Catharine, a Widow—Her Support—Sufferings—Journeys—Death.
No one was more deeply distressed at his death than the mourning widow.
For more than twenty years she had lived with him in uninterrupted
harmony; had sought to alleviate his sufferings, and had shared his
joys; and she was not permitted to see him die nor minister to his last
wants! Even if he did die among friends, yet she was not there to smooth
his pillow and to perform those tender offices which an affectionate
wife alone knows how to do. When on the 22d of February the corpse was
conveyed to Wittenberg and deposited in the castle church, and all the
inhabitants of the city went to meet the melancholy procession, there
stood Catharine weeping, and with her children looked on her deceased
husband.
She survived him nearly seven years, and cherished his memory most
affectionately. Though his enemies assailed him most virulently when he
was no longer present to defend himself, yet she never allowed her
affection to cool nor her interest in his work and reputation to abate.
The black velvet cloth which had covered the funeral car came into the
possession of the widow, and for many years it was preserved among
Luther’s posterity as a valuable memento. Neither did the Elector forget
her. He wrote her a letter of condolence, in which he sought to comfort
her on the grounds of the happy death of her husband, and the secret,
wise councils of God. At the same time, he repeated his assurances of
his protection of her and her children.
Although Luther had expressed a desire that Catharine should remove from
Wittenberg, fearing that after his death she might not be able to
support herself there, yet induced by good reasons, she resolved to
spend the remainder of her days in that place; for where could she
expect to find better friends than in Wittenberg? Bugenhagen, Cruciger,
Melanchthon, and others, were still living, who were her counsellors and
comforters; and Wittenberg was also the place where her sons had already
begun their education, and where they could most advantageously finish
it.
Luther had, some time before his death, made ample provision, consisting
of various kinds of property, for his wife,[16] which she was to hold
independent of her children, in the event of her remaining a widow. In
the document conveying it to her he speaks of her in the most exalted
terms as a pious woman, a faithful wife, and an affectionate mother. The
property thus left was far from being sufficient to maintain the widow
and her children. The Elector of Saxony, agreeably to his promise,
contributed to her support. The dukes of Mansfeld and the King of
Denmark also liberally came to her help. The Elector, John Frederick, of
Saxony, who had already paid the funeral expenses, thus wrote to Dr.
Schurf, Professor of Medicine and Rector of the University: “And as we
have heard that the widow of the sainted Luther is in need of pecuniary
assistance, ... we send you by this messenger 100 gold Groschen for her
use.” He also wrote to Cruciger and Melanchthon, the guardians of the
children, to select a teacher for the two younger sons, Martin and Paul,
with whom they should also board. He directed that with regard to the
oldest son, John, they should wait six months longer, to ascertain
whether he was inclined or qualified to study a learned profession, and
if not, the Elector promised to give him employment in his palace as a
clerk or secretary.[17] To enable the guardians to execute his wishes
with regard to the children, the Elector sent them 2000 guilders. He
likewise afterwards sent the same sum to the widow. The dukes of
Mansfeld, for whose benefit Luther had undertaken many journeys and
suffered much trouble, were not behind; in the same year they
established a fund of 2000 guilders for the benefit of the widow and
children, from which they drew an annual interest of 100 guilders. Part
of the capital only was paid, for when Catharine died, in 1552, 1000
guilders still stood to her credit. The year after Luther’s death,
Christian III., King of Denmark, transferred for her benefit 50 dollars,
the remainder of a sum which he had previously granted to Luther and
several of his friends. Catharine wrote to the King, expressing her
profound gratitude for this act of benevolence.
But she was soon called on to experience additional sorrows. The
Smalcald War had already broken out in 1546, which brought desolation
into many peaceful and happy families. Catharine did not escape the
general calamity. The Elector, John Frederick, who would certainly have
done more for her, was taken prisoner at the battle of Muhlberg, April
24, 1547; Wittenberg was besieged on the 5th of May, and on the 25th,
Charles V., with his Spanish troops, entered the city as conqueror. All
the faithful subjects of the Elector, and many persons who had embraced
the doctrines of the Reformation, had left before the siege. The widow
of the Reformer, with her children, could not possibly remain behind.
She accompanied Dr. George Major, Professor of Theology, to Magdeburg,
and thence, sustained by the town council of Helmstadt, she went under
Melanchthon’s protection to Brunswick, from whence Dr. Major was to
conduct her to Copenhagen. Here she expected further protection and
support from the King of Denmark, as her illustrious benefactor, the
Elector of Saxony, could no longer assist her. But she did not proceed
farther than Gifhorn, near Brunswick; for a proclamation appeared
promising a safe return and the secure possession of their property to
all who had left the country. It seemed best to her, as well as to
Melanchthon, to return to the home she had abandoned. But her life, from
this period, was an unbroken series of sorrows. The assistance she had
formerly received from the liberality of the Elector was withdrawn; the
annual contribution of the King of Denmark—although he had promised
further help—had not been sent since 1548, and her small real estate was
loaded with taxes. It would have been difficult for her to support
herself and four children if she had not, some time subsequently,
mortgaged her little farm at Zillsdorff for 400 guilders, and pawned
some silver-ware for 600 guilders. She also rented out several rooms in
her house, as her husband had done, and boarded the occupants, and thus
she contrived to gain a meagre subsistence.
In the beginning of the year 1548, she travelled with Melanchthon to
Leipzig, in order to solicit from the imperial assessor some diminution
of the oppressive war tax. Melanchthon also wrote to the King of
Denmark, entreating him to continue the annual contribution which he
made during Luther’s lifetime. Bugenhagen wrote similar letters to his
Majesty, begging him, for Luther’s sake, to come to the help of “the
poor widow and her children.” But as these repeated appeals were
fruitless, she herself wrote to him, October 6, 1550. In this letter,
she calls to his mind the services which her illustrious husband had
rendered to the cause of Christianity, and his Majesty’s former
liberality to him. In pathetic terms she represents her destitute
condition and the severity of the times, occasioned by the existing
wars. She says, “Your Imperial Majesty is the only king on earth to whom
we poor Christians can fly for protection, and God will doubtless richly
reward your Majesty for the kindness you have bestowed on poor Christian
preachers and their widows and children.” This letter did not
immediately produce the desired result. Two years afterwards, when most
sorely pressed by want, she repeated her entreaty, and wrote again. In
this letter she complains of her forsaken condition, and declares that
she had been more unkindly treated by professed friends than enemies.
She writes in a deeply desponding tone, and seems to be on the brink of
despair. Bugenhagen seconded this appeal to the King, and it was
successful; a contribution was received which relieved her immediate
wants and comforted her desponding heart.
Luther’s exalted merits were not always recognized, at least, not in the
way in which they should have been. The widow of the man who conferred
favors on thousands at the expense of extraordinary self-sacrifice,
often pined in misery, and paid the severe penalty of his
disinterestedness and liberality. With much truth could it be said in a
discourse commemorative of her virtues: “During the war she wandered
from place to place with her orphan children, enduring the most trying
privations and perils, and, besides the numerous trials of her
widowhood, she also encountered much ingratitude from many, and she was
often shamefully deceived by those even from whom she had a right to
expect kindnesses on account of the inappreciable services of her
husband to the Church.”
After the peace of Passau (July 31, 1552), security was re-established
for the Protestants, and the former elector of Saxony was restored to
liberty.
About this time a contagious disease broke out in Wittenberg, and all
the members of the University removed to Torgau. Catharine also
determined to leave the place with her two younger sons, Martin and Paul
(John was studying at Konigsberg), and her only daughter, Margaret, was
to follow them a short time after. On the journey the horses became
unmanageable and ran away with the carriage. Catharine, more concerned
about the children than her own safety, and with the hope of
facilitating their escape, leaped out of the vehicle and fell violently
into a ditch full of water. This painful accident gave such a severe
shock to her system that she was conveyed to Torgau in a very weak
condition, where she took her bed and never left it alive. Her illness
increased from day to day, and soon assumed the decided character of
consumption. Two months after, December 20, 1552, she died in the 54th
year of her age. Her funeral was attended by an immense crowd of
persons. The professors, students, and citizens, united in
demonstrations of respect for the deceased widow of the illustrious
reformer.
During the whole period of her sickness, she comforted herself with the
promises of God’s word. She heartily prayed for a peaceful departure out
of this vale of tears. She frequently commended the Church and her
children to the continued protection of God, and her daily supplication
was that the true doctrine, which the Lord had given to the world
through her deceased husband, might be transmitted uncorrupted to
posterity.
A plain monument in the _city church_ of Torgau designates the place
where her remains repose. On the monument or tombstone there is a
recumbent statue, the size of life, with an open Bible pressed to the
heart. The inscription is, Anno 1552, den 20 December. Ist in Gott selig
entschlaffen alhier Zu Torgau Herrn D. Martin Luther’s Seligen
hinterlassene Wittwe Katharina von Bora.