Repression of the Anabaptists
With the breakthrough of the Reformation (1528), systematic oppression and persecution of the Anabaptists also began in Berne. They retreated to remote areas (Emmental, Oberaargau, Oberland).
There were phases of intense persecution and some that were more tolerant – or, at least, less strict enforcement of the mandates…
Two major Anabaptist disputations in Zofingen (1532) and Bern (1538) were fruitless. After that, in Bernese Anabaptist politics, it was mostly the hardliners who were in charge. The anti-Anabaptist measures in Berne were characterized by
In concrete terms, the Anabaptists were combated with the following measures