Women Reformers of Early Modern Europe: Profiles, Texts, and Contexts

by I. Stjerna, Kirsi (Editor)

Overview

Women Reformers of Early ModernEurope provides an expansive view of women negotiating their faith, voice, and agency in the religious and cultural scene of the sixteenth-century reformations. Women from different geographic contexts (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, and Scandinavia) and from a broad spectrum of vocations and social standings are highlighted along with examples of their original writings in English translation (in some cases brand new).

An international, interdisciplinary cohort of over thirty scholars provide cutting-edge scholarship on women, religion, and gender in the sixteenth-century reformation context. Chapters interpret historical sources relevant to the women in question and provide original material for a deeper understanding of each woman's specific negotiations about her faith and religious preferences, as well as about her specific options--as a woman.

Most of the women in the book left a written record, providing a valuable window into women's spirituality and theology. Gender questions are engaged throughout the chapters that provide irrefutable evidence of women's essential roles in the reception and implementation of the Protestant confessions. An important voice comes from women who defended their right to profess Catholic faith.

Thematic articles enhance the analysis of the roles, experiences, and contributions of individual women in different contexts and positions vis-à-vis reformation teachings. Women stand out as writers, theologians, historians, biblical interpreters, publishers, hymnwriters, rulers, pastoral care givers, defenders of justice, "heretics," rebels, midwives, mothers, and friends.

The tone of the volume is scholarly but invites a broad spectrum of readers who have varying levels of background knowledge. It is especially suitable as a textbook or as a reference guide in different disciplines (reformation studies, church history, theological history, gender scholarship, early modern and sixteenth-century studies; and language studies).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506468723
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	395
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kirsi I. Stjerna is First Lutheran, Los Angeles/Southwest California Synod Professor of Lutheran History and Theology at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University, Berkeley, a Core Doctoral Faculty member at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and a Docent in Helsinki University, Finland. She has authored several books, including Women and the Reformation and Luther, The Bible and the Jewish People (with Brooks Schramm), and Lutheran Theology: A Grammar of Faith. She is one of three general editors of the six-volume The Annotated Luther (Fortress Press).

Table of Contents

List of Images and Credits xi

List of Contributors xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction: Expanding the Horizons with Women at the Center Kirsi I. Stjerna xix

I Women Theologians and the Printed Word

Katharina Schütz Zell (ca. 1498-1562): Passionate Church Mother Elsie McKee 3

Argula von Grumbach (1492-1554/57): A Woman with the Word Peter Matheson 13

Marie Dentière (1495-1561): In Defense of Women Mary B. McKinley 23

Elisabeth Cruciger (ca. 1500-1535): Lutheran Hymnwriter Mary Jane Haemig 35

Margarethe Prüss (d. 1542): Printer Kirsi I. Stjerna 43

II German Women Leading the Reforms

Katharina von Bora (1499-1552): Morning Star of Wittenberg Laura Jurgens 53

Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1510-1558) and Elisabeth of Denmark (1485-1555): Lutheran Rulers Sini Mikkola Päivi Räisänen-Schröder 63

Dorothea Susanna of the Palatinate, Duchess of Sachsen-Weimar (1544-1592): Confessor of the Faith Irene Dingel 77

Amalia Elisabeth of Hesse-Cassel (1602-1651): The Iron Princess Tryntje Helfferich 89

III English Women for the Protestant Faith

Anne Askew (ca. 1521-1546): Author of The Latter Examination (1546, pub. 1547) Jason E. Cohen 103

Elizabeth Tyrwhit (d. 1578): Protestant Englishwomen and Written Prayer Sharon L. Arnault 111

Jane Grey (1537-1554): A life of Religious Meaning Carole Levin 121

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603): Religion and Beliefs Carole Levin 131

Katherine Parr (1512-1548): Protestant Queen, Author, and Influencer Micheline White 141

IV French and Italian Women for the Protestant Faith

Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549): Theologian and Patron of Evangelicals, in Her Own Words and Actions Jennifer Powell McNutt 153

Renée of France (1510-1575): Valiant Protector of Religious Dissidents Kelly Digby Peebles 163

Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572): Reformer and Queen Kathleen M. Llewellyn 177

Olimpia Fulvia Morata (1526-1555): Eloquent Magistra Gianmarco Braghi 187

V Dutch, Swiss, and Anabaptist Women for the Reformations

Susanna (1551-1625) and Cornelia (1554-1576) Teellinck: Early Dutch Reformed Editor and Authors Amanda C. Pipkin 199

Anna Scharnschlager (d. 1564) and Margarethe Endris: Anabaptist Women and Their Letters Päivi Räisänen-Schröder 209

Being Reformed: Women in the Zürich Reformation Rebecca Giselbrecht 223

VI Protestant Women and Their Bible

Argula von Grumbach and Katharina Schütz Zell as Biblical Interpreters G. Sujin Pak 243

Sixteenth-Century Protestant Englishwomen as Readers and Writers Kate Narveson 255

VII Protestant Teachings and Women's Agency

Luther's Theological Anthropology and View of Women's Roles Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen 269

Marriage in Protestant Europe Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks 281

Working Women in Poor Relief: Midwives, Nurses, and Deaconesses Esther Chung-Kim 291

Reading Textiles as Text: Katharina von Bora's Self-Representation through Dress Karin J. Bohleke 301

VIII Women Negotiating the Reformations in Different Contexts and Spaces

Thistles and Thorns: Women Resist the Reformation Austra Reinis 315

Anna Jacobäa Fuggerin (1547-1587) and St. Katharina Convent in Augsburg: The End of an Experiment in Simultaneity Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer 327

Katarina Jagiellon (1526-1583): A Queen Negotiating the Reformation in the North Raisa Maria Toivo 341

The Italian Way: Women, Religion, and Society during the Age of the Reformation Eleonora Belligni 349

Anna Vasa (1568-1625): Lutheran Sister of the Catholic King Ann Lahtinen Terhi Katajamäki 361

"Without Women and Children," No Reformation in France Jonathan A. Reid 369

Index of Names 383

Index of Scripture 393

Editorial Reviews

"Women Reformers of Early Modern Europe is a superb introduction to the way women shaped and were shaped by the Reformation. Its interdisciplinary approach and its broad chronological and geographical scope combine to shed new light on how women actively supported—and in some cases vigorously opposed—Protestant teachings. This volume will be the new starting point for anyone interested in the role of women in early modern religious reform." —Amy Nelson Burnett, Varner Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

"Several decades after the Great Realignment began—the project of integrating women's voices into our history—we now see the harvest for the era of the Reformation: a full and complex portrait of women's participation in the Protestant movement in all its principal European centers. With his characteristic wisdom and energy, Roland Bainton launched the endeavor with three volumes on Women of the Reformation (1971, 1975, 1977). Now Kirsi Stjerna, assembling an impressive international cast of thirty-four experts, has completed that enterprise. The contributors to Women Reformers of Early Modern Europe, in brief but meaty biographical and thematic studies with accompanying textual excerpts, splendidly bring to life women readers of the Bible, challengers (and some defenders) of orthodoxy, wives and mothers, and leaders and rulers, in one indispensable volume." —Margaret L. King, professor of history emerita, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, and editor in chief, Oxford Bibliographies Renaissance/Reformation (Oxford University Press)

"Women Reformers of Early Modern Europe brings women from the periphery to the center of Reformation studies, as prominent scholars from an array of disciplines provide insightful analyses of women's contributions and complex reactions to the Reformation. Chapters include biographical information, thoughtful analysis, translated texts, and up-to-date bibliographies that make this collection accessible and useful to students and scholars alike." —Allyson M. Poska, professor of history, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the author of four books, including Gendered Crossings: Women and Migration in the Spanish Empire (University of New Mexico Press, 2016), winner of the 2017 best book prize from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women

"A hidden history detected: Spread over Europe, women wrote for reformation, fought for it, and also resisted. Some of them are well known, some known only by specialists. This volume presents them all, name by name, in articles, profound and vivid, written by leading experts. It's a treasure chest for all who are eager to gain a consummate view on the Reformation." —Volker Leppin, Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology, Yale Divinity School, and author of Martin Luther: A Late Medieval Life

"Kirsi Stjerna has brought together a group of top-notch scholars in this exciting volume that pushes the field to continue the process of seeing the Reformation as more than the work of the best-known male leaders and should be a must-read for students and scholars alike. The essays reflect the rich developments that have shaped our understanding of women's participation in the Reformation since Roland Bainton's Women of the Reformation volumes of the 1970s. Based on deep knowledge of their sources and subjects, the contributors to this volume bring individual early modern women to life for readers and demonstrate that without the contributions and experiences of women, our story of the Reformation is incomplete." —Karen E. Sperling, professor of history and Inaugural John and Heath Faraci Endowed Professor, Department of History, Denison University

From the Publisher