Pilgram Marpeck

Pilgram Marpeck (died 1556), also Pilgram Marbeck or Pilgrim Marpeck, was an important Anabaptist leader in southern Germany in the 16th century.

Marpeck was a native of the Tyrol, Austria. His father, Heinrich Marpeck, moved from Rosenheim in Bavaria to Rattenberg, Austria, where he served as a city councilman. Heinrich also served as a judge (1494–1502) and mayor (1511). Pilgram attended the Latin school in Rattenberg.

Before his days as an Anabaptist, Pilgram Marpeck enjoyed a good financial status and was a highly respected citizen of Rattenberg on the Inn River. He was a mining engineer, a member of the miners' brotherhood, and served on both Rattenberg's inner and outer councils.

Records of Marpeck's conversion to Anabaptism are not extant. It is known that in his position as a mining magistrate, he was required by Archduke Ferdinand to expose miners in sympathy with the Anabaptist movement. Leonhard Schiemer was executed by authorities two weeks before Marpeck left his mining position on 28 January 1528. It is generally believed that he lost his position because he refused to aid authorities in capturing the Anabaptists. Marpeck was quickly reduced from a prominent citizen of Rattenberg to a "wandering citizen of heaven".

From 1528 to 1532, Marpeck lived in Strasbourg, serving for two years as a timber supervisor, before he was expelled from the city because of his Anabaptist activity. For the next 12 years, he lived a wanderer's life in Switzerland, and traveled to Tyrol, Moravia, South Germany, and Alsace. He is believed to have established Anabaptist congregations in these areas.

In 1544, Pilgram Marpeck was working in the city forest of Augsburg, and on 12 May 1545 he was employed as the city engineer, a position he held until his death in December 1556. His services were evidently in great demand, for, although the city issued reprimands and warnings to desist, Marpeck continued his activities as a minister among the Anabaptists.

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