 Essen and Vos were Augustinian monks of Saint Augustine's Monastery in Antwerp.When in 1522 all the monks there publicly professed Lutheran doctrine, the Bishop of Cambrai had them all arrested and imprisoned in Vilvorde, where they were interrogated by Jacob van Hoogstraten from Cologne and some dependably Catholic professors.When the monks realized that they risked being burned alive if they did not recant, all except three—Jan van Essen, Hendrik Vos, and Lampertus Thorn—recanted.