Katharina von Bora (1499–1552) was the devoted wife of Reformation leader Martin Luther.
She was born in Germany in January 1499. No records exist to exactly who her parents were, but the “von” in her name indicates that they were untitled and of a lesser nobility.
When Katharina was 5, her father sent her to a Benedictine convent. She was moved to the convent of Marienthron and at 16 became a nun. After several years she embraced Martin Luther’s anti-monastic beliefs. In 1523, she and eight other nuns escaped the convent with Martin’s help by hiding in a covered wagon that was delivering fish. They fled to Wittenberg.
Since no relatives would take them in, Martin became responsible for them. He arranged marriages for almost everyone except for 24-year-old Katharina. She stayed with two other families until Martin proposed to her.
‘Faithful wife’
Martin and Katharina were married on June 13, 1525. Martin was 41 and Katharina was 26.
Katharina was an admirable wife, helpmate and nurse to Martin. He wrote to a friend, “I have a pious and faithful wife in whom the heart of her husband doth safely trust.”
Katharina always called Martin “Herr Doctor,” which was the custom of the time. He often addressed her as “Mrs. Doctor” and “my rib, Kate.” She was at his side while he worked and studied. She often copied his manuscripts for the press and urged him to answer his letters.
Luther suffered a lot during their marriage. Katharina nursed him through his attacks of rheumatism, violent vertigo, dysentery, headaches and pulmonary problems.
Sorrows
Katharina was a gentle, caring mother. She bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), Elisabeth (1527–1528), Magdalena (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), Paul (1533–1593) and Margarete (1534–1570). Elisabeth died within a year. Magdalena died at 13. Their deaths brought great sorrow to both parents. Katharina also raised four orphaned children.
She kept her home clean and orderly and was prudent and thrifty in her household affairs. Martin was very generous with money, helping his poor relatives and entertaining strangers. He took expensive journeys for the Reformation, charged no fees for his lectures and rejected all offers of money.
After Martin died in 1546, Katharina was destitute and had to ask friends for money. In 1552, when the plague broke out in Wittenberg, she fell out of her carriage into a ditch of water, breaking her hip and contracting an unknown disease. Her weakened condition led to her death on Dec. 20. An immense crowd attended her funeral. Since women could not be buried in the church, she is not buried next to her husband in the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Her tomb is at Saint Mary’s Church in Torgau, Germany.
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