Katharina von Bora: Difference between revisions

Katharina von Bora
Katharina von Bora
	Portrait of Catherine von Bora by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526 oil on panel
Born	29 January 1499?; Lippendorf?, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
Died	20 December 1552 (aged 53); Torgau, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
Spouse	Martin Luther (m. 1525; died 1546)
Children	Hans (Johannes); Elisabeth; Magdalena; Martin; Paul; Margarete;

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Katharina von Bora (German: [kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː]; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'),^[1] was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the Reformation, her marriage setting a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage.^[2]

Ancestry

Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of Saxon lesser nobility.^[3]^[4]^[5] According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in Lippendorf, but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.^[6] One of them proposes that she was born in Hirschfeld and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von Haugwitz.^[7]^[8] It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.^[9]

Early life

A portrait of Martin Luther in 1526 by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Her father sent then five-year-old von Bora to a Benedictine convent in Brehna in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.^[10] At the age of nine, she was moved to Nimbschen Abbey, Cistercian community named Marienthron ('Mary's Throne') near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was a nun.^[11] Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.^[12]

After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.^[13] On 4 April 1523, Holy Saturday, Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a merchant and councillor of Torgau who regularly delivered herring to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered wagon among the fish barrels, and fled to Wittenberg.^[14]

Luther asked the family of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under canon law.^[15]

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, then with Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, including Hieronymus Baumgartner from Nuremberg, and a pastor, Kaspar Glatz from Orlamünde, 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.^[16]

Marriage to Luther

Martin Luther, as well as many of his friends, was at first unsure of whether he should marry. Philip Melanchthon thought that this 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'.^[16] 26-year-old Von Bora and 41-year-old Luther married on 13 June 1525, before witnesses including Justus Jonas, Johannes Bugenhagen, and Barbara and Lucas Cranach.^[17] A small wedding breakfast was held the next morning, and a more formal, public ceremony on 27 June, presided over by Bugenhagen.^[18]

The couple took up residence in the former dormitory and educational institution of Augustinian friars studying in Wittenberg (known as the 'Black Monastery'), a wedding gift from John, Elector of Saxony, brother of Luther's protector Frederick III, Elector of Saxony.^[19] Katharina immediately took on the task of managing the monastery's vast holdings. She bred and sold cattle and ran a brewery to provide for their family, the numerous students who boarded with them, and her husband's visitors. In times of epidemics, she operated a hospital with nurses, working alongside them. Luther called her the 'boss of Zulsdorf', after the farm they owned, and the 'morning star of Wittenberg' for her habit of rising at 4 a.m.^[2]

Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed 'Herr Käthe', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.^[20] She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed renovations when necessary.^[21] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.^[22]

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.^[23]

Significance of the marriage

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.^[24]

After Luther's death

When Martin Luther died in 1546, Katharina was left in difficult financial straits without Luther's salary as professor and pastor, even though she owned land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She had been counselled by Martin Luther to move out of the old abbey and sell it after his death, and move into much more modest quarters with the children who remained at home, but she refused.^[25] Luther had named her his sole heir in his last will. His will could not be executed, however, because it did not conform with Saxon law.^[26]

Almost immediately after, Katharina had to leave the Black Cloister, now called Lutherhaus, by herself, at the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, fleeing to Magdeburg. After she returned, the approaching war forced another flight in 1547, this time to Braunschweig. In July 1547, at the close of the war, she was able to return to Wittenberg.^{[citation needed]}

After the war, the buildings and lands of the monastery had been torn apart and laid waste. Cattle and other farm animals had been stolen or killed. If she had sold the land and the buildings, she could have had a good financial situation. Financially, they could not remain there. Katharina was able to support herself thanks to the generosity of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and the princes of Anhalt.^[27]

She remained in Wittenberg in poverty until 1552, when an outbreak of the Black Plague and a harvest failure forced her to leave the city once again. She fled to Torgau, where she was thrown from her cart into a watery ditch near the city gates. For three months, she went in and out of consciousness, before dying in Torgau on 20 December 1552, at the age of 53. She was buried at Torgau's Saint Mary's Church, far from her husband's grave in Wittenberg. She is reported to have said on her deathbed, 'I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth.'^[28]

By the time of Katharina's death, the surviving Luther children were adults. After Katharina's death, the Black Cloister was sold back to the university in 1564 by his heirs.^{[citation needed]}

Margareta Luther, born in Wittenberg on 27 December 1534, married into a noble, wealthy Prussian family, to Georg von Kunheim (Wehlau, 1 July 1523 – Mühlhausen [now Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast], 18 October 1611, the son of Georg von Kunheim [1480–1543] and wife Margarethe, Truchsessin von Wetzhausen [1490–1527]) but died in Mühlhausen in 1570 at the age of thirty-six.^[29]

Commemoration

Katharina von Bora is commemorated on 20 December in the Calendar of Saints of some Lutheran churches in the United States.^[30] In 2022, she was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 20 December.^[31]

In addition to a statue in Wittenberg and several biographies, an opera of her life now keeps her memory alive.

References

Citations

^ Rixner, Thaddä Anselm (1830). Handwörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (in German). Vol. 1. Sulzbach: J. E. von Seidel'schen Buchhandlung. p. 290. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Curry, Andrew (20 October 2017). "How a Runaway Nun Helped an Outlaw Monk Change the World". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^ Fischer, Fritz; Stutterheim, Eckart von (2005). "Zur Herkunft der Katharine v. Bora, Ehefrau Martin Luthers" [On the Origins of Katharine v. Bora, Wife of Martin Luther]. Archiv für Familiengeschichtsforschung (in German): 242–271.
^ Wagner, Jürgen (2005). "Zur mutmaßlichen Herkunft der Catherina v. Bora: Einige bisher unbeachtete Urkunden zur Familie v. Bora" [On the Presumed Origins of Catherina v. Bora. Some Hitherto Unnoticed Documents on the v. Bora Family] (PDF). Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde (in German): 673–703. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.
^ Wagner, Jürgen (2006). "Die Beziehungen von Luthers Gemahlin, Catherina v. Bora, zur Familie v. Mergenthal. Wi(e)der eine Legende" (PDF). Familienforschung in Mitteldeutschland (in German): 342–347 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.
^ Thoma, Albrecht (1900). Katharina von Bora: Geschichtliches Lebensbild (in German). Berlin: Georg Reimer. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Project Gutenberg.
^ Hirschfeld, Georg von (1883). "Die Beziehungen Luthers und seiner Gemahlin, Katharina von Bora, zur Familie von Hirschfeld" [The Relations of Luther and His Wife, Katharina von Bora, to the von Hirschfeld family]. Beiträge zur sächssischen Kirchengeschichte (in German) (2): 83–311. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via SLUB.
^ Liebehenschel, Wolfgang (1999). Der langsame Aufstieg des Morgensterns von Wittenberg: eine Studie und eine Erzählung über die Herkunft von Katharina von Bora [The Slow Rise of the Morning Star of Wittenberg: A Study and Narrative of the Origins of Katharina von Bora] (in German). Ziethen. p. 79. ISBN 9783932090592.
^ Wagner, Jürgen (2010). "Zur Geschichte der Familie v. Bora und einiger Güter in den sächsischen Ämtern Borna und Pegau" [On the History of the v. Bora Family and Some Estates in the Saxon Districts of Borna and Pegau.] (PDF). Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde (in German). 30 (4): 289–307. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.
^ D. Martin Luthers Werke : kritische Gesamtausgabe [The Works of D. Martin Luther: Complete Critical Edition] (in German). Vol. 4. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau. 2002. ISBN 9783740009496. OCLC 947397.
^ Weber, Erwin (1999). "500th Anniversary of Katharine von Bora". The Lutheran Journal. 68 (2). Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Internet Archive.
^ CDS Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae II 15 Nr. 455
^ Kilcrease, Jack (20 December 2016). "Katharina von Bora Luther". Lutheran Reformation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^ Bainton, Roland H. (1950). Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Abingdon-Cokesbury. p. 223. ISBN 9780687168934.
^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). The Encyclopedia Americana. Bora, Katharina von. ISSN 1943-5045. LCCN 34007870. OCLC 1587741.
^ ^a ^b Germany, TourComm. "Katharina von Bora (1499–1552)" (in German).
^ Rix, Herbert David (1983). Martin Luther: The Man and the Image. Ardent Media. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-8290-0554-7. Retrieved 12 June 2011 – via Google Books.
^ "Bora, Katharina von" . New International Encyclopedia. Vol. III. 1905.
^ D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe (in German). Vol. 2. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau. ISBN 9783740009472. OCLC 947397.
^ Lehman 1967, p. 174.
^ Treu, Martin (2014). "Katharina von Bora, the Woman at Luther's Side". Lutheran Quarterly. 13 (2): 156–178 – via Atla RDB.
^ Karant-Nunn, Susan C.; Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., eds. (2003). Luther on Women: A Sourcebook (PDF). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65091-7. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^ Peterson, Sarah Lynn (3 February 2006). "Luther's Later Years (1538-1546)". susanlynnpeterson.com.
^ Smith, Jeanette C. (199). "Katharina von Bora Through Five Centuries: A Historiography". The Sixteenth Century Journal. 30 (3): 745–774. doi:10.2307/2544815. JSTOR 2544815. S2CID 163721664. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^ Bring, Johan Theophil (1917). The Wife and Home of Luther. Stockholm.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Kopp, Eduard. "Adlige und Nonne – Gärtnerin, Brauerin, Köchin und Finanzvorstand im Hause Luther" [Noblewoman and Nun: Gardener, Brewer, Cook, and Financial Director of the Luther Household]. Luther 2017 (in German).
^ "Späte Jahre" [Later Years]. Lutherin. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
^ Fisher, Mary Pat (2005). Women in Religion. New York: Pearson Longman. p. 209. ISBN 9780321194817 – via Internet Archive.
^ "Margaretha von Kunheim". geni_family_tree. 17 December 1534. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
^ Lutheran Service Book, xiii. Concordia Publishing House, 2006.
^ "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

Works cited

Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, New York: Penguin, 1995, c1950. 336 p. ISBN 0-452-01146-9.
Lehman (1967). Luther's Works. Vol. 54. edited and translated by Theodore G. Tappert. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

External links

A website devoted to Katharina von Bora (in German)
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (USA) Concordia Historical Institute website on Katherine von Bora Archived 26 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
John Gottlieb Morris, 1803–1895 Catherine de Bora: Or Social and Domestic Scenes in the Home of Luther 1856
Hermann Nietschmann 1840–1929 Katharine von Bora, Dr. Martin Luther's wife. A picture from life (1890)

[1] Rixner, Thaddä Anselm (1830). Handwörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (in German). Vol. 1. Sulzbach: J. E. von Seidel'schen Buchhandlung. p. 290. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Google Books.

[:0-2] Curry, Andrew (20 October 2017). "How a Runaway Nun Helped an Outlaw Monk Change the World". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

[3] Fischer, Fritz; Stutterheim, Eckart von (2005). "Zur Herkunft der Katharine v. Bora, Ehefrau Martin Luthers" [On the Origins of Katharine v. Bora, Wife of Martin Luther]. Archiv für Familiengeschichtsforschung (in German): 242–271.

[4] Wagner, Jürgen (2005). "Zur mutmaßlichen Herkunft der Catherina v. Bora: Einige bisher unbeachtete Urkunden zur Familie v. Bora" [On the Presumed Origins of Catherina v. Bora. Some Hitherto Unnoticed Documents on the v. Bora Family] (PDF). Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde (in German): 673–703. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.

[5] Wagner, Jürgen (2006). "Die Beziehungen von Luthers Gemahlin, Catherina v. Bora, zur Familie v. Mergenthal. Wi(e)der eine Legende" (PDF). Familienforschung in Mitteldeutschland (in German): 342–347 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.

[6] Thoma, Albrecht (1900). Katharina von Bora: Geschichtliches Lebensbild (in German). Berlin: Georg Reimer. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Project Gutenberg.

[7] Hirschfeld, Georg von (1883). "Die Beziehungen Luthers und seiner Gemahlin, Katharina von Bora, zur Familie von Hirschfeld" [The Relations of Luther and His Wife, Katharina von Bora, to the von Hirschfeld family]. Beiträge zur sächssischen Kirchengeschichte (in German) (2): 83–311. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via SLUB.

[8] Liebehenschel, Wolfgang (1999). Der langsame Aufstieg des Morgensterns von Wittenberg: eine Studie und eine Erzählung über die Herkunft von Katharina von Bora [The Slow Rise of the Morning Star of Wittenberg: A Study and Narrative of the Origins of Katharina von Bora] (in German). Ziethen. p. 79. ISBN 9783932090592.

[9] Wagner, Jürgen (2010). "Zur Geschichte der Familie v. Bora und einiger Güter in den sächsischen Ämtern Borna und Pegau" [On the History of the v. Bora Family and Some Estates in the Saxon Districts of Borna and Pegau.] (PDF). Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde (in German). 30 (4): 289–307. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Familienarchiv Wagner.

[10] D. Martin Luthers Werke : kritische Gesamtausgabe [The Works of D. Martin Luther: Complete Critical Edition] (in German). Vol. 4. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau. 2002. ISBN 9783740009496. OCLC 947397.

[augustana-11] Weber, Erwin (1999). "500th Anniversary of Katharine von Bora". The Lutheran Journal. 68 (2). Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Internet Archive.

[12] CDS Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae II 15 Nr. 455

[13] Kilcrease, Jack (20 December 2016). "Katharina von Bora Luther". Lutheran Reformation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

[Bainton_223-14] Bainton, Roland H. (1950). Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Abingdon-Cokesbury. p. 223. ISBN 9780687168934.

[amer-15] Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). The Encyclopedia Americana. Bora, Katharina von. ISSN 1943-5045. LCCN 34007870. OCLC 1587741.

[TourComm-16] Germany, TourComm. "Katharina von Bora (1499–1552)" (in German).

[Rix1983-17] Rix, Herbert David (1983). Martin Luther: The Man and the Image. Ardent Media. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-8290-0554-7. Retrieved 12 June 2011 – via Google Books.

[18] "Bora, Katharina von" . New International Encyclopedia. Vol. III. 1905.

[19] D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe (in German). Vol. 2. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau. ISBN 9783740009472. OCLC 947397.

[FOOTNOTELehman1967174-20] Lehman 1967, p. 174.

[21] Treu, Martin (2014). "Katharina von Bora, the Woman at Luther's Side". Lutheran Quarterly. 13 (2): 156–178 – via Atla RDB.

[22] Karant-Nunn, Susan C.; Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., eds. (2003). Luther on Women: A Sourcebook (PDF). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65091-7. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

[23] Peterson, Sarah Lynn (3 February 2006). "Luther's Later Years (1538-1546)". susanlynnpeterson.com.

[24] Smith, Jeanette C. (199). "Katharina von Bora Through Five Centuries: A Historiography". The Sixteenth Century Journal. 30 (3): 745–774. doi:10.2307/2544815. JSTOR 2544815. S2CID 163721664. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

[25] Bring, Johan Theophil (1917). The Wife and Home of Luther. Stockholm.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[26] Kopp, Eduard. "Adlige und Nonne – Gärtnerin, Brauerin, Köchin und Finanzvorstand im Hause Luther" [Noblewoman and Nun: Gardener, Brewer, Cook, and Financial Director of the Luther Household]. Luther 2017 (in German).

[27] "Späte Jahre" [Later Years]. Lutherin. Retrieved 16 June 2018.

[28] Fisher, Mary Pat (2005). Women in Religion. New York: Pearson Longman. p. 209. ISBN 9780321194817 – via Internet Archive.

[29] "Margaretha von Kunheim". geni_family_tree. 17 December 1534. Retrieved 16 June 2018.

[30] Lutheran Service Book, xiii. Concordia Publishing House, 2006.

[31] "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Wife of Martin Luther}}
+{{Short description|Wife of Martin Luther (c. 1499–1552)}}
 {{Use British English|date=May 2023}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
 {{Infobox person
-| name = Katharina von Bora
+| name               = Katharina von Bora
-| image = Katharina-v-Bora-1526.jpg
+| image              = Katharina-v-Bora-1526.jpg
-| caption = Portrait of Catherine von Bora by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], 1526 [[Oil painting|oil]] on [[panel painting|panel]]
+| caption            = Portrait of Catherine von Bora by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], 1526 [[Oil painting|oil]] on [[panel painting|panel]]
-| birth_date = 29 January 1499?
+| birth_date         = 29 January 1499?
-| birth_place = [[Lippendorf]]?, [[Electorate of Saxony]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
+| birth_place        = [[Lippendorf]]?, [[Electorate of Saxony]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
-| death_date = 20 December 1552
+| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1552|12|20|1499|01|29|df=yes}}
-| death_place = [[Torgau]], Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
+| death_place        = [[Torgau]], Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
-| spouse = {{marriage |[[Martin Luther]] |1525 |1546 |end=d.}}
+| spouse             = {{marriage |[[Martin Luther]] |1525 |1546 |end=d.}}
-| children = {{hlist |Hans&nbsp;(Johannes) |[[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]] |[[Magdalena Luther|Magdalena]] |Martin |[[Paul Luther|Paul]] |Margarethe}}
+| children           = {{hlist |Hans&nbsp;(Johannes) |[[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]] |[[Magdalena Luther|Magdalena]] |Martin |[[Paul Luther|Paul]] |[[Margarete von Kunheim|Margarete]]}}
 }}
-'''Katharina von Bora''' ({{IPA-de|kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː|lang}}; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding '''Katharina Luther''', also referred to as "'''die Lutherin'''" ('the Lutheress'),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rixner |first=Thaddä Anselm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pG5dAAAAcAAJ |title=Handwörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache |publisher=J. E. von Seidel'schen Buchhandlung |year=1830 |volume=1 |location=Sulzbach |pages=290 |language=de |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> was the wife of the German reformer [[Martin Luther]] and a seminal figure of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the [[Reformation]], her marriage setting a precedent for [[Protestantism|Protestant]] family life and [[clerical marriage]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Curry |first=Andrew |date=2017-10-20 |title=How a Runaway Nun Helped an Outlaw Monk Change the World |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/martin-luther-wife-protestant-reformation-500 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415125839/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/martin-luther-wife-protestant-reformation-500 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=National Geographic}}</ref>
+'''Katharina von Bora''' ({{IPA|de|kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː|lang}}; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding '''Katharina Luther''', also referred to as "'''die Lutherin'''" ('the Lutheress'),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rixner |first=Thaddä Anselm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pG5dAAAAcAAJ |title=Handwörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache |publisher=J. E. von Seidel'schen Buchhandlung |year=1830 |volume=1 |location=Sulzbach |pages=290 |language=de |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> was the wife of the German reformer [[Martin Luther]] and a seminal figure of the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the [[Reformation]], her marriage setting a precedent for [[Protestantism|Protestant]] family life and [[clerical marriage]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Curry |first=Andrew |date=20 October 2017 |title=How a Runaway Nun Helped an Outlaw Monk Change the World |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/martin-luther-wife-protestant-reformation-500 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415125839/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/martin-luther-wife-protestant-reformation-500 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=National Geographic}}</ref>
 ==Ancestry==
-Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of [[German nobility#Niederer Adel|Saxon lesser nobility]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fischer |first1=Fritz |last2=Stutterheim |first2=Eckart von |year=2005 |title=Zur Herkunft der Katharine v. Bora, Ehefrau Martin Luthers |trans-title=On the Origins of Katharine v. Bora, Wife of Martin Luther |journal=Archiv für Familiengeschichtsforschung |language=de |issue= |pages=242–271}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2005 |title=Zur mutmaßlichen Herkunft der Catherina v. Bora: Einige bisher unbeachtete Urkunden zur Familie v. Bora |trans-title=On the Presumed Origins of Catherina v. Bora. Some Hitherto Unnoticed Documents on the v. Bora Family |url=http://www.von-bora.de/CvB1.pdf |journal=Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde |language=de |pages=673–703 |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2006 |title=Die Beziehungen von Luthers Gemahlin, Catherina v. Bora, zur Familie v. Mergenthal. Wi(e)der eine Legende |url=http://www.von-bora.de/CvB3.pdf |journal=Familienforschung in Mitteldeutschland |language=de |pages=342–347 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref> According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in [[Lippendorf]], but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thoma |first=Albrecht |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12636/pg12636.html |title=Katharina von Bora: Geschichtliches Lebensbild |publisher=Georg Reimer |year=1900 |location=Berlin |language=de |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=[[Project Gutenberg]]}}</ref> One of them proposes that she was born in [[Hirschfeld, Saxony|Hirschfeld]] and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von [[Haugwitz]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hirschfeld |first=Georg von |date=1883 |title=Die Beziehungen Luthers und seiner Gemahlin, Katharina von Bora, zur Familie von Hirschfeld |trans-title=The Relations of Luther and His Wife, Katharina von Bora, to the von Hirschfeld family |url=https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/93927/94 |journal=Beiträge zur sächssischen Kirchengeschichte |language=de |issue=2 |pages=83–311 |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=[[Saxon State Library|SLUB]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Liebehenschel |first=Wolfgang |title=Der langsame Aufstieg des Morgensterns von Wittenberg: eine Studie und eine Erzählung über die Herkunft von Katharina von Bora |publisher=Ziethen |year=1999 |isbn=9783932090592 |pages=79 |language=de |trans-title=The Slow Rise of the Morning Star of Wittenberg: A Study and Narrative of the Origins of Katharina von Bora}}</ref> It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2010 |title=Zur Geschichte der Familie v. Bora und einiger Güter in den sächsischen Ämtern Borna und Pegau. |trans-title=On the History of the v. Bora Family and Some Estates in the Saxon Districts of Borna and Pegau. |url=http://www.von-bora.de/Teil%20I%20und%20III.pdf |journal=Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde |language=de |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=289–307 |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref>
+Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of [[German nobility#Niederer Adel|Saxon lesser nobility]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fischer |first1=Fritz |last2=Stutterheim |first2=Eckart von |year=2005 |title=Zur Herkunft der Katharine v. Bora, Ehefrau Martin Luthers |trans-title=On the Origins of Katharine v. Bora, Wife of Martin Luther |journal=Archiv für Familiengeschichtsforschung |language=de |issue= |pages=242–271}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2005 |title=Zur mutmaßlichen Herkunft der Catherina v. Bora: Einige bisher unbeachtete Urkunden zur Familie v. Bora |trans-title=On the Presumed Origins of Catherina v. Bora. Some Hitherto Unnoticed Documents on the v. Bora Family |url=http://www.von-bora.de/CvB1.pdf |journal=Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde |language=de |pages=673–703 |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2006 |title=Die Beziehungen von Luthers Gemahlin, Catherina v. Bora, zur Familie v. Mergenthal. Wi(e)der eine Legende |url=http://www.von-bora.de/CvB3.pdf |journal=Familienforschung in Mitteldeutschland |language=de |pages=342–347 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref> According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in [[Lippendorf]], but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thoma |first=Albrecht |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12636/pg12636.html |title=Katharina von Bora: Geschichtliches Lebensbild |publisher=Georg Reimer |year=1900 |location=Berlin |language=de |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=[[Project Gutenberg]]}}</ref> One of them proposes that she was born in [[Hirschfeld, Saxony|Hirschfeld]] and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von [[Haugwitz]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hirschfeld |first=Georg von |date=1883 |title=Die Beziehungen Luthers und seiner Gemahlin, Katharina von Bora, zur Familie von Hirschfeld |trans-title=The Relations of Luther and His Wife, Katharina von Bora, to the von Hirschfeld family |url=https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/93927/94 |journal=Beiträge zur sächssischen Kirchengeschichte |language=de |issue=2 |pages=83–311 |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=[[Saxon State Library|SLUB]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Liebehenschel |first=Wolfgang |title=Der langsame Aufstieg des Morgensterns von Wittenberg: eine Studie und eine Erzählung über die Herkunft von Katharina von Bora |publisher=Ziethen |year=1999 |isbn=9783932090592 |pages=79 |language=de |trans-title=The Slow Rise of the Morning Star of Wittenberg: A Study and Narrative of the Origins of Katharina von Bora}}</ref> It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Jürgen |date=2010 |title=Zur Geschichte der Familie v. Bora und einiger Güter in den sächsischen Ämtern Borna und Pegau. |trans-title=On the History of the v. Bora Family and Some Estates in the Saxon Districts of Borna and Pegau. |url=http://www.von-bora.de/Teil%20I%20und%20III.pdf |journal=Genealogie: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Familienkunde |language=de |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=289–307 |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=Familienarchiv Wagner}}</ref>
 ==Early life==
 [[File:Martin-Luther-1526-1.jpg|thumb|A portrait of [[Martin Luther]] in 1526 by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
-Her father sent then five-year-old von Bora to a [[Benedictines|Benedictine]] [[convent]] in [[Brehna]] in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.<ref>{{Cite book |title=D. Martin Luthers Werke : kritische Gesamtausgabe |publisher=Hermann Böhlau |year=2002 |isbn=9783740009496 |volume=4 |location=Weimar |language=de |trans-title=The Works of D. Martin Luther: Complete Critical Edition |oclc=947397 }}</ref> At the age of nine, she was moved to [[List of Christian monasteries in Saxony#N|Nimbschen Abbey]], [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] community named ''Marienthron'' ('Mary's Throne') near [[Grimma]], where her maternal aunt was a [[nun]].<ref name="augustana">{{Cite journal |last=Weber |first=Erwin |date=1999 |title=500th Anniversary of Katharine von Bora |url=http://helios.augustana.edu/~ew/des/illustrated-articles/su53.html |url-status=dead |journal=The Lutheran Journal |volume=68 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216204930/http://helios.augustana.edu/~ew/des/illustrated-articles/su53.html |archive-date=2020-02-16 |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.<ref>CDS ''Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae'' II 15 Nr. 455</ref>
+Her father sent then five-year-old von Bora to a [[Benedictines|Benedictine]] [[convent]] in [[Brehna]] in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.<ref>{{Cite book |title=D. Martin Luthers Werke : kritische Gesamtausgabe |publisher=Hermann Böhlau |year=2002 |isbn=9783740009496 |volume=4 |location=Weimar |language=de |trans-title=The Works of D. Martin Luther: Complete Critical Edition |oclc=947397 }}</ref> At the age of nine, she was moved to [[List of Christian monasteries in Saxony#N|Nimbschen Abbey]], [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] community named ''Marienthron'' ('Mary's Throne') near [[Grimma]], where her maternal aunt was a [[nun]].<ref name="augustana">{{Cite journal |last=Weber |first=Erwin |date=1999 |title=500th Anniversary of Katharine von Bora |url=http://helios.augustana.edu/~ew/des/illustrated-articles/su53.html |url-status=dead |journal=The Lutheran Journal |volume=68 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216204930/http://helios.augustana.edu/~ew/des/illustrated-articles/su53.html |archive-date=16 February 2020 |access-date=11 May 2023 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.<ref>CDS ''Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae'' II 15 Nr. 455</ref>
+[[File:Klosternimbschen bora.JPG|thumb|Plaque on the ruins of Nimbschen Abbey, commemorating von Bora's time there and her escape.]]
+After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilcrease |first=Jack |date=20 December 2016 |title=Katharina von Bora Luther |url=https://lutheranreformation.org/history/katharina-von-bora-luther/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=Lutheran Reformation}}</ref> On 4 April 1523, [[Holy Saturday]], Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a [[merchant]] and [[councillor]] of [[Torgau]] who regularly delivered [[herring]] to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered [[wagon]] among the fish [[Barrel|barrels]], and fled to [[Wittenberg]].<ref name="Bainton 223">{{Cite book |last=Bainton |first=Roland H. |title=Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther |publisher=Abingdon-Cokesbury |year=1950 |isbn=9780687168934 |pages=223}}</ref>
+Luther asked the family of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]].<ref name="amer">{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |title-link=Encyclopedia Americana |year=1920 |editor-last=Rines |editor-first=George Edwin |at=Bora, Katharina von |issn=1943-5045 |lccn=34007870 |oclc=1587741}}</ref>
-After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilcrease |first=Jack |date=2016-12-20 |title=Katharina von Bora Luther |url=https://lutheranreformation.org/history/katharina-von-bora-luther/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=Lutheran Reformation}}</ref> On 4 April 1523, [[Holy Saturday]], Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a [[merchant]] and [[councillor]] of [[Torgau]] who regularly delivered [[herring]] to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered [[wagon]] among the fish [[Barrel|barrels]], and fled to [[Wittenberg]].<ref name="Bainton 223">{{Cite book |last=Bainton |first=Roland H. |title=Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther |publisher=Abingdon-Cokesbury |year=1950 |isbn=9780687168934 |pages=223}}</ref>
-Luther asked the family of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]].<ref name="amer">{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |title-link=Encyclopedia Americana |year=1920 |editor-last=Rines |editor-first=Geroge Edwin |at=Bora, Katharina von |issn=1943-5045 |lccn=34007870 |oclc=1587741}}</ref>
 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, then with [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, including [[Hieronymus Baumgartner]] from [[Nuremberg]], and a [[pastor]], [[Kaspar Glatz]] from [[Orlamünde]], 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.<ref name="TourComm">{{Cite news|url=https://www.visit-luther.com/reformation-heroes/katharina-von-bora/|title=Katharina von Bora (1499–1552)|last=Germany|first=TourComm|language=de}}</ref>
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 The couple took up residence in the former dormitory and educational institution of [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] friars studying in Wittenberg (known as the '[[Lutherhaus|Black Monastery]]'), a wedding gift from [[John, Elector of Saxony]], brother of Luther's protector [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe |publisher=Hermann Böhlau |isbn=9783740009472 |volume=2 |location=Weimar |language=de |oclc=947397}}</ref> Katharina immediately took on the task of managing the monastery's vast holdings. She bred and sold [[cattle]] and ran a [[brewery]] to provide for their family, the numerous students who boarded with them, and her husband's visitors. In times of [[Epidemic|epidemics]], she operated a [[hospital]] with [[Nursing|nurses]], working alongside them. Luther called her the 'boss of [[Zaulsdorf|Zulsdorf]]', after the farm they owned, and the 'morning star of Wittenberg' for her habit of rising at 4 a.m.<ref name=":0" />
-Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed '[[German honorifics|Herr]] [[Diminutive|Käthe]]', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.{{sfn|Lehman|1967|p=174}} She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed [[Renovation|renovations]] when necessary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treu |first=Martin |date=2014 |title=Katharina von Bora, the Woman at Luther's Side |journal=Lutheran Quarterly |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=156–178 |via=Atla RDB}}</ref> [[Anecdotal evidence]] suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://assets.cambridge.org/97805216/50915/sample/9780521650915ws.pdf |title=Luther on Women: A Sourcebook |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=0-521-65091-7 |editor-last=Karant-Nunn |editor-first=Susan C. |access-date=2023-05-11 |editor-last2=Wiesner-Hanks |editor-first2=Merry E.}}</ref>
+Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed '[[German honorifics|Herr]] [[Diminutive|Käthe]]', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.{{sfn|Lehman|1967|p=174}} She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed [[Renovation|renovations]] when necessary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treu |first=Martin |date=2014 |title=Katharina von Bora, the Woman at Luther's Side |journal=[[Lutheran Quarterly]] |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=156–178 |via=Atla RDB}}</ref> [[Anecdotal evidence]] suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://assets.cambridge.org/97805216/50915/sample/9780521650915ws.pdf |title=Luther on Women: A Sourcebook |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=0-521-65091-7 |editor-last=Karant-Nunn |editor-first=Susan C. |access-date=11 May 2023 |editor-last2=Wiesner-Hanks |editor-first2=Merry E.}}</ref>
-Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), [[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]] (1527–1528), [[Magdalena Luther|Magdalena]] (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), [[Paul Luther|Paul]] (1533–1593), and Margarete (1534–1570). She also suffered a [[miscarriage]] on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four [[Orphan|orphaned]] children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peterson |first=Sarah Lynn |date=2006-02-03 |title=Luther's Later Years (1538-1546) |url=https://www.susanlynnpeterson.com/luther/late.html |website=susanlynnpeterson.com}}</ref>
+Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), [[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]] (1527–1528), [[Magdalena Luther|Magdalena]] (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), [[Paul Luther|Paul]] (1533–1593), and [[Margarete von Kunheim|Margarete]] (1534–1570). She also suffered a [[miscarriage]] on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four [[Orphan|orphaned]] children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peterson |first=Sarah Lynn |date=3 February 2006 |title=Luther's Later Years (1538-1546) |url=https://www.susanlynnpeterson.com/luther/late.html |website=susanlynnpeterson.com}}</ref>
 === Significance of the marriage ===
-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 role]]s. 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Jeanette C. |date=199 |title=Katharina von Bora Through Five Centuries: A Historiography |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora?action=edit |journal=The Sixteenth Century Journal |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=745–774 |doi=10.2307/2544815 |jstor=2544815 |s2cid=163721664 |url-access=registration |access-date=2023-05-11 |via=[[JSTOR]]}}</ref>
+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 role]]s. 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Jeanette C. |date=199 |title=Katharina von Bora Through Five Centuries: A Historiography |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora?action=edit |journal=[[The Sixteenth Century Journal]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=745–774 |doi=10.2307/2544815 |jstor=2544815 |s2cid=163721664 |url-access=registration |access-date=11 May 2023 }}</ref>
 ==After Luther's death==
 [[File:Katharina-von-Bora-08.jpg|thumb|von Bora in 1546]]
-[[File:Portrait of Katharina von Bora.jpg|thumb|von Bora's gravestone engraving at Torgau's Saint Mary's Church in [[Wittenberg]], Germany]]
+[[File:Portrait of Katharina von Bora.jpg|thumb|von Bora's gravestone engraving at Saint Mary's Church in [[Torgau]], Germany]]
-When Martin Luther died in 1546, Katharina was left in difficult financial straits without Luther's salary as [[professor]] and [[pastor]], even though she owned land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She was counselled by Martin Luther to move out of the old abbey and sell it after his death, and move into much more modest quarters with the children who remained at home, but she refused.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bring |first=Johan Theophil |title=The Wife and Home of Luther |year=1917 |location=Stockholm}}</ref> Luther had named her his sole heir in his last will. His will could not be executed because it did not conform with Saxon law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kopp |first=Eduard |title=Adlige und Nonne – Gärtnerin, Brauerin, Köchin und Finanzvorstand im Hause Luther |trans-title=Noblewoman and Nun: Gardener, Brewer, Cook, and Financial Director of the Luther Household |url=https://www.luther2017.de/wiki/katharina-tag/zupackend-und-streitbar-luthers-herr-kaethe/index.html |website=Luther 2017 |language=de}}</ref>
+When Martin Luther died in 1546, Katharina was left in difficult financial straits without Luther's salary as [[professor]] and [[pastor]], even though she owned land, properties, and the Black Cloister. She had been counselled by Martin Luther to move out of the old abbey and sell it after his death, and move into much more modest quarters with the children who remained at home, but she refused.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bring |first=Johan Theophil |title=The Wife and Home of Luther |year=1917 |location=Stockholm}}</ref> Luther had named her his sole heir in his last will. His will could not be executed, however, because it did not conform with Saxon law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kopp |first=Eduard |title=Adlige und Nonne – Gärtnerin, Brauerin, Köchin und Finanzvorstand im Hause Luther |trans-title=Noblewoman and Nun: Gardener, Brewer, Cook, and Financial Director of the Luther Household |url=https://www.luther2017.de/wiki/katharina-tag/zupackend-und-streitbar-luthers-herr-kaethe/index.html |website=Luther 2017 |language=de}}</ref>
 Almost immediately after, Katharina had to leave the [[Lutherhaus|Black Cloister]], now called ''Lutherhaus'', by herself, at the outbreak of the [[Schmalkaldic War]], fleeing to [[Magdeburg]]. After she returned, the approaching war forced another flight in 1547, this time to [[Braunschweig]]. In July 1547, at the close of the war, she was able to return to Wittenberg.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 By the time of Katharina's death, the surviving Luther children were adults. After Katharina's death, the [[Lutherhaus|Black Cloister]] was sold back to the university in 1564 by his heirs.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
-Margareta Luther, born in [[Wittenberg]] on 27 December 1534, married into a noble, wealthy [[Prussia]]n family, to [[George von Kunheim|Georg von Kunheim]] ([[Wehlau]], 1 July 1523 – [[Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast|Mühlhausen]] {{bracket|now Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast}}, 18 October 1611, the son of Georg von Kunheim {{bracket|1480–1543}} and wife Margarethe, Truchsessin von Wetzhausen {{bracket|1490–1527}}) but died in Mühlhausen in 1570 at the age of thirty-six.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Margaretha-von-Kunheim/6000000007442038318|title=Margaretha von Kunheim|website=geni_family_tree|date=17 December 1534 |language=en-US|access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref> Her descendants have continued to modern times, including German President [[Paul von Hindenburg]] (1847–1934) and the Counts zu [[Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg|Eulenburg]] and Princes zu Eulenburg and Hertefeld.<ref>Hindenburg, Marshal von (1921). ''Out of my life''. '''1'''. Translated by F. A. Holt. New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 1–19.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gC93bLKtMqMC&q=margareta+luther&pg=PA284|title=Church Schism & Corruption|last=Maseko|first=Achim|publisher=Lulu.com|year=2008|isbn=9781409221869|location=Durban, South Africa|pages=284|language=en}}{{self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}}
+Margareta Luther, born in [[Wittenberg]] on 27 December 1534, married into a noble, wealthy [[Prussia]]n family, to [[George von Kunheim|Georg von Kunheim]] ([[Wehlau]], 1 July 1523 – [[Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast|Mühlhausen]] {{bracket|now Gvardeyskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast}}, 18 October 1611, the son of Georg von Kunheim {{bracket|1480–1543}} and wife Margarethe, Truchsessin von Wetzhausen {{bracket|1490–1527}}) but died in Mühlhausen in 1570 at the age of thirty-six.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Margaretha-von-Kunheim/6000000007442038318|title=Margaretha von Kunheim|website=geni_family_tree|date=17 December 1534 |language=en-US|access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref>
 ==Commemoration==
-Katharina von Bora is commemorated on 20 December in the [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of some [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches in the [[United States]].<ref>Lutheran Service Book, xiii. Concordia Publishing House, 2006.</ref> In 2022, she was officially added to the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church liturgical calendar]] with a feast day on 20 December.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Convention Virtual Binder |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=www.vbinder.net |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913143652/https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+Katharina von Bora is commemorated on 20 December in the [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of some [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches in the [[United States]].<ref>Lutheran Service Book, xiii. Concordia Publishing House, 2006.</ref> In 2022, she was officially added to the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church liturgical calendar]] with a feast day on 20 December.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Convention Virtual Binder |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |access-date=22 July 2022 |website=www.vbinder.net |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913143652/https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 In addition to a statue in Wittenberg and several biographies, [[Katharina von Bora (opera)|an opera of her life]] now keeps her memory alive.
@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 [[Category:Cistercian nuns]]
 [[Category:16th-century German Roman Catholic nuns]]
-[[Category:Martin Luther family]]
+[[Category:Family of Martin Luther]]
-[[Category:16th-century German women]]
 [[Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar]]
 [[Category:Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism]]

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