Woman and the Protestant Reformation

"Women in Black Too: The untold Story of Women and the Reformation" Stephen J. Nichols Research Professor of Christianity and Culture Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School Lancaster, Pennsylvania JBMW | Spring 2011

"Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Conrad Grebel, Menno Simons, Thomas Cranmer, John Bunyan, Jeremiah Burroughs - all of them have at least one thing in common. They're all men. When the story of the Reformation gets told, it's typically their story. There is another story to be told, however - the inspiring story of the courage and fortitude of the women of the Reformation. Their too often untold story needs to be heard. " Nichols The author gives two categories for women of the Reformation. The first that he discusses is the wives of the reformists of the era. We have heard of the men, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Conrad Grebel, to name a few. The wife of each of these leaders was expected to fulfill the traditional role of women, such as maintaining their household, and raising children. Some of these remarkable women were a true faith partner with their husband in the work of Reformation theology. Katharina von Bora, married to Martin Luther, had the unusual task of dealing with her husband's publishers and finances, abnormal for the era. She was also his sole heir despite the fact that they had six children, unique for that time. Although we think of the Reformation as a time of enlightened thought, that 'light' did not shine equally upon both genders. The published works from that era are almost exclusively of male origin. Women of this era were told what their training and limited education would be. Their options were few and socially restricted. Female 'education' was primarily for domestic skills. They were taught how to care for their homes and families, which included cooking, sewing, gardening and tending to any livestock. It was the same as it had always been, they were to be obedient and serve their husband. The only...