Rudolf K. Markwald and Marilyn Morris Markwald wrote Katharina von Bora: A Reformation Life. It is an easy to read book that has become a classic reference work for anyone interested in Katharina. She “was a talented and knowledgeable wife, mother, and advocate for evangelical reforms. Acquainted with tragedy and grief she exhibited a deep spirituality in her private and family life as she encouraged her husband in times of desperation and doubt and provided for the numerous students and guests too Wittenberg and the parsonage.” This remarkable book can be found with other biographies on the library shelves under the number B/LUT.

Katharina Von Bora by Rudolf K Markwald and Melissa Morris Markwald.. Epiphany library section 2 D: Reformation/Lutheran History. I am so pleased that I recently swapped for this wonderful, newer book about Martin Luther’s wife, Katharina, his beloved Katie. Few books have been written about her before. Who was Katie von Bora? She was not wealthy but was of minor nobility and had absorbed noble ideas and customs. Born on a small estate or farm, she was sent during her childhood to an abbey school, and there she was meant to become a nun for the rest of her life. There she was housed, fed and taught the basics of faith. She might have heard an occasional sermon and learned to read a little Latin. She loved the long and sincere prayers of the abbey – later in life she remarked that she missed those prayers. She would have learned anything having to do with communal living from cooking to animal husbandry to medicinals. She had special skills in treating the sick.
At some point she wanted to escape convent life. Escaped nuns could be returned to the convent by force (it was illegal to escape), so it was an act of courage and compassion for Luther to arrange the escape of Katie and half a dozen other nuns. Luther returned them to their parents or found husbands for them all, except for Katie. Finally, he married her himself and not without regret – he expected he’d be charged with heresy for his teachings, arrested and executed. He grew to respect, esteem, and finally to love her. They had several children; at least one died and they mourned these losses together.
Katie made a clean, comfortable home for Luther, whose mind was generally not on good housekeeping. While he was generous to the point of bankruptcy with those in need, she watched every penny and began to charge nominal fees for all the guests who constantly stayed with the Luther family. Katie made the family’s beer, and had a farm outside of town where she raised animals and grew grain. She probably knew about beekeeping, food preservation and 1000 other things a woman of that time needed to know. She was independent-minded, patient, and alas, sometimes her words got her into trouble. She knew how to manage, how to stretch a taler. She nursed the ill and comforted the grieving. She treated Luther’s many health problems. When Luther had his table talks with visiting students and theologians, she was at ease with visitors, and would often add her two cents while serving at table.
Against the backdrop of Martin and Katie’s lives, religious and political wars necessitated severe tax levies on the common people, and plagues and other scourges swept away vast populations. After Luther’s death Katie had little money and had to beg for funds from the local princes for living expenses. She was a survivor and fought for her children’s futures. She died at age 53 after a fall from a wagon, as her family tried to escape yet another plague. Life was hard for Katie Luther, but she clung to Christ like a “burr on a dress.” Far from considering her his “little woman,” Luther called Katie his empress, and valued her loyalty and trustworthiness. This book brings Katie to life! ( )