Abstract
In the polemically-charged world of the sixteenth century, Anabaptist sects were often portrayed by the early magisterial Reformers as merely the latest iteration of another purist, rebaptizing brand of heretic: the Donatist church of North Africa. By mapping Anabaptism onto this paradigm, its opponents could safely dismiss its theology by appealing to the writings of Augustine. But there was another reason why the slur was often cast against the Anabaptist movement, one with more political overtones: Donatists, or more accurately a radical subset of the dissident church known as the “Circumcellions,” were commonly associated with sedition. In this article, I examine the ways in which the Circumcellion epithet was used to characterize the nascent Anabaptist movement of the sixteenth century. By linking the “Donatist” beliefs of Anabaptist communities to the charge of “Circumcellion” sedition, their opponents were able to legitimate the use of force against them and negate their claims to martyrdom.
©2016 by De Gruyter
