Breaking Barriers with Katharina Zell

To paraphrase Jane Austen, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a good education, must be in want of a husband.”  

To hear many of our national leaders tell it, women without a husband are doomed to be “miserable,” “childless cat ladies” who never fulfill their God-given womanly roles as wives and mothers. The Virgin Martyrs of the early Church, who opted out of their societally-expected duty to make babies for the Roman Empire, were the most barbarically tortured Christians during the persecutions. Patriarchal societies have always saved their fiercest brutality toward women who refused to do as they were told. (If you have an especially strong stomach, you can look up how the Suffragettes of the early twentieth century were treated in American and British jails.)

Protestant reformer, writer, and pamphleteer Katharina Schütz Zell (1497/98 – 1562) was one of the first Protestant women to marry a clergyman—even before Martin Luther put a thumb in Rome’s eye by marrying a nun. She did, in fact, believe she was called by God to do so—though certainly not because she feared failure as a woman or becoming a “childless cat lady.” She even had two children—though, sadly, they both died at an early age.

Katharina was the fifth of ten children of Elisabeth Gerster and Jacob Schütz, who poured a large part of their income into their children’s education. Katharina learned to read and write fluently in her native German, as well as acquiring a foundation in Latin. Though her religious interests were her primary motive for learning, it was always understood that she would also be preparing herself for an independent profession. Though medieval women often had trades (brewing was a common one), by the time of the Reformation, women—especially educated and cultured women—were expected to stay at home, raise children, and be obedient wives. Although she managed to escape the worst of the persecution that other women reformers faced, she seems to have been lucky in doing so.

The Protestant Reformation was just beginning when Katharina was quite young. The writings of Martin Luther had begun to spread, causing a sensation throughout Europe. Matthew Zell, the pastor assigned in 1518 to take charge of the St. Lawrence Cathedral in Katharina’s native Strasbourg, introduced her to these new teachings, which fired her imagination and drew her into the reformer’s path.

Shortly after his arrival in Strasbourg, Matthew Zell and Katharina Schütz were married. She was convinced that God had called her to marry the pastor “as an expression of her faith in God and her love for others.” Of course, many people disapproved, both of the novelty of her marrying a clergyman, and of the equal partnership the pair made of their union. Sadly, in 1548, Matthew Zell also died; Katharina processed her grief by deepening her study of scripture.  

Katharina is best known for the unique personal faith set forth in her writings. For someone of her time, she was very open-minded. She believed in making a distinction between people and their religious beliefs, and prioritized caring for people over setting up barriers based on church teachings. (When I was a hospice chaplain, I often said that “pastoral concerns always trump doctrinal ones.” I though at the time that was very original.)

Naturally, not everyone was supportive of an outspoken woman with strong personal beliefs. “What can I do or achieve now that I am a poor woman, who, so many say, should spin and care for the sick,” she wrote, “but since I disagree, I am called an arrogant person.”  

The ideas of the Protestant Reformation could never have spread without pamphlets. The invention of moveable type made it possible to reach a wide audience quickly, even on subjects like current affairs. Martin Luther himself was acquainted with her writing through her pamphlets.  

Katharina’s career does not reflect the experience of most women of her time. The medieval period produced more woman writers than the Reformation, and the social and institutional constraints upon women increased during the latter period. Katharina Zell broke through these barriers and got a public airing for her ideas.  

It is unknown whether she ever kept a cat.