The last Sunday in October is traditionally Reformation Sunday in protestant churches, looking back at the reformation of the Christian faith in the 16th century, spearheaded by Martin Luther and the 95 theses he nailed to the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Our church will be having a reformation service on October, 27th, largely lead by music, and I thought I would take a look at some of the music that will appear on that service.
Outside of being a famous theologian, Martin Luther was also a prolific hymn writer. This song, Auß tieffer noth schrei ich zu dir (Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee) is a paraphrase of Psalm 130 done in 1524. This video is all performed on period accurate instruments and style, giving a look into what it may have sounded like when it was performed in Martin Luther’s time.
This particular video does have a certain imagery in mind for this song, told by the fact that the singer is meant to represent Katharina von Bora – the wife of Martin Luther.
The life of Katharina is quite interesting. She was given to the cloister of Saint Clemens in Brehna to be raised as a nun from a very young age. Very little is known about her time there, before she wrote a letter to Martin Luther – who was gaining fame and notoriety for opposing the church – to ask for his help as she and eleven other nuns wished to escape the convent.
This was no small request. It was, in fact, illegal to help a nun leave the monastic life. However, this law could only be upheld in the region where the offense was made. Luther was quite certain that if he brought the nuns to Wittenberg then Frederick III – the ruling force there – would not care to prosecute him for the crime.
Thankfully, Luther was correct in this and, after smuggling the nuns there, set about helping them pursue life outside the monastery. At the time, the best way to secure a good life for these women was to find them a husband. Unfortunately, Katharina was unsatisfied with two different matches he attempted to give her and she was quoted as saying that she would “only marry Amsdorf or Luther, but preferred Luther.”
Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora, Lucas Cranach the Elder
Luther had not considered marriage for himself, even though he obviously advocated for the marriage of former priests and nuns. He was, after all, a heretic and outlaw, the figure head of a movement, and didn’t want to inflict all of that on a wife. However, he eventually capitulated, and gave three reasons for his marriage: “to please his father, to spite the pope and the Devil, and to seal his witness before martyrdom.”
Being married to Martin Luther did lead to a very busy and difficult life for Katharina, and while the marriage seemed to stem from more convenience than affection, there is evidence to say a love did grow between them. Luther would refer to her as “Doctor Luther,” “My Lord Katie,” and “My Katie,” and her affection is shown how she cared for him and willing bore the burden of running their homestead.
Aside from their six children and Luther’s innumerable guests constantly at their house, Katharina also ran a home brewery, managed a small farm, cultivated an orchard, created a fishpond, and had hens, ducks, cows and pigs (all of which she also slaughtered and dressed herself).
The choice of the musicksmonument musicians to make Katharina van Bora to be the one singing this hymn is a fascinating one and led myself (and hopefully you!) on a very interesting journey finding out who she was. There’s any number of reasons why she may have been chosen as the figure for this hymn, as she did not lead an easy life, but perhaps it is the moment after Luther’s death. She was left a widow for the last six years of her life, where she even had to struggle to get the pension she deserved. She is certainly an unsung hero of the reformation movement.
Sources
Comments