A Method to the Madness?

Abstract

Abstract This article assesses the 1534–1535 Anabaptist kingdom of Münster and how its leader, Jan of Leiden, asserted the legitimacy of his divinely anointed kingship. Rather than dismiss Jan of Leiden’s displays of supremacy as arbitrary, radical, or mere delusions of grandeur, I seek to contextualize the spectacle of Münster through an appeal to the power of cultural memory and chivalry. At least three applications of chivalric power are narrated in contemporary accounts of Münster. These relate to clothing, royal entries, and tournament events. By paying particular attention to these applications of chivalric power, we can surmise with more clarity just what Jan of Leiden and his advisors envisioned for the city and themselves and how that vision made sense within the social imaginary of late medieval Europe from which chivalry drew its symbolic power.