Today in Lent Madness it's Wulfstan vs. Katharina von Bora. Anglican bishop of the Middle Ages facing off against an important figure of the Protestant Reformation.
Yesterday, Lazarus was sent back to the grave in a drubbing at the hand of Esther 77% to 23%. Unlike Lazarus, Esther will live to fight another day as she will face the winner of Anna the Prophet vs. Michael the Archangel.
And just in case you missed yesterday's stellar edition of Monday Madness, which seems an impossibility as it's undoubtedly the highlight of your week, you can watch it here. In this week's episode, Tim and Scott answer Viewer Mail. Have a burning question about Lent Madness? Leave it on our Facebook or Twitter page and it just may get answered on the air.
Wulfstan
Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester in the eleventh century, was the last surviving bishop to have been consecrated before the Norman conquest of England.
He was born around 1008 in Warwickshire. Likely named after his uncle, Wulfstan II, archbishop of York, he studied at monasteries and eventually became a clerk at Worcester. He earned an honorable reputation for his dedication and chastity, and his superiors encouraged him to become a priest. Wulfstan was ordained in 1038 and joined a monastery of Benedictines at Worcester. When Pope Nicholas forced Ealdred, archbishop of York, to relinquish his secondary role as bishop of Worcester, Ealdred appointed Wulfstan in his place.
After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Wulfstan was one of only a handful of English-born bishops to retain their diocese because William the Conqueror deemed him especially skillful. For the next three decades, Wulfstan became known for his pastoral care, especially of the poor, and as a champion for the vanquished Saxons who labored under the harsh decrees of the Normans. Wulfstan acted as an ambassador to bridge the old and new regimes. An outspoken opponent of the slave trade, he helped end the practice in his region.
Wulfstan oversaw significant rebuilding projects, including Worcester Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, and Tewkesbury Abbey as well as founding the Great Malvern Priory. After the Conquest, he claimed an unprecedented authority for the church over the Oswaldslow, a large tract of land he held for the diocese as free of interference by the local sheriff. Presumably, he felt the church could better guard the interests of the Saxon peasants. Wulfstan also helped compile the Domesday Book, a land survey of much of England and parts of Wales.
Wulfstan died on January 20, 1095, after a long illness, the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. Wulfstan was canonized in 1203 by Pope Innocent III. His feast day is January 19; he is the patron of vegetarians and dieters.
Collect for Wulfstan
Almighty God, your only-begotten Son led captivity captive and gave gifts to your people: Multiply among us faithful pastors, who, like your holy bishop Wulfstan, will give courage to those who are oppressed and held in bondage; and bring us all, we pray, into the true freedom of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Katharina von Bora
“There’s a reason we remember her as Katharina von Bora and not Mrs. Martin Luther,” according to church historian James A. Nestingen. That’s because von Bora was the original girl boss and a key collaborator of Luther’s, shaping the Reformation not only by defining marriage for Protestant clergy but also by challenging the Reformer in theological discussions.
Born into a Saxon family in Germany that had nobility but little money, von Bora entered a Benedictine cloister school as a young child. Her family later arranged her transfer to a Cistercian convent, where—just two years before Martin Luther reportedly nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door on Oct. 31, 1517—she professed vows to become a nun. Somehow the ideas expressed in those theses, which sparked the Protestant Reformation, found their way beyond the cloister walls. And on Good Friday in 1523, twelve nuns left religious life, smuggled out of the convent in herring barrels. Among them was Katharina von Bora.
The women eventually made their way to Wittenberg, where Luther helped them find homes or husbands—all except for von Bora. Finally in control of her own life, Katharina told Luther’s friend Nikolaus von Amsdorf she would marry only him or Luther.
Luther and von Bora were married—a somewhat scandalous action for a former monk and nun—on June 13, 1525. With von Bora’s determination and hard work, she transformed the town’s abandoned monastery not just into a home but “a boarding house the size of a Holiday Inn,” according to biographer Ruth A. Tucker. She brewed beer and cooked meals for the students and friends Luther hosted in their home. She managed the Luther household and its finances, investing in other properties—and she raised six children.
Along the way, she so impressed her husband that he referred to her as “Doctora Lutherin” and, unusually for the time, made her his sole heir when he passed away in 1546. But the law required a guardian for widows and children, making Luther’s will unenforceable and leaving von Bora pleading for money from benefactors. Six years later, von Bora died after an accident involving her horses and wagon in Torgau while fleeing a plague in Wittenberg. Still determined as ever, her last words reportedly were, “I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth.”
Collect for Katharina von Bora
Great Lover of Souls, you call us to companionship with you and with each other: Grant that we, like your servant Katharina von Bora, would have the deep courage, fearless love, and lively energy to embrace the vocations to which you call us and to stand as strong support for those with whom we live, work, and bear your love into the world. We pray this in the name of him who first loved us, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[poll id="214"]
280 comments on “Wulfstan vs. Katharina von Bora”
Another tough choice. I admire Wulfstan greatly, particularly as a champion for the oppressed Saxons and for his opposition to slavery. But as a Lutheran of German ancestry, I can't bring myself to vote against Katie no matter how hard I try. And she was basically the COO of the nerve center of the Reformation, so Katie it is.
Got to go with Wulfstan. He got me at patron saint of dieters!!!!
his contest was a challenge. Wolfstan seems to be all a bishop should be especially in such challenging times. And he was for that age an old man by 1066 (battle of Hastings) making his efforts even more impressive. But, Katherina's life seems more colorful, not to mention odoriferous. And the final "burr to cloth" quote grabbed my textile not to mention tactile sensory heart.
This was a hard choice. I've always admired Katharina, but Wulfstan got my vote. One, I'm perpetually dieting :); and two, he got rid of the slave trade in the area under his control. Also, he looked out for the peasant's rights, AND he helped write the Doomsday Book. Wow! What an amazing guy!
This was a n0-brainer for me. Though Wulfstan was an English bishop, and helped found the Great Malvern Priory--I'M from Malvern! (PA)--Katharina was an ground-breaker for as a woman & theologian in ministry, and fully up to the task of being a strong partner to the sometimes grumpy Dr. Martin. And she brewed beer!
Michael the Archangel is NOT a saint! Only human beings, by God's grace, can be saints. Calling Michael and other archangels saints, is merely old-fashioned Frenchified English meaning "holy."
Why is Michael even in this contest? Angels, by definition, are perfect. So we have both an unfair competition and a category error.
Chill, brother. Michael isn't even up until Friday, so you're fretting yourself prematurely and needlessly. I personally love Frenchified English, so I'm totally here for this. (And I love how you snuck "french fries" into a discussion in which the patron saint of dieters is up for a vote.) I assure you, Anna will give Michael a run for his money. If he's so perfect, he might vote for her himself. I can also assure you that if Anna wins, there will be people here (naming no genders) who will kvetch that the cart is weighted to the distaff side. You can complain when Tecla's goldfish appears on a bracket.
Smile!
Wulfstan, definitely.
Most importantly, he served his church and his people during a VERY difficult time. The Norman's had just occupied his country, and allowed him to retain his position as Bishop...but, at what cost to him personally? It seems that Wulfstan used his authority to preserve his people from the worst effects of oppression...he helped to end slavery in his region, and set aside a wide tract of land under the church's control, not the crown's...a place where Anglo Saxons could seek refuge (and, possibly hunt and fish to preserve their families in their reduced circumstances). Plus, patron saint of vegetarians and dieters! It's gotta be Wulfstan !
Many a faculty wife has cooked if not brewed for a heap of her husband's students and guests, but freeing slaves and protecting the Saxons from the Normans beats all that for my abolitionist Saxon blood. I'm all for Wulfstan.
I have a soft spot for those who work with the oppressed, free slaves, and help dieters!
More women than men must be playing given the number of female saints winning their brackets.
Catherine for me in honor of my late Lutheran Mother.
Katharine all the way today! The first modern woman who was centuries ahead of her time!
Katherine. Sorry about the incorrect spelling.
Very tough match up today. Both are great, great servants of Christ.
I can't even imagine what life was like for these saints and how the word of Christ has survived over all these years. If you have ever watched the show "Vikings" you get a pretty good picture of what Christians sacrificed then and even now
Much to honor and admire about Wulfstan. But... patron saint of dieters vs. someone who brewed beer, ran a boardinghouse, and theologized while raising 6 children? Lent be danged, Katharine has my vote! Will lift a glass to her at our Pub Theology gathering tonight.
I voted for Wulfstan (someone had to stick up for the Insular church against those mean, elitist Normans), but if Katharine wins, I won't be disappointed.
I ended up voting for Wulfstan. He spoke out against the slavery and cared for the poor. Plus he's the patron saint of vegetarians!
Care for the poor and opposition to slavery. Sticking with God, through it all. Tough choices again, SEC.
Had to go for Wulstan. Need all the exemplary bishops we can get that can speak truth to power. Off limits zone for the local sheriff? Abolish slavery nearly 700 years before the rest of Great Britain followed suit? Saintly indeed!
My vote for Katharine is dedicated to all clergy spouses!
I'm assuming that Katarina was easily Martin's intellectual equal and probably the original author of much of the work attributed to him. Men and the clergy often get the only bylines for the collaborations of the entire community.
Oh, Catherine. You're not bitter - you're bittersweet!
I am finding this vastly amusing, frustrating and slightly disconcerting. I am amazed that Katherina has been relegated to "merely" a housewife and mother. It is starting to feel as though no credit is being given to her intellect and faith. Would a woman of no faith have sought out the Grace of a convent, or a man of such faith and intellect sought out a heathen imbecille for a wife and partner? They were truly partners, as any married couple should be aware. How many men here have read a letter, work assignment, or other alleged important document to their wife before sending it off in order to gain better insight and clear their thinking on the topic? St. Wulfstan may have freed slaves during his time, but so did the Katherina and Martin. They freed us from the slavery to a church that demanded we pay to get into heaven, revere their pope as highly as our Lord, and felt free to deny communion to one and all on a whim. That is more devious a slavery than any - a slavery of the soul and spirit. And yes, Lutherans have saints. We are all a part of the Communion of Saints that worship the Lord every day and in every way. Bora Bora! Bora!
I voted for Wulfstan but I like your points. To add to your point that husbands often read important documents to their wives before sending them off, sometimes the wives are actually to true authors too!
From what little was said, it would seem that Katherina had made contributions, but unfortunately, the bio does not say anything except in very general terms. I have to wonder if more details would have shown a lot more specific things she did.
She told one of the heavy hitters in the Reformation, "I'll marry no one but either you or Luther." She reminds me of Alma Mahler. Didn't care who she married so long as he was one of the heavyweights.
Katharina von Bora was an outstanding example of a fairly common role played by middle-class women in the early modern period: a stay-at-home mom who ran the family business while the man produced whatever that business generated and did a lot of traveling. Slightly earlier than the Luther-von Bora team was that of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and his wife Agnes Frey (1475-1539), but their marriage was markedly less companionable, and there was little love lost between them. Still, Agnes spread Albrecht's fame around Europe by marketing his engravings, shipping them from their home in Nuremberg, a dutiful housewife. But compared to this marriage that of Martin and Katharina was a lot more like that described in the BCP's Blessing and Celebration of Marriage, and their home a haven of "blessing and peace." I went with Katharina.
I have long admired Katharina but finally voted for Wulfstan, who cared for the poor and helped to end slavery in his region. My husband and I are both descendants of vanquished Saxons, and we might not be here if Wulfstan had not helped poor Saxons. My husband said he wanted to name our son Wulfstan (I think he was serious), but I objected. We have a copy of Wulfstan's sermons, which I have always intended to read. Maybe for a Lenten discipline?
It was really a difficult choice (and when is it not??). I went with Wulfstan this time.
If Katarina doesn't make it to the top this year, I'm sure I'll vote for her next time.
Both were exceptionally inspiring people who are probably now hoisting the celestial equivalent of a pint of beer/bitter.
I liked the pastoral gifts of this bishop--a good role model for bishops even in our time.
Wulfstan, without a doubt. A good wife, yes, and unacknowledged helpmate, Mrs. Luther was a fine Christians person, but Wulfstan stood by his people against a conquering force for a lifetime. Without a doubt, Wulfstan.
"Katherina was born into a Saxon family..." Let the discussion commence.
Yes, today is the battle of the Saxons.
like
Hahaha!
Oh good for you, Marian! I missed that!
Katarina probably generated a minimum of 47.5 of the treatises nailed to the church door, imho. I bet she even wrote them well before they were married!
While I was interested in learning about Martin Luther's wife (not sure I knew he had one), I have to vote for Wulfstan. He was a bishop in a very trying time and yet he was able to work with both the wealthy and the poor. What really nailed it though was the fact he is patron saint of vegetarians!
Voted for Wulfstan because I live in Worcester
Massachusetts and attend All Saints
Church. We have a Chalice that was given
to us from All Saints Worcester England