Martyrdom of Felix Manz
Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist movement, is being executed by drowning in the Limmat River for his refusal to recant his beliefs. The scene unfolds on a wooden platform over the icy river, wit
Setting
The Limmat River, Zurich, Switzerland, near the Rathaus (town hall). The execution takes place on a small wooden platform extending over the icy river, with officials and onlookers gathered along the stone embankment.
Characters
Felix Manz
primary
A gaunt man in his early 30s with sunken cheeks and intense dark eyes, his short brown hair matted with sweat from struggling. His wrists bear deep rope burns from prior restraints. Despite his ordeal, there's an unsettling serenity in his gaze.
Bailiff
primary
A middle-aged man with a stern, weathered face, deep-set eyes, and a prominent jawline. His build is robust, suggesting years of physical authority. His graying hair is cropped short beneath his official cap, and his hands are calloused from both paperwork and occasional enforcement.
Priest
secondary
A middle-aged clergyman with a gaunt face and deep-set eyes, his pale skin contrasting sharply with his dark clerical garb. His thin lips are pressed tightly together, and his greying hair is cropped close in the tonsure style. He has a slight stoop, as if weighed down by both his robes and the gravity of the occasion.
Guard
secondary
A burly man in his late 30s with a square jaw and thick forearms, his face weathered from years of outdoor duty. His close-cropped brown hair is slightly greying at the temples, and a recent scar runs along his right cheekbone. His stance suggests military training.
Weeping Woman
background
A middle-aged woman with a frail build and sunken cheeks, her face lined with sorrow. Her hands, rough from labor, clutch a wooden rosary tightly. Her dark hair is partially covered by a simple linen coif, with loose strands sticking to her tear-streaked face.
Dialog
Felix Manz
Into your hands, Adonai, I commit my spirit... (Psalm 31:5) - but oh, brothers, how the flesh trembles!
Bailiff
By decree of the Bürgermeister: Felix Manz, found guilty of repeatedly contra fidem publicam through Anabaptist teachings and rebaptism of believers.
Felix Manz
You would drown God's truth in these icy waters? The Lamb's bride cannot be silenced by the dragon's flood!
Bailiff
The Stadtbann has been pronounced. Proceed with the sentence - threefold immersion for this threefold heresy.
Felix Manz
(gasping as first immersion begins) The... the living water... flows from within... not... not your forced streams!