This is the historic and romantic love story of Martin Luther and Katharina Von Bora.
A very long time ago, over 500 years, a baby was born in a place called Eisleben, Germany. Hans and Margarethe Luder christened their baby son Martin, so named after St. Martin. The time period was November of 1483.
The Luder family was very poor, but they were happy. Hans' father had been involved with farming, but in order to provide more for his family, Hans went into the copper mining business. Margarethe, despite having been born into a rather influential family, carried her share of the workload for the family they were starting. The family surname was changed to the English spelling of Luther.
Sixteen years after Martin's birth, a baby girl was born to an insolvent noble named Hans von Bora and his wife, Katharina. The little girl was also christened Katharina and began attending a convent school at age 5, after her mother's early death. By the time she was 16, in the year 1515, Katharina became a nun.
In the meantime, the young man Martin Luther had graduated with a B.A. degree in Law. His parents had wished for Martin to become an attorney, but in 1505, Martin made a choice. His decisions was to become a monk.
Many things happened in Martin's life for the next decade or so, and until it was all said and done, and as history reports, Martin Luther left the life of a monk behind.
Enter the year 1523. Katharina and a few other nuns decided to flee the convent. Places were found for them to stay. A few gentlemen courted Katharina, but there were no sparks. It is said Katharina stated that she would only marry Dr. Martin Luther and no other man.
How thrilled she must have been, when in June of 1525, she and Martin did indeed become engaged! It is reported, however, that Katharina questioned herself and her rapid acceptance. She realized that her every move would be scrutinized and reflect on her husband. Katharina finally decided that it must be what God wanted and the wedding took place immediately. The groom at this time, was age 42 and his bride 26.
It is said that Katharina brought peace and order to Martin's life. I'm sure there were problems like any other relationship has to endure, however. Martin was extremely generous, and much to Katharina's dismay, he sometimes gave things away to others to the point of he and Katharina not having enough to get by.
Martin bestowed some titles upon his "Katie", as he called her, one of them being "boss." She worked hard and stood beside her husband as he continued preaching.
A son was born to this union one year after the marriage. He was named Johannes, known as Hans. By the end of 1527, a daughter christened Elisabeth joined the family, but died just eight months later. In the spring of 1529, Magdalena was born and lived 13 years Two sons followed in 1531 and 1533, and a daughter, Margarethe was born in 1534.
Martin Luther died in February of 1546 at the age of 62 years, and when his youngest child was only twelve years of age. The death had a severe impact on Katharina. There was little income for her. A trust was set up for the children and helped Katharina to buy a farm. There were many trials for Katie after Martin's death, but none so devastating to her as the thought of her family not being together.
Her fears became reality when it was threatened that her sons should be taken away, and her financial problems worsened. When war broke out, Katie was forced to flee with her family. She returned later to find her home in ruins. Katie had to once again go into debt. She must have missed her Martin more than ever at that particular time.
Katharina decided to leave Wittenberg in 1552. On her journey, she was thrown from her carriage, and due to the hardships of her life, and her sadness since Martin's departure, she didn't have the strength that was necessary to recover. After a valiant fight that lasted months, Katie joined her beloved Martin just a month before her 54th birthday.
