there were twelve of
us brethren and sisters apprehended; there was also
a new convert. We men were confined together
eight days; then the women were examined, and
they renounced the faith, especially your mother
and her daughter. After that I was brought before
the lords, when they asked me my name, and how
long ago I had been baptized. I said: “About four
years.” And I said: “How do you know that it
was done?” Then they said: “We cannot be satisfied,
but you must swear us an oath.” “No,” said
I, “I must not swear.” They said: “We may.”
I said: “We may not.” They said: “Where is it
written?” I said: “Matt. 5.” They said that I had
read it erroneously. Then one of them said to me:
“What a lamb you are.” After that he said: “What
a devil you are.” Then they asked, how many
children my wife had. I said: “One of about nine
weeks.” Then they asked: “How many did you
have?” I said: “Six.” “And there is none of them
baptized?” said they. “That is true, my lords,”
I replied. Then they asked me concerning the man
that had baptized me. I told them, that he was
dead. And who had thus led me astray? I said:
“My former life;” and that God had revealed it to
me. They then wrote, that we had despised God’s
Spirit. And they read it all out of a letter, as it
seemed to me. I said to them: “It seems to me,
that you know it well.” “We do,” said they. It
seemed to me, that they wrote more than I had
confessed. Then I said, that they should not write
more than I had confessed. “We do not,” said
they. And they had it read to me again. And I
was satisfied with it. Then they asked me concerning
my father and mother and sister, and how many
brothers I had. I said: “Two.” And they asked
me closely concerning their names. I said: “Pieter
is the younger, and Symon.” “Where does he
live?” said they. Then I told them: “He is of
your belief.” “He is not,” said they. I said it was
true. And I much excused them both, and said,
that they were not so bad. I then entreated them,
that they should not touch the innocent. Now they
said: “Then the woman lied; we must have her
brought up.” I said: “My lords, I did not say that
I do not have more.” They said: “Have you more
then?” I said: “One.” Then they interrogated
me closely whether I did not have more. I replied:
“No.” Then they wanted to know his name. I
told it to them. Then they asked me, whether he
was baptized. I told them, that they should ask
him himself. Then they said: “You do not know
how to speak before the court; how will you speak
before God? We shall make you tell it.” I said:
“The body is at your disposal.”

Then they let me go down, and brought up the
men, one after the other, and they all freely confessed
the faith. And we were put together again;
then we rejoiced, that we were allowed to be together
again; this continued several days. Then
Anthonis was tortured, but remained valiant. After
that they fetched me, and asked, whether I would
name those whom I knew. I said: “No.” Then
they said: “We shall make you tell it; but if you
ask grace, we shall grant it you, as we did to the
girl in the Norenburger street.” That was Mariken
Backers, who said like Peter, that she did not know
the man; this I did not want to do. Master Pouwels
was standing there, and they said: “Do you
know this man?” “I saw him yesterday,” said I.
Then the commissary said: “Take him, Master
Pouwels.” Then I went to the rope. The executioner
entreated me much; “You are still a young
man,” he said. I then divested myself of my upper
garments, and the shirt was pulled off by the sleeves,
and tied around the middle of my body, and I had
to stand there naked, until the captain and the inspector
came; and my hands were tied behind my
back.

They then drew me up, about a foot from the
ground, and in this manner left me suspended.
I suffered great pain; I had intended not to open
my mouth, but I cried out thrice, and then kept
silence. This is only child’s play, they said, and
letting me down again they placed me in a chair,
and neither asked nor said anything to me. I had
an iron bolt with two rings on my feet, and they
tied three cannon balls to the rings. When they
drew me up again, a Spaniard with a gold chain
wanted to strike me in the face, but he could not.
While thus suspended, I worked hard and drew
one foot through the ring; then the whole weight
was on one leg. They would have tied it again,
but I forced it through. Then they all laughed, and
I had great pain.

Then they placed me in a chair, and I named
several persons whom I thought they knew, for
847
they could name others to me. Concerning Claes
Opreyder I have no certainty; for one says this,
and another that. I hope by the grace of the Lord
to give my life for it; I say, by the grace of the
Lord. My mind is still unchanged; I pray the Lord
night and day, to give me strength. Do you also
heartily pray the Lord for me; for the effectual
fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16.

Afterwards I had great conflict from my wife,
because she frequently sent monks to me; but God
helped me. After that I was brought above before
the bishop and the pastor, and they talked much
with me, that I must believe more than was written
in the Gospel. “For,” said they, “how do you
know that I am a man?” I said: “How should I
not know that?” “Where is it written,” said they,
“and in what chapter?” And they also asked how
I knew that she was my wife; and other such sophistries,
but little from the Scriptures.

Then I went back to my castle, in which I had
to be confined. My mother also visited me once;
I greatly pitied the woman. I said that God would
comfort her. Then they said, it was the last day
of grace. On the same day the bishop made an
exhortation to the apostates. Then came the superior
of the Franciscans and said: “I run down
here for your sake, it was the last day of grace, but
God’s grace is always open.” After the exhortation
was over, they took me above, where stood my
wife, crying bitterly; but I said: “We must not
forsake God.” “You are not to forsake God,” said
the bishop, and she wept much. But turning my
heart to God, I thought, the suffering after this life
would be too long. Katelijntgen was also greatly
tortured, and drawn out and suspended with two
irons to her legs. Then came the executioner, and
said that though the woman had been drawn limb
from limb, she would not have said one word; this
was a joy for me to hear. Trijntgen, too, was subjected
to many assaults, by comfort and promises,
and by threats that she should be severely tortured.
They compared her to a dog, who, they said, was
better than she. The Lord helped her. But (as a
warning) she was not prudent in speaking; for, the
pastor speaking of the Old Testament, she would
not listen to it, which was speaking foolishly on her
part; but she wanted to adhere to the New Testament.
This Gijsbert told me, and he says that he
is innocent with regard to us, for there were read
to him at least a hundred [names] from different
places; and through him I obtained these [writing]
materials. And, dear brother, see to my poor little
orphans. I wish all the godfearing the fear of the
Lord. Written in great fear and distress. I commend
you to the Lord; take good heed to yourself.

Written by me, your dear brother, from prison,
the twentieth day of our imprisonment.

Ydse Gaukes.





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