Anabaptist spirituality has been described as both Catholic and Protestant, a sixteenth-century ascetic lay reform movement inspired both by currents of pre-Reformation devotion to Christ and the Reformation call to return to Scripture. Because of their insistence on adult baptism, followers - often illiterate artisans and peasants with no formal theological education - met widespread persecution. Arnold Snyders sympathetic study draws on court records to give an intimate glimpse into their convictions, practices and spirituality, and shows the continuing relevance and significance of Anabaptist ideas for contemporary Christians.