(This image of Wibrandis Rosenblatt is the only widely attributed image of her, yet it's creation date is unknown.)
This week there is another woman who offers an interesting
perspective on life during the Reformation. Born in 1504 in Bad Säckingen she
eventually moved to Basel, Switzerland where she spent most of her life. Her
name is Wibrandis Rosenblatt; she married three different reformers during her
lifetime, although originally she married a Basel humanist named Ludwig Keller.
That first marriage gave her no children.
Her following marriages all are with reformers as mentioned,
but most interesting is that they followed similar ideas theologically. Her
first marriage to a reformer, Johann Oecolampadious happened in 1528.
Oecolampadious proposed and subsequently married Wibrandis due to prodding from
his friend another reformer, Wolfgang Capito (Zophy 205). This marriage
functioned comfortably and gave Wibrandis three children. Sadly, in 1531
Oecolampadious died, the following year Wibrandis married Wolfgang Capito. This
prompted a move to Strasbourg and the birth of five more children. Capito then
died in 1541, less than ten years after his marriage began (Zophy 205). Her
final marriage was to Martin Bucer in 1542 and they lived together in England,
with his death in 1551 after giving Wibrandis another three children. After
Bucer’s death, Wibrandis returned to Basel, where she died from the plague in
1564 (Zophy 206).
General Facts not in Zophy came from:
Does everyone notice the theme of: reformers needing prodding to marry. I'm suspicious of the way in which these texts were designed to make the reformer seem a bit more holy. Luther "saves" Katerina because no one wanted to marry her? Perhaps she was extraordinarily interested in picking the right person? We do not know. I am thankful that your case study remarried though.
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