19. 1450-1600 Women and the Reformation
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The Reformation was a time of great change in Europe for both men and women. While men are at the forefront of change most of the time, many women also held positions of power and were extremely influential in the shifts taking place during this time period. While some women were well respected, it was difficult to earn and maintain that trust and women were often persecuted for speaking out. Needless to say, it was not an easy time to be a woman.
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Audience at Martin Luther's Sermon, Wikimedia Commons
In 1431 a country girl of no notable background led the French armies toward the end of the One-Hundred Years War, symbolic of the divisiveness of the so-called “Dark Ages.” She believed, and convinced others, that God compelled her to liberate France from the English. Armies rallied behind her. Eventually she was captured and given the option to recant; she did not. She was burned at the stake, not for leading armies against the English, but for the charge of cross-dressing in men’s clothing. Her name was Joan of Arc, and her story is symbolic of the way women facilitated great change, only to be beaten back into their box by those who literally thought they should wear the pants.
Just a few decades later, the Protestant Reformation swept through Europe, attempting to reform what they saw as the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. The result was a new branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used to describe many religious groups that separated in “protest” from Rome. The movement resulted in wars, persecution of converts, and major shifts in political power.
While Martin Luther was a German monk and Professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg who started the “protest” in 1517 by posting his complaints against the church called the "95 Theses" on the door of a church in Germany, women were not only deeply affected by this movement, but they were also a major part of this movement. Women were wives of reformers, writers, protectors of the persecuted, and queens active in the religious politics.
The Reformation was arguably the most significant shift for women’s status in most of world history because it finally opened doors to more widespread education for women– albeit reluctantly.
Education: First let’s be clear, Martin Luther was no champion of women’s rights. He basically echoed all the misogyny church leaders had said before him. He wrote, women “are chiefly created to bear children and be the pleasure, joy, and solace of their husbands.” Noting women’s broad hips, he said, “to the end that they should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children.”
Ironically, Luther’s philosophy hinged on a revolutionary idea that the salvation of every human soul relied on their ability to read the Bible. With his aim of saving souls, he thus believed in the full education of boys and girls. Luther wrote, “Were there neither soul, heaven, nor hell, it would still be necessary to have schools here below. The world has need of educated men and women, to the end that they may govern the country properly, and that the women may properly bring up their children, care for their domestics, and direct the affairs of their households.”
Luther certainly locked women in the domestic sphere, but he was adamant that their educations were necessary for establishing a new social order for trade, commerce, and urbanization. At least for the west, this trajectory of this change would plateau at times, but women’s access to literacy was here to stay.
Female Reformers: In the beginning women were deeply needed to bring about the aims of the Reformation. Male Reformers, like Luther, tended to direct their energy on the theology and politics of the Reformation, while female Reformers worked to establish a ‘Protestant culture’ throughout Europe, which included Bible instruction in homes and considerable charity work. The Protestant churches struggled to balance their need for female support and its inherent distrust of women getting too close or too involved in church life. Women were viewed and encouraged with caution, and when women are given space– they fill it.
During the Reformation, many women left convents after reading the works of Luther and Calvin, another reformer who founded the Calvinist movement. Leaving the security of convent life, these sassy sisters sought refuge with Reformers across the continent. Ursula of Münsterberg was one of them; the granddaughter of a King, her story was well documented and gives us a glimpse into the lives of other women who decided to leave the convent – or in some cases, stay there.
Because more records survive about the Royal and noblewomen of the Reformation, their lives paint a detailed image of the persecution women (and women alone) faced when they defied male authority to support the Reformation. But we should not think of them purely in regard to the abuse they faced – they remained women who used their unique positions of power to support the Reformation, often in isolation, and despite the limitations placed upon their gender. In fact, the role of the Pastor’s wife became a position of prestige in Protestant communities.
Just a few decades later, the Protestant Reformation swept through Europe, attempting to reform what they saw as the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. The result was a new branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used to describe many religious groups that separated in “protest” from Rome. The movement resulted in wars, persecution of converts, and major shifts in political power.
While Martin Luther was a German monk and Professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg who started the “protest” in 1517 by posting his complaints against the church called the "95 Theses" on the door of a church in Germany, women were not only deeply affected by this movement, but they were also a major part of this movement. Women were wives of reformers, writers, protectors of the persecuted, and queens active in the religious politics.
The Reformation was arguably the most significant shift for women’s status in most of world history because it finally opened doors to more widespread education for women– albeit reluctantly.
Education: First let’s be clear, Martin Luther was no champion of women’s rights. He basically echoed all the misogyny church leaders had said before him. He wrote, women “are chiefly created to bear children and be the pleasure, joy, and solace of their husbands.” Noting women’s broad hips, he said, “to the end that they should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children.”
Ironically, Luther’s philosophy hinged on a revolutionary idea that the salvation of every human soul relied on their ability to read the Bible. With his aim of saving souls, he thus believed in the full education of boys and girls. Luther wrote, “Were there neither soul, heaven, nor hell, it would still be necessary to have schools here below. The world has need of educated men and women, to the end that they may govern the country properly, and that the women may properly bring up their children, care for their domestics, and direct the affairs of their households.”
Luther certainly locked women in the domestic sphere, but he was adamant that their educations were necessary for establishing a new social order for trade, commerce, and urbanization. At least for the west, this trajectory of this change would plateau at times, but women’s access to literacy was here to stay.
Female Reformers: In the beginning women were deeply needed to bring about the aims of the Reformation. Male Reformers, like Luther, tended to direct their energy on the theology and politics of the Reformation, while female Reformers worked to establish a ‘Protestant culture’ throughout Europe, which included Bible instruction in homes and considerable charity work. The Protestant churches struggled to balance their need for female support and its inherent distrust of women getting too close or too involved in church life. Women were viewed and encouraged with caution, and when women are given space– they fill it.
During the Reformation, many women left convents after reading the works of Luther and Calvin, another reformer who founded the Calvinist movement. Leaving the security of convent life, these sassy sisters sought refuge with Reformers across the continent. Ursula of Münsterberg was one of them; the granddaughter of a King, her story was well documented and gives us a glimpse into the lives of other women who decided to leave the convent – or in some cases, stay there.
Because more records survive about the Royal and noblewomen of the Reformation, their lives paint a detailed image of the persecution women (and women alone) faced when they defied male authority to support the Reformation. But we should not think of them purely in regard to the abuse they faced – they remained women who used their unique positions of power to support the Reformation, often in isolation, and despite the limitations placed upon their gender. In fact, the role of the Pastor’s wife became a position of prestige in Protestant communities.
Katharina Zell, Public Domain
Katharina Schütz Zell: One of the earliest ways women were involved in the reformation process on the inside was through their marriages and relationships with men in the movement. Katharina Schutz Zell’s education allowed her to take up her pen and record a theological justification of her actions when faced with criticism. I guess one good way to silence the haters is to have God himself on your works cited list.
In 1523, Katharina married Matthias Zell, another prominent reformer who was excommunicated from the Catholic church due to his marriage. A year later Katharina published her first work Apologia, a defense of clerical marriage generally and hers in particular. Katharina understood the political undercurrents of the time, knew her biblical texts and her calling as a clerical wife. For a wife to publish a theological defense of the marriage was a risky move. Had the marriage broken down or remained shrouded in scandal, this would have been perfect evidence of the ‘evil’ clerical marriage created to be used against the Reformation movement. This also showcased a way in which a woman could use her gifts, combine them with theological and biblical knowledge, and carve out her own space within this movement.
Strasbourg, Germany, was a ‘free city’ and provided refuge to supporters of Luther who fled from surrounding villages and towns. Whenever refugees arrived, Katharina leapt into action, filling the parsonage with 80 beds and feeding 60 every day for 3 weeks. Katharina petitioned the local council to intervene, recruiting others to care for refugees, and writing letters of encouragement to wives left behind when their husbands were forced to flee. In 1525, the male leadership in the church grew tired of her petitions stating, “she is a trifle imperious.”
Despite Zell being twenty years Katharina’s senior, people saw Matthias as being “led by Katharina’s apron strings.” One wrote that, “Matthias lagged because Katherine dragged”. Her marriage of equals, a partnership, was presented as a woman controlling her husband to the detriment of the church.
Oddly, Luther became a friend of Katharina’s. In the wider correspondence between Katharina and Luther, one would expect to find Luther administering pastoral care and advice to Katharina in accordance with his teaching on gender roles. Instead, we see advice being exchanged between the two equally. Luther wrote to Katharina, not her husband, and asked her to “entreat both your lord and other friends, that (if it please God) peace and union may be preserved.”
Katharina continued her charity work after her husband’s death until the city council insisted she leave her home and allow her husband’s successor to move in. Katharina’s social position was more restricted, so she shifted gears and created a hymn book.
Like most female Reformers, Katharina was criticized by her male colleagues, not so much because of what she did, but because she was a woman doing it. In her lifetime, Katharina witnessed and was victim to a shift in the new Protestant Church and saw herself being pushed out of the Church she helped to establish. She wrote, “In my younger days, I was so dear to the fine old learned men and the architects of the church of Christ.”
In 1523, Katharina married Matthias Zell, another prominent reformer who was excommunicated from the Catholic church due to his marriage. A year later Katharina published her first work Apologia, a defense of clerical marriage generally and hers in particular. Katharina understood the political undercurrents of the time, knew her biblical texts and her calling as a clerical wife. For a wife to publish a theological defense of the marriage was a risky move. Had the marriage broken down or remained shrouded in scandal, this would have been perfect evidence of the ‘evil’ clerical marriage created to be used against the Reformation movement. This also showcased a way in which a woman could use her gifts, combine them with theological and biblical knowledge, and carve out her own space within this movement.
Strasbourg, Germany, was a ‘free city’ and provided refuge to supporters of Luther who fled from surrounding villages and towns. Whenever refugees arrived, Katharina leapt into action, filling the parsonage with 80 beds and feeding 60 every day for 3 weeks. Katharina petitioned the local council to intervene, recruiting others to care for refugees, and writing letters of encouragement to wives left behind when their husbands were forced to flee. In 1525, the male leadership in the church grew tired of her petitions stating, “she is a trifle imperious.”
Despite Zell being twenty years Katharina’s senior, people saw Matthias as being “led by Katharina’s apron strings.” One wrote that, “Matthias lagged because Katherine dragged”. Her marriage of equals, a partnership, was presented as a woman controlling her husband to the detriment of the church.
Oddly, Luther became a friend of Katharina’s. In the wider correspondence between Katharina and Luther, one would expect to find Luther administering pastoral care and advice to Katharina in accordance with his teaching on gender roles. Instead, we see advice being exchanged between the two equally. Luther wrote to Katharina, not her husband, and asked her to “entreat both your lord and other friends, that (if it please God) peace and union may be preserved.”
Katharina continued her charity work after her husband’s death until the city council insisted she leave her home and allow her husband’s successor to move in. Katharina’s social position was more restricted, so she shifted gears and created a hymn book.
Like most female Reformers, Katharina was criticized by her male colleagues, not so much because of what she did, but because she was a woman doing it. In her lifetime, Katharina witnessed and was victim to a shift in the new Protestant Church and saw herself being pushed out of the Church she helped to establish. She wrote, “In my younger days, I was so dear to the fine old learned men and the architects of the church of Christ.”
pamphlet of Argula von Grumbach, wikimedia commons
Argula von Grumbach: Argula von Grumbach was a noble woman and avid reader of Protestant literature. When a man at the university in Bavaria where she lived was arrested and facing execution for promoting his Protestant views, Argula went into action. She wrote to the university not only defending him but the teachings of Luther as well. She wrote, “I send you not a woman’s ranting, but the Word of God. I write as a member of the Church of Christ against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, as they will against the Church of Rome. God give us grace that we may all be blessed. Amen.”
Argula received no formal reply to her letters. Was this just an administrative oversight? Was this because she was a Reformer? Or was this because she was a woman? The contemporary inscription at the bottom of one of her letters in Munich answers these questions: “Born a Lutheran whore and gate of hell. 13 December, 1523”
A local professor at the university preached against “daughters of Eve” like Argula before insulting her directly calling her a: “female desperado”, “arrogant devil”, “heretical bitch”, and “shameless whore.”
Argula didn’t seem to back down. When her opponents wrote an insulting poem about her, she responded in kind with 240 lines of rhyming couplets which directly referenced her right to speak into religious affairs despite her gender. She wrote, “He tells me to mind my knitting. To obey my man indeed is fitting, but if he drives me from God’s word…Home and child we must forsake, when God’s honor is at stake.” When Argula picks up her pen, she’s coming straight for the men.
Argula continued to plead the Protestant case both in the public domain and through her writing for the next seven years. While her letter-writing career spanned only a year, an estimated 29,000 copies of her pamphlets were in circulation in 1524, meaning she was, “the most famous female Lutheran and bestselling pamphleteer.” In her later life, living in her inherited estates in Bohemia, she continued her reform efforts, inviting converts to her home and bothering the authorities.
Argula received no formal reply to her letters. Was this just an administrative oversight? Was this because she was a Reformer? Or was this because she was a woman? The contemporary inscription at the bottom of one of her letters in Munich answers these questions: “Born a Lutheran whore and gate of hell. 13 December, 1523”
A local professor at the university preached against “daughters of Eve” like Argula before insulting her directly calling her a: “female desperado”, “arrogant devil”, “heretical bitch”, and “shameless whore.”
Argula didn’t seem to back down. When her opponents wrote an insulting poem about her, she responded in kind with 240 lines of rhyming couplets which directly referenced her right to speak into religious affairs despite her gender. She wrote, “He tells me to mind my knitting. To obey my man indeed is fitting, but if he drives me from God’s word…Home and child we must forsake, when God’s honor is at stake.” When Argula picks up her pen, she’s coming straight for the men.
Argula continued to plead the Protestant case both in the public domain and through her writing for the next seven years. While her letter-writing career spanned only a year, an estimated 29,000 copies of her pamphlets were in circulation in 1524, meaning she was, “the most famous female Lutheran and bestselling pamphleteer.” In her later life, living in her inherited estates in Bohemia, she continued her reform efforts, inviting converts to her home and bothering the authorities.
Marie Dentière: Marie Dentière, also used her education and position to write. As was common for girls of her social status, Marie entered the convent when she was around 13 years old, and at the age of 26, Marie was elected Abbess of her Augustinian nunnery but would soon become a nun on the run.
As the Reformation swept Europe, Marie fled to Strasbourg, and later Geneva when the victory of Protestant armies sealed it as a Protestant city. It was then that Marie began her writing career and advocacy for women. She wrote, “If God has given graces to some good women, revealing to them something holy and good through His Holy Scripture, should they, for the sake of the defamers of the truth, refrain from writing down, speaking, or declaring it to each other? Ah! It would be too impudent to hide the talent which God has given to us, we who ought to have the grace to persevere to the end. Amen!” Slay, sister!
In Geneva 1,500 copies were printed under a pseudonym, but pastors in Geneva seized the remaining copies and arrested the publisher. The publisher was given a fine, and he and Marie’s husband had to appear before the council and argue that the books were not heretical. The books were never released, and the council quickly passed legislation banning the publication of books which they had not approved. Marie’s husband remarked that this reaction was only because the council had been so, “wounded, piqued and dishonored by a woman.”
The suppression of Marie’s writing generated conversation among Reformers. For example, in 1539 the council of Bern asked Béat Comte whether they should allow the work to be translated. After reading the book, Comte replied saying that, while he could find nothing in it contrary to Scripture, because it was written by a woman, it should be suppressed. Thus, Marie’s voice was silenced not by Catholic authorities but by her fellow Reformers.
Marie posed an important question in a letter to Queen Marguerite of Navarre: “Do we have two Gospels, one for men and the other for women?”
As the Reformation swept Europe, Marie fled to Strasbourg, and later Geneva when the victory of Protestant armies sealed it as a Protestant city. It was then that Marie began her writing career and advocacy for women. She wrote, “If God has given graces to some good women, revealing to them something holy and good through His Holy Scripture, should they, for the sake of the defamers of the truth, refrain from writing down, speaking, or declaring it to each other? Ah! It would be too impudent to hide the talent which God has given to us, we who ought to have the grace to persevere to the end. Amen!” Slay, sister!
In Geneva 1,500 copies were printed under a pseudonym, but pastors in Geneva seized the remaining copies and arrested the publisher. The publisher was given a fine, and he and Marie’s husband had to appear before the council and argue that the books were not heretical. The books were never released, and the council quickly passed legislation banning the publication of books which they had not approved. Marie’s husband remarked that this reaction was only because the council had been so, “wounded, piqued and dishonored by a woman.”
The suppression of Marie’s writing generated conversation among Reformers. For example, in 1539 the council of Bern asked Béat Comte whether they should allow the work to be translated. After reading the book, Comte replied saying that, while he could find nothing in it contrary to Scripture, because it was written by a woman, it should be suppressed. Thus, Marie’s voice was silenced not by Catholic authorities but by her fellow Reformers.
Marie posed an important question in a letter to Queen Marguerite of Navarre: “Do we have two Gospels, one for men and the other for women?”
Marguerite of Navarre, Wikimedia Commons
Queens of Navarre: In France, the Protestant Reformation looked more like a civil conflict and women in the nobility were at the center of it. Marguerite was royalty in France and came to Protestantism gradually. Her brother, Francis, was the King of France and had a deep affection for his sister, which was the only thing protecting her as Marguerite wrote and published extensively.
The situation in France intensified, and by 1525, most of Marguerite’s friends were in exile or hiding. It was then, two years after the death of her first husband, that Marguerite married Henri d’Albert, King of Navarre, with whom she had one daughter, Jeanna d’Albert. Who was a kick ass Protestant in her own right!
The religious and political situation in France remained tense until 17th October 1534, when a group of zealous reformers took to the streets in Paris putting up anti-Catholic posters– remembered as “The Affair of the Placards.” This openly questioned the King’s authority and Francis was forced into action. The ringleaders were arrested and burnt in the Place Maubert, while others fled.
The situation in France intensified, and by 1525, most of Marguerite’s friends were in exile or hiding. It was then, two years after the death of her first husband, that Marguerite married Henri d’Albert, King of Navarre, with whom she had one daughter, Jeanna d’Albert. Who was a kick ass Protestant in her own right!
The religious and political situation in France remained tense until 17th October 1534, when a group of zealous reformers took to the streets in Paris putting up anti-Catholic posters– remembered as “The Affair of the Placards.” This openly questioned the King’s authority and Francis was forced into action. The ringleaders were arrested and burnt in the Place Maubert, while others fled.
portrait of Jeanne of Navarre, wikimedia commons
Risking sibling rivalry, Marguerite opened up her home to Protestant refugees. With all of these religious fugitives living in Navarre, Marguerite encouraged religious growth within her domains. Seeing herself as a spiritual mother to her people, Marguerite set about writing manuals on doctrine and worship, the likes never seen in the church before.
All this came at a cost. Calvin, for example, despite benefitting from Marguerite’s dedication to the Reformation, remained critical of her behavior. He continued to argue that she was being too generous to the wrong people and not generous enough to the right ones. Calvin summarized her usefulness to the Reformation by stating that: “we cannot place on her too great an alliance.”
When Marguerite and her husband died, their daughter Jeanne ascended to their political post. Jeanne was no stranger to defying the patriarchy having successfully annulled an undesirable marriage at age twelve by kicking and screaming her way up the aisle, thoroughly documenting her lack of consent to the match, and refusing to consummate the marriage. She remarried at age nineteen, presumably for love.
One of her first actions was to convene the Protestant ministers from the Calvanist sect. Jeanne instantly became the most powerful female Protestant in Europe and public enemy number one of the Pope and the rest of her French (and very Catholic) family. In 1562, Catherine de’Medici, now Queen regent of France, imposed an edict to try and keep the peace between the Protestant and Catholic factions at court.
Things got intense between Jeanne and her Catholic husband when she failed to stop the invasion of a Protestant army numbering 400 men entering her husband’s lands. Seeing this as a purposeful failure, he put out an order for her arrest with the plan of sending her to a convent. So much for love! Nevertheless, Jeanne made it to safety and where her husband died in November 1562, leaving her as sole regent of Navarre until her son Henry came of age.
All this came at a cost. Calvin, for example, despite benefitting from Marguerite’s dedication to the Reformation, remained critical of her behavior. He continued to argue that she was being too generous to the wrong people and not generous enough to the right ones. Calvin summarized her usefulness to the Reformation by stating that: “we cannot place on her too great an alliance.”
When Marguerite and her husband died, their daughter Jeanne ascended to their political post. Jeanne was no stranger to defying the patriarchy having successfully annulled an undesirable marriage at age twelve by kicking and screaming her way up the aisle, thoroughly documenting her lack of consent to the match, and refusing to consummate the marriage. She remarried at age nineteen, presumably for love.
One of her first actions was to convene the Protestant ministers from the Calvanist sect. Jeanne instantly became the most powerful female Protestant in Europe and public enemy number one of the Pope and the rest of her French (and very Catholic) family. In 1562, Catherine de’Medici, now Queen regent of France, imposed an edict to try and keep the peace between the Protestant and Catholic factions at court.
Things got intense between Jeanne and her Catholic husband when she failed to stop the invasion of a Protestant army numbering 400 men entering her husband’s lands. Seeing this as a purposeful failure, he put out an order for her arrest with the plan of sending her to a convent. So much for love! Nevertheless, Jeanne made it to safety and where her husband died in November 1562, leaving her as sole regent of Navarre until her son Henry came of age.
illustration from Malleus Maleficarum, alamy
With Navarre stuck between Catholic Spain and Catholic France, things were not easy for Jeanne. The Pope threatened her with excommunication and the removal of her lands, and in what might be the first mic drop moment in history, Jeanne replied by simply stating that she did not recognize his authority. Meanwhile, Philip of Spain made plans to either marry her into a Catholic family or kidnap her and allow France and Spain to invade her lands. None of the threats made against her ever materialized, but, as a young widow and mother with no close alliances, the emotional strain must have been awful – in her memoirs Jeanne remembered how she expected daily to be assassinated.
In 1568 another War of Religion broke out, and this time, retreat was not an option for Jeanne. She and her son Henry moved to the city of La Rochelle where they would be better protected, and established something of a Protestant headquarters. She sent out manifestos to anyone and everyone she thought would help. She oversaw the safety of refugees arriving in La Rochelle, setting up a seminary there for them. She assumed control of fortifications, even going to the battles to assess the damage and rally the forces. Later, she also sold her jewelry to finance the fighting.
All the while, Jeanne continued to negotiate for peace. Finally, in August 1570 (when the Catholic side ran out of money) the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was achieved. Without hiding her distaste for the French court and her distrust of Catherine de’Medici, Jeanne reluctantly agreed for her son Henry to marry King Charles IX’s sister Marguerite. A wedding that would inspire violence all on its own, instigating the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
However, Jeanne would not see it herself. She passed away two months before the wedding, in 1572– aged just 43. The Pope’s envoy in the French court described her passing as, “an event happy beyond my highest hopes…her death, a great work of God’s own hand, has put an end to this wicked woman, who daily perpetrated the greatest possible evil.”
Despite Jeanne’s efforts to secure a Protestant future through her son, Henry would later convert to Catholicism to solidify his political situation. His sister, however, would rule on his mother’s lands for thirty years, continuing to provide a somewhat safe haven for Protestants. Guess we know who the favorite would have been.
Witches:
Paralleling the Reformation were fits of backlash against women. For centuries witchcraft cases steadily popped up, spurred on by epidemics of plague and the Black Death. Most often targeted were widows and unmarried women, as it was thought that when women were left alone, they were more susceptible to the devil, based on the Bible’s depiction of Eve being “seduced” by the serpent when she wandered away from Adam.
It wasn’t until about the Reformation that the first mass trials of witches, mass hysteria and fear blamed on women happened. In rapidly developing countries at the extent of the Catholic Church’s grasp, so much changed so fast, which led to unease against society’s easy target: women. In this climate, and most climates, the unchecked and male-dominated power structure of both the Catholic and Protestant churches proved disastrous for women.
In 1486, Catholic German Dominicans published a text that would serve as an instructional manual for finding and hunting so-called witches, known as Malleus Maleficarum, or the “Hammer of Witches.” For more than a century the book sold more copies than any book in Europe– except the Bible– due to the advent of the printing press. 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe, the vast majority, around 80 percent, were women. It doesn’t take a genius to see this was an attack on women, but why?
In 1568 another War of Religion broke out, and this time, retreat was not an option for Jeanne. She and her son Henry moved to the city of La Rochelle where they would be better protected, and established something of a Protestant headquarters. She sent out manifestos to anyone and everyone she thought would help. She oversaw the safety of refugees arriving in La Rochelle, setting up a seminary there for them. She assumed control of fortifications, even going to the battles to assess the damage and rally the forces. Later, she also sold her jewelry to finance the fighting.
All the while, Jeanne continued to negotiate for peace. Finally, in August 1570 (when the Catholic side ran out of money) the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was achieved. Without hiding her distaste for the French court and her distrust of Catherine de’Medici, Jeanne reluctantly agreed for her son Henry to marry King Charles IX’s sister Marguerite. A wedding that would inspire violence all on its own, instigating the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
However, Jeanne would not see it herself. She passed away two months before the wedding, in 1572– aged just 43. The Pope’s envoy in the French court described her passing as, “an event happy beyond my highest hopes…her death, a great work of God’s own hand, has put an end to this wicked woman, who daily perpetrated the greatest possible evil.”
Despite Jeanne’s efforts to secure a Protestant future through her son, Henry would later convert to Catholicism to solidify his political situation. His sister, however, would rule on his mother’s lands for thirty years, continuing to provide a somewhat safe haven for Protestants. Guess we know who the favorite would have been.
Witches:
Paralleling the Reformation were fits of backlash against women. For centuries witchcraft cases steadily popped up, spurred on by epidemics of plague and the Black Death. Most often targeted were widows and unmarried women, as it was thought that when women were left alone, they were more susceptible to the devil, based on the Bible’s depiction of Eve being “seduced” by the serpent when she wandered away from Adam.
It wasn’t until about the Reformation that the first mass trials of witches, mass hysteria and fear blamed on women happened. In rapidly developing countries at the extent of the Catholic Church’s grasp, so much changed so fast, which led to unease against society’s easy target: women. In this climate, and most climates, the unchecked and male-dominated power structure of both the Catholic and Protestant churches proved disastrous for women.
In 1486, Catholic German Dominicans published a text that would serve as an instructional manual for finding and hunting so-called witches, known as Malleus Maleficarum, or the “Hammer of Witches.” For more than a century the book sold more copies than any book in Europe– except the Bible– due to the advent of the printing press. 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe, the vast majority, around 80 percent, were women. It doesn’t take a genius to see this was an attack on women, but why?
example of a "witch" being burned at the stake, history extra
The manual stated that witchcraft was mostly found in the “weaker sex” who were more susceptible to the Devil’s temptation. The manual gave examples of women's untrustworthiness, sensuality, vanity, and weak intellect, to defend their position. They specifically targeted midwives because they were believed to possess powers that could terminate a pregnancy– otherwise known as an abortion. Of course it wasn’t magic, but these women did possess that power, as the herbs used to induce abortion had long been known. The authors added for show that midwives ate infants and offered children to devils. They wrote, “Women are by nature instruments of Satan -- they are by nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation.”
They provided detailed directions to find and convict a witch, typically involving stripping and searching her body for "any instrument of witchcraft" like a birthmark on the body. The text explained that women who did not cry under torture, or were unable to drown or burn were still under some sort of spell. Witch hunters therefore had to devise all sorts of tests to see if she would succumb and therefore prove her innocence. If she weighs the same as a duck, she’s made of wood, will float, and is therefore a witch! Of course if you burned her and proved she was innocent, she was also likely dead.
The text insisted that confessions must be acquired to be executed by the church, so witch hunters used torture to secure these confessions and they had all sorts of theories on the speed with which the witch confessed. Women across Europe were stripped naked and forced to betray each other under torture. If convicted, the entire community would come to watch her burn or drown.
Assuming these women weren’t really witches, which kinds of women were targeted? The easiest generalization is outcasts. Women who spoke out, were quarrelsome, problematic, were different in some way, spinsters, elderly, disabled, or too sexual. This was a perhaps unconscious effort to dispose of bothersome women and free society of them. The preponderance of female victims shows it was the effect of a culture gone hysterical over centuries of degrading theories about women.
In England, the witch trials were a bit behind the continent, not peaking until the 1600s, but they too would be aided by a manual called The Discovery of Witches. The manual's author was Matthew Hopkins, who assumed the name “Witch Finder Generall,” and preyed on people’s fears, charging a fee to find and convict witches in their communities–a true con artist! Between 1644 and 1647 he targeted 230 mostly female victims.
They provided detailed directions to find and convict a witch, typically involving stripping and searching her body for "any instrument of witchcraft" like a birthmark on the body. The text explained that women who did not cry under torture, or were unable to drown or burn were still under some sort of spell. Witch hunters therefore had to devise all sorts of tests to see if she would succumb and therefore prove her innocence. If she weighs the same as a duck, she’s made of wood, will float, and is therefore a witch! Of course if you burned her and proved she was innocent, she was also likely dead.
The text insisted that confessions must be acquired to be executed by the church, so witch hunters used torture to secure these confessions and they had all sorts of theories on the speed with which the witch confessed. Women across Europe were stripped naked and forced to betray each other under torture. If convicted, the entire community would come to watch her burn or drown.
Assuming these women weren’t really witches, which kinds of women were targeted? The easiest generalization is outcasts. Women who spoke out, were quarrelsome, problematic, were different in some way, spinsters, elderly, disabled, or too sexual. This was a perhaps unconscious effort to dispose of bothersome women and free society of them. The preponderance of female victims shows it was the effect of a culture gone hysterical over centuries of degrading theories about women.
In England, the witch trials were a bit behind the continent, not peaking until the 1600s, but they too would be aided by a manual called The Discovery of Witches. The manual's author was Matthew Hopkins, who assumed the name “Witch Finder Generall,” and preyed on people’s fears, charging a fee to find and convict witches in their communities–a true con artist! Between 1644 and 1647 he targeted 230 mostly female victims.
Anne Boleyn, Wikimedia Commons
Queen Elizabeth I: The Reformation in England manifested quite differently than it had on the continent. The Catholic King Henry VIII had long been married to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, known for uniting a Catholic Spain at the expense of the Jews and Muslims there. They had many pregnancies, and only one daughter survived, Mary.
Known for his many affairs at court, Henry VIII fell in love with Anne Boleyn, one of his wife's ladies. His passion is evident in letters he wrote– 17 of which survive, "If you... give yourself up, heart, body and soul to me... I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thought and affection all others save yourself, to serve only you."
But she boldly said no. "Your wife I cannot be, both in respect of mine own unworthiness, and also because you have a queen already. Your mistress I will not be." Their liaison dragged on, and eventually after over twenty years of marriage, Henry asked the Pope to annul his marriage on the grounds that Catherine had been previously married to his older brother who died just six months after they married. Catherine insisted to her dying day that the marriage to his brother was never consummated and the Pope rejected Henry’s request. In response, Henry broke from Rome. He declared himself the head of the new Church of England; divorced his wife and sent her into isolation; delegitimized his daughter and heir, Mary; banned her from seeing her mother; and married his lover, Anne Boleyn.
Though Anne was raised Catholic, she advocated for reform. She read banned anti-clerical books and supported reformists. Anne's reformist leanings alienated the people of England. The Spanish were furious at the insult to their Princess, living in England. An ambassador insulted Anne by calling her "more Lutheran than Luther himself," though this was likely hyperbole. The public hated Anne not just because they viewed her as an adulteress, but because they considered her a heretic.
Known for his many affairs at court, Henry VIII fell in love with Anne Boleyn, one of his wife's ladies. His passion is evident in letters he wrote– 17 of which survive, "If you... give yourself up, heart, body and soul to me... I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thought and affection all others save yourself, to serve only you."
But she boldly said no. "Your wife I cannot be, both in respect of mine own unworthiness, and also because you have a queen already. Your mistress I will not be." Their liaison dragged on, and eventually after over twenty years of marriage, Henry asked the Pope to annul his marriage on the grounds that Catherine had been previously married to his older brother who died just six months after they married. Catherine insisted to her dying day that the marriage to his brother was never consummated and the Pope rejected Henry’s request. In response, Henry broke from Rome. He declared himself the head of the new Church of England; divorced his wife and sent her into isolation; delegitimized his daughter and heir, Mary; banned her from seeing her mother; and married his lover, Anne Boleyn.
Though Anne was raised Catholic, she advocated for reform. She read banned anti-clerical books and supported reformists. Anne's reformist leanings alienated the people of England. The Spanish were furious at the insult to their Princess, living in England. An ambassador insulted Anne by calling her "more Lutheran than Luther himself," though this was likely hyperbole. The public hated Anne not just because they viewed her as an adulteress, but because they considered her a heretic.
Elizabeth I, Wikimedia Commons
Unfortunately, the time-honored-misogyny against female leadership crept into the tale. Apparently desperate to secure a male heir, Henry was increasingly frustrated when Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, and future pregnancies resulted in miscarriage. He began an affair with Jane Seymour. Anne was furious and Henry was tired of her. He accused her of adultry and incest with her brother. She and her brother were beheaded.
Later, Jane died in childbirth to his only legitimate son. He married again only for it to end in divorce. His next marriage ended in beheading. When he finally died leaving the sixth wife alive and well, his weak son ascended to the throne only to die as a teen. Ironically, his daughter Mary from his first marriage seized the throne, returning the Catholics to power in what has inaccurately been called a reign of terror earning her the derogatory nickname, Bloody Mary. When Mary died of likely ovarian cancer, her half sister Elizabeth would claim the throne as Elizabeth I. Again the religious landscape changed. Elizabeth would kill more Catholics than her sister did Protestants, but Elizabeth ruled longer and got to write the history. When she became queen, writers of the period would extol her mother Anne for her Protestant views and credited her with "banishing the beast of Rome with all his beggarly baggage."
Elizabeth’s throne was never secure. Catholics on the continent were constantly looking to usurp the Protestant Queen. Her cousin Mary Queen of Scots tried to assassinate her funded by Catholics in France. But it was Catholic Spain that held the real hatred for Elizabeth, as it was her mother who replaced their princess, Catherine.
Later, Jane died in childbirth to his only legitimate son. He married again only for it to end in divorce. His next marriage ended in beheading. When he finally died leaving the sixth wife alive and well, his weak son ascended to the throne only to die as a teen. Ironically, his daughter Mary from his first marriage seized the throne, returning the Catholics to power in what has inaccurately been called a reign of terror earning her the derogatory nickname, Bloody Mary. When Mary died of likely ovarian cancer, her half sister Elizabeth would claim the throne as Elizabeth I. Again the religious landscape changed. Elizabeth would kill more Catholics than her sister did Protestants, but Elizabeth ruled longer and got to write the history. When she became queen, writers of the period would extol her mother Anne for her Protestant views and credited her with "banishing the beast of Rome with all his beggarly baggage."
Elizabeth’s throne was never secure. Catholics on the continent were constantly looking to usurp the Protestant Queen. Her cousin Mary Queen of Scots tried to assassinate her funded by Catholics in France. But it was Catholic Spain that held the real hatred for Elizabeth, as it was her mother who replaced their princess, Catherine.
All this would come to a head in the late 1580s, when King Philip II of Spain planned the conquest of England. The Pope, Sixtus V, gave his blessing hoping to secure England as a Catholic kingdom again. At the time the Spanish had the largest Armada of ships in Europe and had already sailed them across the Atlantic. A giant Spanish invasion fleet was built, but the English attacked early by lighting some of their own ships on fire and sending them afloat into the Spanish. In the confusion, the Spanish sailed right into English guns. Others fled to the open seas where it appeared to the faithful that God himself intervened, as a storm sunk the majority of the remaining fleet.
Elizabeth’s defeat of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of the decline of the Spanish Empire and a pivotal victory for Protestantism. This victory for the women who claimed to have “the heart of a man” was also seen as divine proof of her position as queen.
End of the Reformation: As the Protestant Church became more established on the continent, the need for female support diminished and so tighter restrictions were placed on women’s activities. When it came to women being involved in ministry and Church life, the male Reformers always found themselves caught between what they thought theologically and wanted practically. For the male Reformers, like their Catholic counterparts, it was theologically unsound and even heretical to have women actively involved in the Church. Therefore, what these men taught about women was in constant disagreement with their need for female support. This confusion was never adequately resolved, and so the Protestant Church established by the Reformation was left with a culture of female involvement existing simultaneously with a theology of female exclusion.
Conclusion: The Protestant Reformation took different shapes in different parts of Europe. In France it resulted in the persecution of the Huguenots, in Germany wars, in England political drama. Everywhere women were integral to the story.
The result was not only the rise of Protestantism, but the Catholic Reformation: both largely acknowledged the importance of educating the masses– including women. Women’s access to education, the Bible, and the roles they were able to play in the movement set the stage for the modern era.
By the end of this era, so much remained in question. How much would access to education improve women’s status? How would future women intellectuals be received? And how long would the status sought by reformers take to be realized?
Elizabeth’s defeat of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of the decline of the Spanish Empire and a pivotal victory for Protestantism. This victory for the women who claimed to have “the heart of a man” was also seen as divine proof of her position as queen.
End of the Reformation: As the Protestant Church became more established on the continent, the need for female support diminished and so tighter restrictions were placed on women’s activities. When it came to women being involved in ministry and Church life, the male Reformers always found themselves caught between what they thought theologically and wanted practically. For the male Reformers, like their Catholic counterparts, it was theologically unsound and even heretical to have women actively involved in the Church. Therefore, what these men taught about women was in constant disagreement with their need for female support. This confusion was never adequately resolved, and so the Protestant Church established by the Reformation was left with a culture of female involvement existing simultaneously with a theology of female exclusion.
Conclusion: The Protestant Reformation took different shapes in different parts of Europe. In France it resulted in the persecution of the Huguenots, in Germany wars, in England political drama. Everywhere women were integral to the story.
The result was not only the rise of Protestantism, but the Catholic Reformation: both largely acknowledged the importance of educating the masses– including women. Women’s access to education, the Bible, and the roles they were able to play in the movement set the stage for the modern era.
By the end of this era, so much remained in question. How much would access to education improve women’s status? How would future women intellectuals be received? And how long would the status sought by reformers take to be realized?
Draw your own conclusions
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Was Joan of Arc a Heretic?
In this inquiry, students examine the life and primary material related to Joan of Arc. She was tried and executed at the stake by the English after their trial found her to be a heretic, but was she? 
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Was Martin Luther sexist? How did the Reformation change women's lives?
There was no Rennaisance for women, not until women were allowed to be educated did their lives change, and oddly widespread education for women in Europe did not come until Martin Luther a man who spoke openly about misogyny, but yet advocated for women's education. Was he sexist?
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Were women integral to the Protestant Reformation?
In this inquiry, students explore the writings and contributions of Reformation women to determine how integral these women were to the movement.
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Was Catherine de Medici a "Black Queen"?
In this inquiry, students explore the life of Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France and the complicated way Queen regents held power.
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Was Anne Boleyn innocent?
Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife and arguably the cause of England's separation from the Roman Catholic Church and Rome because they would not permit him a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Her role in the Protestant Reformation is paramount. Yet Anne's rise was short lived and she was eventually accused of adultery and incest and beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry VIII would go on to marry four other women. One died in childbirth, another divorce, another beheading, and finally Henry died allowing his last wife to survive him. Historians still debate whether Anne was innocent-- i this inquiry, students will examine the evidence.
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- This website, Women in World History has primary source based lesson plans on women's history in a whole range of topics. Some are free while others have a cost.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in World History.
Bibliography
Bainton, Roland. Women Of The Reformation: In France And England (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007).
Christianity Today Editors. “John Calvin: Christian History Timeline” Christianity Today. 2018. http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-12/john-calvin-christian-history-timeline.html>.
Kirsi Stjerna, Women And The Reformation (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2009).
Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Malleus Maleficarum, the Medieval Witch Hunter Book." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/malleus-maleficarum-witch-document-3530785 (accessed July 6, 2022).
Luther, Martin. The Tabletalk Of Martin Luther. (Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2003),
Luther, Martin and K Zimmermann, Luther’s Letters To Women. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1865).
Matheson, Peter. Argula Von Grumbach: A Woman’s Voice In The Reformation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995).
Methuen, Charlotte. “Preaching The Gospel Through Love Of Neighbour: The Ministry Of Katharina Schutz Zell.”, The Journal Of Ecclesiastical History, 61.4 (2010).
Miles, Rosalind. The Women’s History of the World. London, UK: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Christianity Today Editors. “John Calvin: Christian History Timeline” Christianity Today. 2018. http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-12/john-calvin-christian-history-timeline.html>.
Kirsi Stjerna, Women And The Reformation (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2009).
Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Malleus Maleficarum, the Medieval Witch Hunter Book." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/malleus-maleficarum-witch-document-3530785 (accessed July 6, 2022).
Luther, Martin. The Tabletalk Of Martin Luther. (Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2003),
Luther, Martin and K Zimmermann, Luther’s Letters To Women. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1865).
Matheson, Peter. Argula Von Grumbach: A Woman’s Voice In The Reformation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995).
Methuen, Charlotte. “Preaching The Gospel Through Love Of Neighbour: The Ministry Of Katharina Schutz Zell.”, The Journal Of Ecclesiastical History, 61.4 (2010).
Miles, Rosalind. The Women’s History of the World. London, UK: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Primary AUTHOR: |
Caroline Taylor
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Primary Reviewer: |
Dr. Katherine Koh
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Consulting Team |
Editors |
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Kelsie Brook Eckert, Project Director
Coordinator of Social Studies Education at Plymouth State University Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer, Consultant Professor of History at Maryville College. Chloe Gardner, Consultant PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Dr. Whitney Howarth, Consultant Former Professor of History at Plymouth State University Jacqui Nelson, Consultant Teaching Lecturer of Military History at Plymouth State University Maria Concepcion Marquez Sandoval PhD Candidate in History at Arizona University |
Amy Flanders
Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy ReviewersAncient:
Dr. Kristin Heineman Professor of History at Colorado State University Dr. Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon Professor of History at Wilson College Sarah Stone PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Medieval: Dr. Katherine Koh Professor of History at La Sierra University Dr. Jonathan Couser Professor of History at Plymouth State University Dr. Shahla Haeri Professor of History at Boston University Lauren Cole PhD Candidate in History at Northwestern University |
Remedial Herstory Editors. "19. 1450-1600 WOMEN AND THE REFORMATION." The Remedial Herstory Project. November 1, 2022. www.remedialherstory.com.
