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The Martyrs Mirror or The Bloody Theater, first published in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght, documented the stories and testimonies of Christian martyrs, especially Anabaptists. The full title of the book was "The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians who baptized only upon confession of faith,and who suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus, their Saviour, from the time of Christ to the year A.D. 1660" as listed on the title page. The use of the word defenseless in this case referred to the Anabaptist belief in non-resistance. The book also includes accounts of the martyrdom of of the apostles and the stories of those pre-Anabaptist martyrs that Anabaptists identifed with.
The 1685 edition of the book was illustrated with 104 copper etchings by Jan Luyken . 30 of these plates survive to this day and are part of the Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit.[1]
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