Nor was she, on her part, in a hurry about giving her consent, but she deliberated long. Though she was poor, yet she followed the inclination of her heart.
Before he thought of marrying her himself he recommended her to Jerome S. Baumgartner, a Nurnberg Patrician, and a student of theology, who had a very tender regard for Catharine, and to whom she was not altogether indifferent. Luther wrote to him (Oct. 12, 1524,): “If you have made up your mind to marry Catharine, you had better be in a hurry before another takes her who is near at hand. She has not ceased to love you, and I should be much gratified to see you marry her.” But his recommendation was of no avail, probably because Baumgartner, after his return home, was captivated by some other lady. The other suitor to whom Luther alludes was Dr. Caspar Glacius, vicar of the Archdeaconate of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. Luther favored his pretensions to her hand, and this led her to complain to Amsdorff, Luther’s friend. She requested him to induce Luther to cease his importunity in behalf of Glacius, for whom she had no inclination whatever. She, however, honestly acknowledged to Amsdorff she would not refuse an offer either from himself or Luther. She was not mistaken in her estimate of Glacius, for he was an ill-tempered man, who never was at peace with his congregation, and was dismissed from his office in 1537.
The marriage of a nun was, until that time, unheard of, and hence we need not wonder that Luther’s enemies took every opportunity to calumniate him as well as his intended wife. As Erasmus says, “It was at that time an almost universal sentiment that the Antichrist would be the son of a monk and a nun;” and he remarks in relation to this old saying, “If this were true, the world has had thousands of Antichrists!” His enemies knew too well how to make the most of this popular belief, but they went still further, and charged him with all the misfortunes that befel the country; the demolition of the convents in the Peasants’ War, and other similar calamities, for they said that he inflamed the hatred of the peasants against monastic life and the possessions of the clergy, “And all this he did,” they affirmed, “that he might marry.”
But many of his friends also disapproved of such an alliance. “Our wise men are fiercely excited on the subject,” wrote Luther, after his marriage, to Stiefel. “They must confess it is the work of God, but my professional character, as well as that of the lady, blinds them and makes them think and speak unkindly. But the Lord lives, who is greater in us than he who is in the world, and there are more on my side than on theirs.”
It was perfectly in character with Luther not to delay the execution of a purpose he had once formed. He was particularly opposed to long-standing matrimonial engagements, and hence says, “I advise a speedy marriage after a positive engagement; it is dangerous to postpone the consummation, for Satan is ready to oppose many obstacles, by means of slanderers, and sometimes the friends of both parties interfere. Hence do not postpone the affair. If I had not married secretly, and with the knowledge of but few friends, my marriage would have been prevented, for my best friends exclaimed, ‘Do not take this one, but another.’” Hence we are not surprised to learn that his final engagement to Catharine and his marriage occurred on the same day.
His friends did not maintain that he should not marry at all, but they did not esteem it wise that one who had been a monk should marry a lady who had been a nun. They feared that the step would retard the Reformation among the common people, who did not look with indifference on the violation of the vow of chastity.[7] But Luther thought otherwise, and believed that by marrying a nun he would inflict a terrible blow on the whole system of monasticism.
The most minute attention was at that time paid to Luther’s doctrine and conduct, and the most unimportant circumstances in his eventful life were reported with the greatest care. We should hence suppose that the precise date of his marriage would also be noted, and yet the reports are very different. Melanchthon’s statement is the most reliable, for he lived at that time in Wittenberg; he had daily intercourse with Luther, and hence may be supposed to be intimately acquainted with his domestic circumstances. In a letter to Camerarius (July 21, 1525,) he gives the true date of Luther’s marriage: “As it may happen,” he writes, “that no one will give you a correct account of Luther’s marriage, I have thought it proper to inform you of the facts. On the 13th of June, 1525, he, quite unexpectedly, married Catharine De Bora.” There is no good reason to doubt Melanchthon’s report of the date, which is established by many other witnesses, and hence it is unnecessary to refute those who give other dates.
Agreeably to these accounts, compared with others, it appears that Luther on the Tuesday after Trinity, June 13, 1525, in order to avoid all excitement, took with him John Bugenhagen (Pomeranius) pastor of the City Church, Dr. John Apel, Professor of Canonical Law, and Louis Cranach, Court Painter, Councillor, and Chamberlain, without the knowledge of his other friends, and proceeded to the house of the town-clerk, Reichenbach, with whom Catharine lived, and there, in the presence of these three friends, he asked her consent in marriage. Unexpected as this declaration was, yet she yielded to the solicitation of her former deliverer and benefactor. Soon after, the Provost, Dr. Justus Jonas, and the wife of Cranach, entered, and Luther was there married in the presence of these four witnesses, Bugenhagen performing the ceremony. Luther was forty-two years of age, and Catharine twenty-seven. He did not even ask the consent of the Elector; but, as we shall subsequently see, he sent him an humble request for some game to supply his wedding dinner-table.
Before the wedding, Luther offered the following prayer: “Heavenly Father, inasmuch as thou hast honored me with the office of the ministry, and wilt also that I should be honored as a husband and the head of a family, grant me grace to govern my household in a godly and Christian manner. Grant me wisdom and strength to direct and train all the members of my family in the right way. Give them willing hearts and pious dispositions to be obedient, and to follow in all things the instructions of thy word. Amen.”
The golden wedding-rings of Luther and his wife were probably not exchanged on this evening, but afterwards. The celebrated artist, Albert Dürer, of Nurnberg, made them at the order and expense of the Patrician and Councillor von Pirckenheim. They are minutely described by some writers, and exact representations of them are given in various curious works. One of these rings has exchanged hands many times by gift, sale, and inheritance. Numerous imitations of them have been made, and sold to collectors of such articles.