The real challenge of herstory

I vividly remember my day in Wittenburg, Germany. My husband and I had taken the train from Berlin in order to see the sights connected with the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Sure, most people who travel to Wittenburg are there to learn about Martin Luther, to stand at the church door where he nailed his 95 Theses, which rather than leading to profitable theological conversation, eventually resulted in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church and subsequently going into hiding.

But I had made this pilgrimage to learn more about Katharina von Bora. Previously a nun, she left the convent after hearing about Luther’s views on God and the church. Who was she, I wondered, as I toured Lutherhaus, the home she later ran with skilled attention and keen oversight once she and Luther married?

A statue in her honor stands outside of the family home and many exhibits throughout praise Katharina for her work: apparently she knew how to stretch a lean budget, entertain endless house guests, and raise several children, all while supporting the man we credit with changing the course of Christian history.