(1480-1528) South German Reformer and writer. Born in Friedberg near Augsburg, Hubmaier was sometimes known as Dr. Friedberger. He studied with the famous Johann Eck, Luther's later opponent, at the University of Freiburg, and earned his B.A. degree, but later followed Eck to the University of Ingolstadt, where he received both the licentiate and the doctorate in theology. He was a priest in the Regensburg Cathedral, in Waldshut in Breisgau (twice in each), and in Schaffhausen. He engaged in both friendly discussions and bitter debates with Zwingli in Zurich, and ended up imprisoned there (1525-26). He escaped with his life only by recanting. Like Luther, he at first sympathized with the demands of the German peasants but later opposed their armed revolt.

Hubmaier wrote voluminously. In 1524 he issued his eighteen theses, as well as his famous booklet against the burning of heretics. In 1525 he accepted baptism from Wilhelm Reublin, a colleague of the Zurich founder of Anabaptism, Conrad Grebel. By this time he had broken with Catholicism, as revealed in his marriage with Elisabeth Hugeline. He wrote several books on baptism which were powerful defenses of the baptism of believers. His catechism for the instruction of catechumens appeared in 1526. The next year he issued treatises on church discipline, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and free will. By 1527 he had broken with the Swiss, South German, and Austrian Anabaptists on the subject of nonresistance as set forth in his booklet on the sword; on that subject he stood closer to Luther.

Arrested in 1527, both Hubmaier and his wife were imprisoned in Vienna. He endured torture on the rack, which sufficiently broke his spirit so that he offered to "stand still" as to the practice of believer's baptism. But he steadfastly refused to recant. Strangely enough, he was granted a formal disputation with his old friend John Faber, a staunch Catholic theologian. For a time he was imprisoned in Kreuzenstein in northern Austria, but was soon taken back to prison in Vienna, from which he was led forth to the stake on March 10, 1528. His wife was drowned several days later. Some people compared his death with that of Jan Hus in 1415.

Balthasar Hubmaier ble f?t i Freidberg n? Augsburg i ?et 1480. I 1503 begynte han ved universitetet i Freiburg, her studerte han filosofi og teologi. Etter hvert fant han ut at det var flere ting ved den katolske l?e som ikke stemte med Guds ord. I 1512 tok han doktorgrad i teologi.

Etter ?ha lest noen skrifter av Luther begynte han n??studere den katolske l?e n?mere. Pavens og biskopenes ugudelige liv virket frast?ende p?han. Han begynte n??studere sin hebraiske og greske bibel. Han fant ut at det var mye menneskebud i den katolske kirke, noe han forkynte klart og tydelig.Han fikk n?mange motstandere. Men han referte hele tiden til skriften n? han forsvarte sin l?e. Guds ord m?te g?foran tradisjon og kirkefedre.

Biskopen i Konstanz forlangte at Hubmaier skulle m?e for ham, men til dette svarte Hubmaier nei. Tilslutt truet den ?terriske riksdag ?sende en h? til Waldshut for ?tvinge sin vilje igjennom. Hubmaier reiste n?fra byen. Han viste at et m?e i riksdagen ville bety d?en for han. Han sendte n?tre brev til r?et i Schaffhausen. Her sa han blant annet: ?Den guddommelige sannhet er ud?elig, selv om den en tid blir bundet, hudstr?et, tornekronet, korsfestet og begravet, vil den allikevel tilslutt st?seiersrik opp p? den tredje dag og regjere triumferende i alle evigheter.? I slutten av ?et 1525 rykket en katolsk h? mot Waldshut. Men Hubmaier flyktet til Zurich. Men bare noen dager etterp?ble det kjent hvor han bodde.

Han ble n?arrestert sammen med tyve av sine venner. R?et pr?de ?f?fangene, og s?lig da Hubmaier til ?avsverge sin tro, men det nyttet ikke. Hubmaier var den en fryktet mest b?e p?grunn av at han var en dyktig taler og p?grunn av hans gode b?er. Hubmaier ble n?torturert i tre m?eder. I april 1526 ble han l?latt. Han fikk streng beskjed om ikke ?forkynne evangeliet mer. Men Hubmaier fortsatte likevel ?forkynne. Derfor ble han p?nytt fengslet.

Den 10. mars 1528 gikk en flokk mennesker nedover Wiens gater. I midten gikk Hubmaier. De hadde kledt han i en djeveldrakt. Foran han gikk en flokk munker og mumlet b?ner. P?begge sidene gikk det soldater. Framme p?martyrplassen bandt de hans hender og ilden ble tent. Da h?te han en stemme som sa: ?Balthasar, vi skal glemme v?e pinsler n? vi kommer hjem.? Han kjente stemmen. Det var hans hustru som ropte. Rett etterp?d?e Hubmaier. Tre dager etter ble hans hustru kastet i elven. Hun ble tatt ut av fengslet, og en sten ble lagt om hennes hals f? de kastet henne i elven. Etterp? tok de hennes d?e legeme opp og brente det. De to martyrsjelene hadde funnet hverandre igjen