Sarah Mitchell
Martin Luther, the German reformer, married Katharina von Bora, also referred to as die Lutherin ('the Lutheress'), on 13 June 1525. Luther was 41 years old, and von Bora was 26. Von Bora was given to the Church at a young age and became a nun in her teens. However, she grew dissatisfied with religious life and, along with several other nuns, contacted Luther for help to escape. Luther was initially uncomfortable with the idea of marrying, but his marriage to von Bora set a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage. Together, they had six children and raised four orphaned children.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Martin Luther's wife | Katharina von Bora |
| Date of marriage | 13 June 1525 |
| Age at the time of marriage | Martin Luther: 41 years, Katharina von Bora: 26 years |
| Number of children | 6 |
| Number of adopted children | 4 orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew Fabian |
| Katharina von Bora's occupation | Doctor, Farmer, Gardener, Brewer |
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What You'll Learn
Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora in 1525
In 1525, Martin Luther was a forty-one-year-old German reformer, and Katharina von Bora was a twenty-six-year-old ex-nun. Luther had helped von Bora escape the convent two years earlier, and she had been living with various families since then. Von Bora had several suitors, but she told a friend of Luther's that she would only marry Luther or another man. Luther was initially unsure about the idea of marrying, but he eventually decided that his marriage would bring his father joy, anger the pope, and amuse angels and devils alike.
On 13 June 1525, Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora were married. Their marriage was considered scandalous, as priests were not allowed to marry, and Luther himself had been uncomfortable with the idea of clerical marriage. However, he eventually came to accept it, and his marriage to von Bora set a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage. Their union was also significant in the history of Protestantism, particularly regarding the development of its views on marriage and gender roles.
Katharina von Bora was the daughter of a Saxon family of lesser nobility. She was sent to a Benedictine convent at the age of five for her education and later moved to a Cistercian monastery in central Germany when she was nine. At sixteen, she made her vows and became a nun and the Bride of Christ in the eyes of the Catholic Church. However, by her early twenties, von Bora had become interested in the growing reform movement and dissatisfied with her life in the convent. She and several other nuns wished to practice Luther's teachings and leave the convent. With Luther's help, they escaped in a herring cart on Holy Saturday in 1523.
Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther had six children together: Hans (1526-1575), Elisabeth (1527-1528), Magdalena (1529-1542), Martin (1531-1565), Paul (1533-1593), and Margarete (1534-1570). Von Bora also suffered a miscarriage in 1539, and the couple raised four orphaned children, including von Bora's nephew, Fabian. In addition to being a mother, von Bora was a doctor, farmer, gardener, and brewer. She was also known for her ingenuity, boldness, plain-speaking, and business acumen, which helped Luther thrive in his career. When Luther died in 1546, von Bora was left in financial difficulty, despite owning land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She died in 1552.
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Von Bora was given to the Church at a young age
Martin Luther, the German reformer, married Katharina von Bora on 13 June 1525. Katharina was twenty-six at the time, and Martin was forty-one. Katharina was given to the Church at a young age. At the age of five, she was sent to a Benedictine convent in Brehna for her education. Her father sent her there in 1504, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531. At the age of nine, she was moved to Nimbschen Abbey, a Cistercian community named Marienthron ('Mary's Throne') near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was a nun. By her early twenties, she and several other nuns in the Marienthron convent were familiar with Luther's teachings and wished to practice them. They became fed up with religious life and wanted to leave the convent.
On 4 April 1523, Holy Saturday, Luther sent Leonhard Koppe, a merchant and councillor of Torgau who regularly delivered herring to the convent. Katharina and eleven or so of her fellow rebel nuns escaped by hiding in his covered wagon among the fish barrels and fled to Wittenberg. Luther asked the families of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime. Within two years, Luther was able to arrange marriages or find employment for all of the escaped nuns except von Bora. She was first housed with the family of Philipp Reichenbach, the municipal clerk of Wittenberg, and then with Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, but none of the proposals resulted in marriage. She told Luther's friend and fellow reformer, Nicolaus von Amsdorf, that she would be willing to marry only Luther or von Amsdorf.
Martin Luther, as well as many of his friends, was initially unsure about the idea of marriage. One of his loudest students-turned-Reformers, Philip Melanchthon, was firmly against it, believing that it would hurt the Reformation by causing scandal. Luther eventually decided that his marriage would 'please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep'. Luther himself had declared in late 1524 that he had no intention of ever marrying. The decision to wed on 13 June 1525 went by unannounced. It was a small affair in the Wittenberg parish church. The famous painter Lucas Cranach and his wife witnessed the marriage. In some circles, Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther's marriage was considered spiritually incestuous.
Katharina von Bora was the daughter of a family of Saxon lesser nobility. According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in Lippendorf, but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), Elisabeth (1527–1528), Magdalena (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), Paul (1533–1593), and Margarete (1534–1570). She also suffered a miscarriage on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian. The marriage of von Bora to Luther is very important in the history of Protestantism, specifically in regard to the development of its views on marriage and gender roles. While Luther was not the first cleric to marry because of Reformation ideas, he was one of the most prominent. As he argued publicly for clerical marriage and produced much anti-Catholic propaganda, his marriage became a natural target for his enemies.
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Von Bora was a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther, the German reformer, married Katharina von Bora, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'), on 13 June 1525. Von Bora was a former nun who had grown dissatisfied with her cloistered life and was interested in the growing reform movement. She contacted Luther and asked for his help in escaping her monastery, which he provided. Von Bora and Luther's marriage is considered very important in the history of Protestantism and the Protestant Reformation, specifically regarding the development of its views on marriage and gender roles.
Leading up to the German Reformation, priests were not allowed to marry. Luther himself was initially uncomfortable with the idea of marrying. However, he eventually decided to marry Von Bora, despite the potential for scandal, as he felt it would please his father and spite the pope and the devil. Their marriage set a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage, with Luther arguing publicly for the latter. As a result, their union became a target for Luther's enemies, and the marital status of the clergy became a pivotal dividing line between the Catholic and Protestant churches.
Von Bora, a strong woman with a mind of her own, was a farmer, brewer, and businesswoman. She and Luther had six children together and raised four orphaned children. After Luther's death in 1546, Von Bora was left in difficult financial circumstances, despite owning land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She is commemorated on 20 December in the Calendar of Saints of some Lutheran churches and was added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar in 2022.
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Von Bora was the mother of six children
Martin Luther, the German reformer, married Katharina von Bora, also referred to as "die Lutherin" or "the Lutheress", on 13 June 1525. Katharina was the daughter of a family of Saxon lesser nobility. She was given to the Church at a young age and became a nun at 16. However, she grew dissatisfied with religious life and conspired with several other nuns to escape the convent with the help of Martin Luther.
Katharina von Bora was the mother of six children: Hans (1526-1575), Elisabeth (1527-1528), Magdalena (1529-1542), Martin (1531-1565), Paul (1533-1593), and Margarete (1534-1570). She also suffered a miscarriage in 1539. In addition to their biological children, the Luthers raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.
Katharina played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation as her marriage to Luther set a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage. Their union caused controversy, especially since Luther was a prominent critic of clerical concubinage, a common practice among priests in Germany at the time. Katharina's boldness, ingenuity, and domestic skills enabled Luther to thrive in his teachings and writings, and their marriage demonstrated the benefits of clerical marriage from a Protestant perspective.
The marriage of Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther is thus an important chapter in the history of Protestantism, particularly regarding the development of its views on marriage and gender roles. Katharina's bravery in marrying Luther, a famous reformer, paved the way for subsequent Protestant wives.
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Von Bora was left in financial difficulty after Luther's death
Martin Luther, the German reformer, married Katharina von Bora on 13 June 1525. Luther was 41, and von Bora was 26. Von Bora had been a nun in a Cistercian convent, but she became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. She contacted Luther and asked for his help in escaping the monastery, which he provided.
Von Bora was left a widow after Luther died in 1546. She was left in financial difficulty without Luther's salary as a professor and pastor. Although she owned land, properties, and the Black Cloister, she refused to sell the latter and move into a smaller house, as Luther had urged her to do in the event of his death. She was forced to flee Wittenberg twice during the First Schmalkaldic War (1546-47) and returned to find her house and property devastated. She was able to support herself thanks to the generosity of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and the princes of Anhalt.
In 1552, an outbreak of the Black Plague and a harvest failure forced von Bora to leave Wittenberg once more. She fled to Torgau, where she was thrown from her cart into a watery ditch near the city gates. She died in Torgau three months later, on 20 December 1552, at the age of 53. Von Bora was commemorated on 20 December in the Calendar of Saints of some Lutheran churches in the United States. In 2022, she was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 20 December.
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Frequently asked questions
Martin Luther had one wife, Katharina von Bora.
Yes, Katharina von Bora was given to the Church at a young age and became a nun and Bride of Christ in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
Leading up to the German Reformation, priests were not allowed to marry. Luther's marriage was considered a natural target for his enemies and was thought to hurt the Reformation by causing scandal.
Yes, Katharina bore six children: Hans, Elisabeth, Magdalena, Martin, Paul, and Margarete. They also raised four orphaned children.
