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, at the preaching of the new doctrines, left the monastery at the urging of Leonardo Koppe, a member of the Council of Torgau, and with eight companions took refuge in Wittenberg on 7 April 1523. B. was received into the house of the burgomaster F. Reichenbach, while her companions found shelter with other families of the city. By her arts she succeeded in winning the good graces of Luther, who, casting aside all delay, married her on the evening of 13 June 1525 in the presence of a few friends, and on the 27th celebrated the public wedding feast according to the customs of the place. The marriage of a friar to a professed nun caused a stir, and Luther found himself compelled to explain his sudden resolution. B. was a prudent and diligent housewife, notwithstanding her pride of caste; between 1526 and 1534 she bore Luther six children: Giovanna, Elisabetta, who died at eight months, Maddalena, who died at 13 years, Martino, Paolo and Margherita, who did not rise above the most modest mediocrity. Reduced to straitened circumstances after Luther's death, B. repaired to Torgau, where she died on 20 December 1552.

Pio Pecchini