If ever there were a power behind the throne, none was
stronger than Katharina von Bora, or "Dear Kate," as Luther
described his beloved wife. Her story is full of drama: Born of a noble but
poor family, Katharina was only three when she was sent away to school and
eventually took vows to become a nun. In April 1523, with the Reformation well
under way, Katharina and 11 of her fellow nuns hid in a wagon and escaped from
their Cistercian convent. Once the wagon arrived in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, she
was taken in by the family of none other than Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Although Katharina was courted by two men, she married
neither. In the end, she said that she would only marry Martin Luther or his
friend, Nicholas von Amsdorf.
Philipp Melanchthon, one of Luther's closest friends,
was shocked at the idea of Luther marrying; he believed a wedding would cause a
scandal that could severely damage the Reformation and its cause. On the other
hand, Luther's father supported his son, as did Cranach. After pondering the
matter for some time, Luther decided that "his marriage would please his
father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep."
The result was the joining of a 42-year-old former monk and a 26-year-old
former nun in holy matrimony on June 13, 1525.
By all accounts, it was a happy and affectionate
marriage. Luther wrote that he loved waking up to see pigtails on the pillow
next to him. He also admired Katharina's intellect, calling her "Doctora
Lutherin." She bore six children, ran the household, and organized the
family finances. Their home was in Lutherstadt Wittenberg's Black Monastery,
the former Augustinian monastery where Luther had lived before the Reformation
began.
Katharina grew much of what they ate in her own
private garden, raised livestock, cooked, and – perhaps most famously – brewed
her own beer. To boost their income, she made good use of the extra rooms in
the former monastery, opening a medieval guest house and offering room and
board to as many as 30 paying students and visitors at a time. Katharina was
trusted in ways unheard of for women in those days. Luther allowed her to deal
with his publishers and made her his sole heir. Although we know little of
Katharina's own views about her unusual life, we do know that she loved her
husband deeply. While fleeing the plague in Lutherstadt Wittenberg in 1552,
Katharina died in Torgau after a terrible accident with her wagon and horses.
She was 53 years old.
These notes are below the YouTube video.
Mijn hert
altijt heeft verlanghen
naer u
die alder liefste mijn.
U liefde
heeft my ontfanghen,
u eyghen
willick zijn.
Voor al
de werelt ghemeene,
soe wie
dat hoort oft ziet,
hebdy
mijn herte alleene:
daer om,
lief, en begheeft mi niet.
O meu coração suspira sempre
por ti minha amada.
O teu amor prendeu-me
e eu quero oferecer-me assim como sou
e mostrar essa realidade a toda a gente
de modo que quem veja ou ouça
saiba que só tu tens o meu coração.
Por isso, a amor não me faltará.
O interesse pela relação amorosa de Lutero por Katharina von Bora motivou-me a tentar esta tradução caseira, a partir de uma tradução inglesa. A Igreja Católica deveria retirar a excomunhão a um dos reformadores da instituição, a bem do ecumenismo.
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