Katherine, Morning Star

December 2008

by Joy A. Schroeder

The reformer Martin Luther wrote to his spouse with affectionate humor: “To my dear lady of the house, Katherine von Bora Luther, a preacher, beer brewer, gardener.” She worried about her husband when he was away. She looked forward to his letters, wondering what he would write next. Sometimes he addressed her as “Lord Katie” or “my dear lady of the New Pig Market.” (There was a hog market near Katherine’s garden.) Recalling the story of Adam and Eve, he often called Katherine “my rib.” He and Katherine once sent greetings to another married couple and their children: “I and my rib greet you and your rib—and all the little ribs.”

Though some pious biographies characterized her as a docile housewife keeping busy with her embroidery as she ran the parsonage, Katherine von Bora (1499–1552) was in reality a strong, assertive businesswoman. She managed an enormous household, a farm, and a small brewery. Her home, a former monastery, was a boardinghouse for university students and guests. Refugees from religious persecution could find shelter there. It was a hospital in times of plague. Katherine always deferred to Martin publicly, addressing him respectfully as Herr Doktor (Sir Doctor), but it is clear that she was the manager of the household. Many men thought Katherine was too outspoken, but she was a good match for her strong-minded husband. Like Martin, she remained true to her convictions, even when the world had different expectations.

The convent and her escape

Born into a knightly family, Katherine was only five years old when her family sent her to a convent boarding school. Her mother had just died and her father had married a widow who brought children of her own into the household. Boarding school was one way to deal with stepchildren, but young Katherine might have wound up in the convent even if her father had not remarried. Her family was noble, but not wealthy. It was easier for them to pay a small dowry to a convent than to come up with a larger marriage dowry. Like many girls at that time, Katherine probably did not have a choice about her future.

At the age of 16, Katherine took vows to become a nun at the Cistercian convent in the German town of Nimbschen. The Cistercians are a strict order devoted to silence and contemplation. Wearing white robes and black veils, Katherine and the 40 or so other nuns gathered in their chapel to chant prayers eight times a day. She learned Latin and probably performed tasks such as gardening and needlework. It may have been in the convent that she learned to brew the beer that her husband would later praise so much.

In the early 1520s, Katherine and some of the other nuns heard about Martin Luther. His book, On Vows, was small enough to be smuggled into a convent and easily hidden in the nuns’ wide sleeves. Luther said that monastic vows, especially when taken by teenage monks and nuns, were not binding for life. Luther believed that the impulse to marry and have children was implanted by God at the beginning of creation. God said, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Luther believed that very few people were truly called to a life of celibacy, and that it was wicked for the church to impose rules forbidding nuns, monks, and priests from fulfilling God’s command. Luther’s ideas made sense to Katherine.

Twelve nuns from Nimbschen sent word to Luther, saying they wanted to escape. (Unless they had special permission, nuns were forbidden from leaving convent life.) The thick convent walls and doors that protected the nuns from the outside world also kept them locked in. Luther arranged for a pious man to smuggle the women out: Leonard Koppe, who ran a delivery company that brought herring and dried fish to the convent kitchen.

The mission was dangerous. Abducting a nun—even with her consent—was a crime punishable by death. A nun was considered to be Christ’s spouse, and people were sure that God would be angry if anyone stole Jesus’ brides from the convent. Even though nothing improper took place, there would still be a taint of sexual scandal attached to the nuns and Koppe, their “abductor.” The city of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther lived, was ruled by Frederick the Wise, the Saxon prince who protected Luther and permitted his reforms. Katherine’s convent, however, was located in the portion of Saxony ruled by Duke George, who was loyal to the Roman church. Duke George would punish Koppe if he were caught. The nuns would be sent back to the convent, where they would probably be beaten and closely guarded so they could never leave again.

It was the night of Holy Saturday, 1523. As the rest of the convent was exhausted from Lenten fasting and distracted by preparations for the next day’s Easter celebration, 12 nuns escaped. We don’t know the details, but somehow they slipped out of the convent, hiding in Koppe’s covered wagon. Some stories say the nuns escaped in herring barrels, but the earliest account says they hid under a tarp as though they were barrels. In any case, on Easter morning, their wagon crossed the border into Prince Frederick’s territory, where they were safe and free.

A new life

Two days later, Koppe’s cart rolled into Wittenberg. What do you do with a wagonload of runaway nuns? One townsperson said: “A cartload of vestal virgins has come to town. May God give them husbands!” The women were then housed with reputable married couples. Most were soon married. Luther was interested in one of the nuns, Ave von Schönfeld, but she married a doctor. Another former nun ran a girls’ school. Two years later, Katherine’s future was not yet settled. She was 26. (Most German women at that time married in their twenties, so she was not yet considered too old.) Katherine fell in love with a handsome, wealthy man, Jerome Baumgartner. He apparently returned her affection, but his family disapproved of him marrying a penniless ex-nun. When Luther suggested a certain older man who was known to be miserly and unpleasant, Katherine flatly refused. She said she would marry Luther himself or his friend Nicholas von Amsdorf. Both men were confirmed bachelors, so she may have been bluffing. Luther, now age 41, had wanted to avoid marriage because he was considered an outlaw and a heretic. He could be killed if he fell into the wrong hands. He did not want to put a wife and children into this situation. But for several years his friends had urged him to marry. Luther agreed to wed Katherine. He said his marriage would irritate the pope, cause angels to rejoice, and make demons weep.

They married in June 1525. Martin says that on the morning after their wedding, he was startled to see pigtails on the pillow next to him. Most of Wittenberg rejoiced in the marriage, but some were scandalized. Opponents said that Martin and Katherine were motivated by lust rather than faithfulness to God. An anti-Lutheran pamphlet slandered Katherine as a shameful “fallen woman,” who had betrayed her marriage vows to Christ, and threatened her with the torments of hell. As an ex-nun marrying a former monk, Katherine had defied centuries of tradition.

Running a household

Once married, Katherine faced new challenges. How would she feed and clothe a family on her husband’s modest academic salary? After the marriage, Prince Frederick gave Luther the building that had belonged to Luther’s own religious order, the Augustinians. This Black Cloister, named for the black robes the monks had worn, was a large structure, with enough room for 40 monks. It would have made sense for Martin to sell the Black Cloister and use the money to purchase a more suitable home; however, Katherine persuaded Martin to keep it. They lived there and she rented rooms to students.

She bought additional land for gardens and for pasture for cows, sheep, pigs, and goats. She purchased a farm that had once been her own family’s property. She also operated a small brewery, and everyone praised her beer. (Its excellence may have been helped by water quality. Katherine persuaded the town council to forbid anyone from urinating in the river or dumping garbage into it on Tuesdays and Thursdays when she drew water for the beer.)

Katherine was extremely practical—something that her husband was not! Much to Katherine’s chagrin, Luther was always giving away the family money. Katherine faced criticism from people who thought she should be less interested in running her farm and other property. Other challenges included her husband’s frequent depressions and ill health. Katherine gave birth to six children. Elizabeth died as an infant. Another daughter, Magdalena, died at age 13. Her other children, who outlived her, were Hans, Martin, Paul, and Margareta. Katherine also raised her orphaned nieces and nephews. She nearly died from a miscarriage when she was 41.

Martin told many stories about Katherine. One time, after he had translated Scripture into German, he promised her 50 gold pieces (one-sixth of his yearly salary) if she read the Bible cover to cover. She took on this challenge and her husband paid! Her husband called her “the morning star of Wittenberg” because she rose at 4 a.m. to begin her work.

Widowhood and worries

When Martin died in 1546, Katherine was grief-stricken. Writing to her sister-in-law, Katherine despondently signed her letter, “Luther’s widow, who has been left all alone.” After Martin’s death, Katherine faced serious challenges. As the widow of the reformer, Katherine was at particular risk for mistreatment by enemy soldiers during the religious wars, and twice she had to flee from invading soldiers. A 16th-century German woman was legally a minor, needing a guardian to make financial decisions. Although ordinarily a widow did not inherit her husband’s property, Luther left his estate to Katherine, knowing that she would act in their children’s best interests. Court officials upheld Luther’s will, but only after a long legal struggle.

In 1552, plague broke out in Wittenberg, and she left town as quickly as she could. But outside the town of Torgau, the horses pulling her wagon bolted. Trying to gain control of the panicked horses, Katherine fell into a ditch filled with cold water. Katherine never recovered from her injuries and died several months later. She was buried with honor in the Torgau city church.

Katherine von Bora Luther would probably be forgotten by history had she not been married to a famous man. However, her own personality makes her extraordinary. She made a bold escape from the convent because her conscience did not allow her to stay. In a time when few opportunities were open to women, she chose her own spouse and was a talented business manager. She should be remembered not only as Luther’s “rib,” but as a remarkable woman in her own right.

The Rev. Dr. Joy A. Schroeder, an ELCA pastor, teaches church history at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, where she holds the Bergener Chair in Theology and Religion. She is the author of Dinah’s Lament: The Biblical Legacy of Sexual Violence in Christian Interpretation (Fortress Press, 2007).