Katie Luther, First Lady of the Reformation

July 17, 2017
On the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Tucker (From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya) brings readers this biography of Katharina von Bora (or “Katie” Luther), whose life—while not as well documented as her husband’s—was just as unpredictable as his. Katie was sent to a convent at the age of five, escaped when she was 24, was jilted in love, and then eventually chose her own husband, but not out of passion—the former nun needed somewhere to go, and Luther needed to silence his critics and show support for clerical marriage. Despite this, it appears that the match proved mutually beneficial as well as convenient. Tucker uses letters by Luther and his contemporaries along with research about life in 16th-century Wittenberg to create a picture of Katie as a strong-minded woman who defied convention, ran a business, raised children, and served as wife to a husband creating scandal with his writings and teachings against the Catholic Church. The portrait that emerges is mostly speculative, and Tucker peppers the book with qualifying statements. Readers interested in the marriage of Luther and Katie and willing to use their imaginations will find much here.

August 1, 2017

Apart from a few historical scraps, we know very few details about the life of Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), wife of Protestant reformer Martin Luther. With this account, independent scholar Tucker (From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya) has two aims: to provide a fuller expression of Katharina, and to explain why so little of her history is left to us. Tucker accomplishes the former by reviewing letters to or about Katharina and interpolating from the lives of her contemporaries, such as reformation supporters Katherine Zell, Argula von Grumbach, and Renee of Fererra. The result is something of a historical cameo of Katharina and her times, if not a full biography. This prompts Tucker's second question and the tentative conclusion that Katharina was ignored because she did not fit the mold of a pious wife. VERDICT Tucker's thoughtful exploration of Katharina von Bora provides those curious about the Protestant Reformation and women's studies a sympathetic view of a neglected life.--JW

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