Luther and Katharina
Page 36
“And I love you, Martin Luther.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I would like to be able to tell you that Martin Luther and Katharina never faced any more hardships together. But the pages of their twenty-plus years of marriage are riddled with one difficulty after another, including poverty, plague, and the threat of war against the Turks. Two of their five children died, and those losses affected both of them very deeply. Katharina’s biggest challenge was in doctoring her husband. He continued to suffer from a myriad of illnesses, including bouts of depression, attacks of dizziness, and kidney stones.
In addition to the personal losses and health issues, Luther and Katharina faced continual religious persecution throughout the rest of their lives. The pope and the Holy Roman Emperor thought that the blood of the Peasants’ War had extinguished the fire of the Reformation. However, it wasn’t long before the flames burst forth again throughout Germany with greater power and brightness than before.
In 1526, not long after the birth of their first son, Hans, the elector and a number of other princes formed the Evangelical Alliance. They finally gave the Reformation and the gospel their allegiance in a move that likely wouldn’t have happened had Luther sided with the peasants during the Peasants’ War. He had alienated himself from the peasant class but in doing so had preserved the success of the Reformation.
Also shortly after the birth of Luther’s son, the princes declared that it was absolutely impossible for them to execute the Edict of Worms because of their fear of the turmoil it would bring throughout their provinces. They asked the emperor to dispense with the edict once and for all. Although the edict of death against Martin Luther was not done away with altogether, it was suspended. For the next few years, while the emperor Charles V was busy fighting to suppress France, the pope, and the Turks, finally the Reformation had a respite from the intense persecution it had faced earlier. During these years most of northern Germany became Lutheran.
Although Luther gained the support of the leaders, the followers of the Reformation still faced perils and threats every day. In response to the dangers, Luther said, “Our chief labor is prayer; let the people know that they are now exposed to the edge of the sword and to the rage of Satan, and let them pray.”
After reading a book like this, you may be wondering how much of the story is true to history and how much I added for interest. In any work of historical fiction, a writer must start with the framework of facts and then add many more details to bring about an enjoyable, entertaining story. So what really happened?
Most of it! Katharina did escape from her convent in the back of a wagon. She made it to Wittenberg and was placed in the home of the Reichenbachs, where she met Jerome Baumgartner. He promised to marry her but then left, and she never heard from him again. In the meantime she went to live with the Cranachs and learned from Barbara how to run a large home. Eventually she was the only one of the Marienthron nuns left in Wittenberg. The pressure for her to marry increased until Luther arranged the match with Dr. Glatz. Katharina opposed the match and declared she would rather marry Doctor Luther. Amazingly enough, their betrothal night was witnessed by Jonas. They had a separate church ceremony two weeks later, and their wedding night was interrupted by the arrival of Luther’s old friend-turned-enemy, Karlstadt. They took in many guests and lived in constant danger, and Luther truly believed he would be captured and burned at the stake any day.
Most of the characters, including Melanchthon, Jonas, Pastor Bugenhagen, Wolfgang, Aunt Lena, Abbot Baltazar, and the Cranachs, were real people, who are recorded in history. I invented only a few for this story, including Greta, Thomas, and Brother Gabriel. I’ve also tried to the best of my ability to portray the essence of Martin Luther’s personality and have used many of his famous quotes throughout the book. In addition, I’ve attempted to capture the social, political, and religious climate of the tumultuous times surrounding the Reformation and the Peasants’ War.
Was Katharina kidnapped and returned to Marienthron for a short while? Were attempts made to poison Luther? Did Aunt Lena suffer such horrible abuses? These are from this writer’s imagination. We will never know all the details and intrigues of their lives, but it is certainly interesting to imagine what could have happened. Avid medieval and Lutheran experts will need to forgive me for the select liberties I took for the sake of creating the plot as well as condensing time and events.
Through all the hardships, Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina, enjoyed more than twenty years of marriage together. Luther truly did love Katharina with all his heart. In a letter to one of his friends, Luther said of his wife, “Kate, my rib, greets you, whom, in my poverty, I would not exchange for all the wealth of Croesus.”
Katharina stood beside Luther, strengthened him, and helped forge him into one of the greatest heroes history has ever known. May her story encourage and inspire you to treasure those God has given you.
READERS GUIDE
1. Katharina and the other nuns risked their lives to leave the convent. What were some of the factors that motivated them to attempt such a dangerous escape?
2. Like the nuns, have you ever faced a tough choice between staying safe in the life you’ve always known versus moving out of your comfort zone into something unknown, risky, and perhaps even scary? What was the experience like?
3. Luther encouraged other former monks and nuns to get married, and he proclaimed the goodness of marriage. Did you respect Luther’s reasons for not wanting a wife or family for himself? Why do you think he changed his stance?
4. As you think about the prevalence of cloistered life in the Middle Ages and of all the many men and women who became monks and nuns, what were some of the benefits of such a life? And what were some of the problems?
5. What expectations did the nuns have about what life would be like for them in the “real world”? What were some of the realities they faced once they left the convent?
6. Sometimes we have high expectations for what our lives should be like, but the reality of our experiences doesn’t always live up to those expectations. Have you ever faced disappointment when something didn’t turn out the way you thought it would?
7. Luther was torn over who to support during the Peasants’ War: the peasants or the princes. Whom did he eventually side with? Do you think he made the right choice? Why or why not?
8. Have you ever made a tough choice that you later questioned or regretted? What kind of repercussions did you face as a result of that choice?
9. Katharina and Luther had their own battle of the classes going on—one that mirrored that of the princes and peasants. During the Middle Ages, class differences were often considered “God-ordained” so marrying outside of one’s social class was rare. Did anything surprise you about the class system of that time? Why is such a rigid system difficult for us to understand in our modern times? What examples can we see now of class differences in society?
10. What were some of the abuses of the Church of Rome (the Catholic Church) at that time? What were some of the ways Luther and his followers tried to make changes?
11. Luther felt like he was a disappointment to his father. He didn’t think he could live up to his father’s expectations. Have you ever disappointed anyone in your family or failed to live up to expectations? How did that make you feel?
12. Were you surprised by the very last scene, either by the person who was sabotaging Luther or the person who ended up rescuing Katharina?
13. Katharina struggled to let go of customs, traditions, and titles. She was accustomed to the accepted way of doing things, both socially and religiously. Why is it so hard for people to accept new ways of doing things?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Hedlund is a best-selling author and winner of multiple awards including the Carol Award for Historical Fiction and the Award of Excellence. Jody comes from a strong Lutheran background, having both a father and uncle as Lutheran ministers. She also attended Lutheran middle school and
high school and was always fascinated by the stories of Martin Luther that she learned every year in catechism classes.
She received a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, both in social work. She lives in Midland, Michigan, with her husband and five busy children. Find Jody online at www.jodyhedlund.com.