The arrest of Adamites in a public square in Amsterdam. Etching with engraving.

Adamites were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century in Africa, who sought to re-establish the innocent state of man at the time of the creation, going naked and rejecting marriage. The doctrine was prevalent among some of the Beghards, or Brethren of the Free Spirit in the 14th century, and similiar sects appeared in the 15th century