Friday, October 6, 2023

It is the 6th of October, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

I think it is fair to say that on account of different vocations as well as a disordered understanding of the relationship between the sexes, women are underrepresented in Church History. That’s a can of worms, but it has caused me, as a historian, to seek out the voices of women- especially in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. And it is often the case that the women who come to our attention are wives, mothers, and mystics- all worthy callings. But today, we have the story of a rogue nun and theologian- if noble blood. She ditched it all on account of the gospel. She was Ursula von Münsterberg of the house of Wettin in Saxony. She gets footnotes from time to time, so I did a deep dive to find what I could.

Unsurprisingly, we have neither her date of birth nor her date of death. She was born sometime in the early 1490s and died sometime after 1534. So, for a show such as this, we needed to find another significant date.

She was related to Wettin. That is, the noble family from Saxony that split in two in the late 15th century. Her side, with Duke George of Saxony, would keep the Catholic faith while the other, that of John and Frederick, would adopt the Reformation.

When she was a young girl, her parents died, and she was sent to live with her cousin Duke George, the Catholic, who sent her to the nearby convent of Mary Magdalene the Penitent. At first, it wasn’t theology that soured Ursula, but rather her frail body, unable to keep up with the demands of the convent. From fasting to late-night prayer vigils she was often ill. Her family was unable (or unwilling) to cover the costs of her medical care, and she fell afoul of the prioress.

It was George's brother, Henry, and especially Henry’s wife, who began to adopt the teachings of the Wittenberg reformers. They arranged to have preachers sent to the convent who also followed Luther’s teachings. They had Luther’s works bound with false covers and surreptitiously brought into the convent for the sisters.

What is remarkable about this story is that we have not only Ursula’s later writings but also the witness of many of the sisters in the convent. Ursula was not alone in absorbing the reformer's teachings. It was suggested by a sister that stayed behind that as many as a third of the 70+ sisters adopted Luther’s teaching, one-third remained loyal to the catholic church, and the last third were undecided.

The convent was not well policed- as the 1520s unfolded, Ducal Saxony had more pressing concerns. And so it was on this, the 8th of October in 1528, that around 6 in the evening, a sound was heard near the kitchen but not inspected. The next morning, a veil was found left by the kitchen entrance. Ursula and two others had escaped. And to no one’s surprise, they headed for Wittenberg. What followed was a rather humorous correspondence between Wettin cousins- George and John. George demanded John send Ursula and the others back. John at first said that if he heard anything, he would let George know. George then wrote, saying, “I know she’s there. Send her back.” To which John responded, “Ah, yes, they are here- come and get them”. George responded, “That’s crazy, we’ll be attacked- send her back.” John replied, “Nah,” to which George responded: “Okay, fine, but keep this quiet and don’t let Ursula write anything about why she left.” John responds: “Too late, she’s already written her defense, don’t worry, it’s quite good.”

Ursula’s writing against the monastic life, in favor of Justification by faith alone, states, “We are married to Christ and to seek to be saved by another is adultery. There is only one way to relieve our consciences, and that is a clean break”. She wrote that this was not a hasty decision but deliberated over two years. She wrote for others whose consciences were troubled and worried about their own salvation. The letter circulated (after all, this is the early Reformation in Wittenberg- the center of the printing world), and Luther liked it so much that he wrote a forward and commended the work to be spread.

Ursula’s work found fame, but she would slip into obscurity- the last we hear of her is in 1534. But from her escape on this, the 6th of October in 1528, and subsequent writing, we have her story as a witness to one woman’s view of monastic orders and the Reformation.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary, which points us to Psalm 19- here, it fresh in the language of the Scottish Psalter:

1  The heav'ns God's glory do declare,

         the skies his hand-works preach:

   2  Day utters speech to day, and night

         to night doth knowledge teach.

 3  There is no speech nor tongue to which

         their voice doth not extend:

   4  Their line is gone through all the earth,

         their words to the world's end.

      In them he set the sun a tent;

   5     Who, bridegroom-like, forth goes

      From's chamber, as a strong man doth

         to run his race rejoice.

   6  From heav'n's end is his going forth,

         circling to th' end again;

      And there is nothing from his heat

         that hidden doth remain.

   7  God's law is perfect, and converts

         the soul in sin that lies:

      God's testimony is most sure,

         and makes the simple wise.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of October 2023 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose favorite Ursula’s include von Münsterberg, novelist Le Guin, actress Andress, and the sea witch who steals the mermaid’s voice. He is Christopher Gillespie. 

The show is written and read by a man reminding you that in the original book, the sea witch isn’t the antagonist, rather it’s human/mermaid nature. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be OK.