BORA, CATERINA VON

BORA, CATERINA von. – Born into a noble but impoverished family at Klein-Laussig on 29 January 1499, at the age of ten she was placed with the Cistercian nuns of the monastery of Nimbschen, where she professed in 1515. She was among the twelve nuns who, following the preaching of the new doctrines, left the monastery at the instigation of Leonhard Koppe, a member of the Torgau Council, and with eight companions took refuge in Wittenberg on 7 April 1523. Katharina was taken in by the mayor F. Reichenbach, while her companions were housed by other families in the city. Through her cunning, she managed to ingratiate herself with Luther, who, without further delay, married her on the evening of 13 June 1525 in the presence of some friends, and on the 27th celebrated the public wedding feast according to local custom. The marriage of a friar to a professed nun caused a stir, and Luther found himself compelled to explain his sudden decision. Katharina was a prudent and diligent housewife despite her pride of caste; between 1526 and 1534 she bore Luther six children: Giovanna, Elisabetta (who died at eight months), Maddalena (who died at thirteen), Martino, Paolo, and Margherita, none of whom rose above modest mediocrity. Reduced to straits after Luther’s death, Katharina moved to Torgau, where she died on 20 December 1552.