Another great day and experience here in the Reformation town of Wittenberg. However, we jumped on a train today to take a day-trip to another town where the influence of Luther and the reformation had an impact. More about that later.
Where were Pastor Curtis and Jo Ann yesterday. Did anything look familiar in the images that were posted yesterday? What looked like a dormatory or school was actually the home of Martin and Katherina Luther. Katherina was a nun who escaped from her convent in a herring barrel and through a series of event she eventually captured the heart of Luther. History showed that they were engaged and married the same day. Luther was 41 and Katherina was 26 when they married. They had six children. Three boys and three girls and only four of them reached adulthood.
Although money was hard to come by in the Luther household, Katherina was a gifted manager of their budget and income. They did not live in this large house alone with their six children. She had to run the household like it was a boarding house or hotel. There were a number of students boarding at their home which helped to bring in the income necessary to feed them. Besides the students otherers who lived in the household included about ten employees--Martin's secretary, his children's teacher, his assistant, Wolf Seeberger, the cook Dorothea, servants and maids, a coachman and a swineherdsman not to mention foreigners and friends who came to stay with them. They would have anywhere from 35 to 40 people living in their household constantly. Katherina managed the household including overseeing the meals that needed to be served on a daily basis. Think of the amound of water needed for those living there in the house and also the amount of wood needed to keep the stoves stoked throughout the house.
Any extra funds, Katherina would save and purchase real estate to manage large gardens and raise beef, pork, chicken, goats, etc. so that they could become self-sufficient. Of course, women were not allowed to sign contracts, so Luther did the signing even though she made the decisions about what land estates to purchase. At one time they owned the most real estate and animals in the Wittenberg area. Luther discovered that he enjoyed gardening and stated to his friend Wenzesclaus in Nuremberg, "Send as many seeds as you possibly can...No matter how much Satan is raging meanwhile I will laugh at him and watch the gardens, that is the creator's blessings, and enjoy them to His praise...if I'm going to stay alive, I would want to become a gardener." Even with all the different means of income from the selling of eggs, milk and some meat, along with the income Luther made as a professor and the income from the students, money was still very hard to come by and they just made ends meet.
At night after supper, Dr. Luther would sit together with the students staying there and would have theological discussions. Luther would also test them on the basis of these talks. These talks were referred to as "Luther's Table Talks" and have been collected and published in book form. There is so much more to tell, but I'll save it for another time. Enjoy more pictures of the Luther household.
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