One of the effects of the Protestant Reformation was the restoration of the institution of marriage. Luther and the Reformers boldly challenged the church’s unbiblical teaching regarding clerical celibacy. Luther wrote a great deal on the subject, yet when the time came to put legs to his conviction, he hesitated. But after conferring with his father, he concluded “his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh and the devils to weep.”[1] And so on June 15, 1525, the union of Martin Luther and Katie Von Bora took place. Admittedly, Luther did not marry for love but their bond would strengthen over the years. So much so, that he wrote, “there is no bond on earth so sweet nor any separation so bitter as that which occurs in a good marriage.”^[2] Of his beloved Katie he once gushed, “I would not give my Katie for France and Venice together.”^[3]

After the wedding, Mrs. Luther wasted no time getting to work. Her single and most important priority was to bring structure to Martin’s disordered life. And boy did she have her work cut out! Luther once wrote that before Katie, “the bed was not made for a whole year and became foul with sweat.”^[4] Moreover, the Reformer was plagued with a host of physical ailments ranging from gout, kidney stones, constipation, dizziness, and a sharp ringing in his ears. Katie made it her business to become a master of herbal remedies and medicines so that she could nurse her husband in his sick days. Indeed some who witnessed this, wondered if it weren’t for Katie, would the Reformer’s days have been cut shorter? The children came early in the marriage. Six altogether, and almost back-to-back. This means that Katie accomplished all that she did while pregnant! The house, as we like to say in New York, saw more traffic than Grand Central Station, and was filled continually with “a motley crowd of boys, students, girls, widows, old women, and youngsters.”^[5] Katie oversaw the entire parsonage operation and made the Luther home a safe house for many. In fact, during the plague the Luther’s converted the house into a hospital and at their own risk, cared for the afflicted.  Luther affectionately called Katie, “The Morningstar of Wittenberg” because her workday started at 4am. She brewed her own beer, and made her own wine. She raised, slaughtered, and prepared the livestock for dinner. She planted, and cooked vegetables from her farm. She raised, caught, and served the trout. And in true entrepreneurial spirit, supplemented the family income by renting rooms in the black cloister. Seldom did she prepare a meal with less than a headcount of 30 in mind. She was a woman of great enterprise and skill.  For that reason, Martin trusted his wife in ways unimaginable for their time.

Given all that was on her plate, is it any surprise she didn’t pursue theological study with the same rigor of her husband? One author tells of Martin’s unsuccessful attempt to persuade her to study Greek: “She found the Greek language dreadful. Her husband wasted his time in vain trying to get her to memorize in Greek the passage: “The just shall live by faith.” She just replied: “Dear God, who could repeat that!”[6]

Most of what we know about Katie is gleaned from her husband’s letters. Unfortunately, not many survived and the ones that did betray a woman preoccupied with practical matters – namely, that of her husband’s well being. Kirsi Stjerna, author of “Women and the Reformation” explains Katie’s non-pursuit of theological matters in an insightful way:

“On her own part, it is also clear that she was incredibly busy, with no free time to sit down, reflect, and write.  It also appears that she was most concerned about “living” the faith, not writing about it. Unlike academically inclined women such as Olimpia Morata, she did not make study her priority, not after leaving the convent anyway.  Luther teased his wife that he would give her a reward of 50 Gulden if she would read the Scriptures – which give us as much of an indication of Katharina’s priorities in her use of time, as does her reply:  she said she had read enough, now she wanted to live it.”[7]

Of course, we’re not all called to be Katie Luther’s! And by no means am I suggesting women should not study and write about theology. I am only acknowledging the devotion and productivity of an enormously capable woman who sacrificed everything so that her husband could be free to accomplish all that he did. This is why Katie Luther wouldn’t have had a blog. And like most pastors’ wives I know, she was content to work hard and sacrifice in the shadow of her husband’s greatness.

Related Posts:

Thank You, Katie Luther – Read about Katie’s part in getting Luther to write his most important work, “The Bondage of the Will”

Women of the Reformation:  Katharina Luther by Hollie Dermer – Read Hollie’s contribution to “The Women of the Reformation” Series hosted at Heavenly Springs.

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[1] Gene Edward Veith, A Place to Stand: The Word of God in the Life of Martin Luther (Tennessee: Cumberland House Publishing, 2005). 98.
^[2] Christian History Magazine-Issue 39: Martin Luther: The Later Years. 1993.
^[3] Christian History Magazine-Issue 39: Martin Luther: The Later Years. 1993.
^[4] Christian History Magazine-Issue 39: Martin Luther: The Later Years. 1993.
^[5] Christian History Magazine-Issue 39: Martin Luther: The Later Years. 1993.
[6] Ernst Kroker, The Mother of the Reformation: The Amazing Life and Story of Katharine Luther, (Missouri: Concordia Publishing, 2013), Kindle Edition.
[7] Kirsi Stjerna, Women and the Reformation (Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2009), 61.

Most Protestants are familiar with Martin Luther’s, The Bondage of the Will. In it, Luther issues a passionate and theologically robust response to Erasmus’s defense of synergistic salvation.  In typical Luther fashion, Luther gets right to the heart of a gospel of grace and upholds the sovereignty of God alone in salvation. Does God “work alone” to effect our salvation?  Or, does He “work together” with us?  The subject of the debate is as relevant to the church today as it was then.

But did you know that if it weren’t for Katie, we probably wouldn’t have The Bondage of the Will? The Luther’s had been married only a few months when Erasmus published his diatribe against sovereign grace. Luther doesn’t seem too compelled to respond — maybe it has something to do with the fact that Erasmus put forth a half-hearted work, himself pressured by outside influences. But his new bride doesn’t letup. She stays on him for almost a year. Finally, he acquiesces and fires off a response in a few weeks.  The result is one of Christianity’s most important works.

In the first months of their marriage, when she insisted that her husband could not leave Erasmus unanswered, she had been pushed into the forefront by Camerarius, as we know. Camerarius was driven by objective reasons. The diatribe that Erasmus had published was the Humanists’ declaration of war on the Reformer. And with the prominence of both men, the battle had to be taken up and fought until there was an honorable accord or one of the combatants was defeated. Katie maybe had little understanding of such deliberations, but she understood that the opponents could easily see her husband’s stubborn silence as conceding defeat—a concern which Luther himself shared otherwise—and she didn’t stop assailing him with urgent pleas until, after he had indignantly procrastinated almost a year, he finally overcame his reluctance and wrote his reply in a few weeks.[1]

We owe Martin Luther a tremendous debt for defending the faith, but hats off to Katie for staying on her man! And if you are a husband, what does this little historical anecdote teach you? Listen to your wife! She knows things. 🙂

P.S. In the pipeline for October 31st, 2014, Reformation Day, is a 3-Part Series on Katie Luther. If you love Martin Luther, wait till you meet his bride!

[1] Ernst Kroker, The Mother of the Reformation: The Amazing Life and Story of Katharine Luther (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing, 2013) Kindle edition.