{"id":13080,"date":"2017-08-26T13:49:29","date_gmt":"2017-08-26T17:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=13080"},"modified":"2017-08-26T14:35:54","modified_gmt":"2017-08-26T18:35:54","slug":"martin-luther-advocate-praise-raping-nuns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2017\/08\/martin-luther-advocate-praise-raping-nuns.html","title":{"rendered":"Did Martin Luther Advocate & Praise the Raping of Nuns?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"KatharinavonBora\"<\/p>\n

Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), former Catholic nun and Luther\u2019s wife. Portrait (1529) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)<\/span> [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

(11-3-16; revised on 8-26-17)<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

The Toronto Catholic Witness<\/em> blog put up an article on 10-31-16, entitled, \u201cMartin Luther advocated the raping of Nuns ~ how can any Catholic praise him, or this hideous, evil \u201cReformation\u201d?\u201d<\/a> It cited Jacques Maritain\u2019s book, The Three Reformers<\/em>, which referred to \u201ca rape of nuns which took place on the night of Holy Saturday, 1523\u201d (p. 40).<\/p>\n

Maritain appears to have been drawn this from the virulently anti-Luther Catholic biographer, Heinrich Denifle, who (at least in the English translation) added the description of \u201crape\u201d to his description of an incident <\/a>\u00a0(\u201crape and abduction\u201d) which was simply nuns voluntarily fleeing their convent. But there are many factors of translation and definition involved (much more on that below).<\/p>\n

Jesuit and Luther biographer Hartmann Grisar (who also wrote a six-volume biography of Luther) recounts the story in his Martin Luther: His Life and Work<\/em>\u00a0(1925; reprinted in 1930 and 1950: Newman Press; see pp. 233-234) \u2014 I have a hard copy in my own library \u2013, with not the slightest hint of rape. This was twelve Cistercian nuns who voluntary left a convent at Nimbschen. Grisar commented:<\/p>\n

They were mostly daughters of the nobility, who had been committed to the convent according to custom and hence failed to honor the state of life which they had embraced voluntarily. (p. 234)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Grisar is the far more reputable and objective biographer. And he is scathingly critical of Luther where it is called for, so we can trust his account of this incident.<\/p>\n

It looks like Toronto Catholic Witness<\/em> blew the documentation of the primary German source, too. I didn\u2019t look closely enough at Grisar. He gives Weimar, Vol. XI, 394 sqq.; Erlangen ed., Vol. XXIX, 33 sqq. Maritain and Toronto Catholic Witness<\/em> stated that it was Weimar edition, Vol. IX.<\/p>\n

Biographer Martin Brecht<\/a> relates the incident, with not a word about rape, as does\u00a0Catholic historian Carlos M. N. Eire<\/a>, in Reformations<\/a><\/em>: a book published in 2016 by Yale University Press.<\/p>\n

The breaking of religious vows is, of course, a serious sin, too, in Catholic thought, but that\u2019s a separate discussion. Here I am only addressing whether these nuns were raped, and with Luther\u2019s approval. One of these nuns was Luther\u2019s future wife, Katharina von Bora. Are we to believe that Luther rejoiced in the rape of his wife<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Spreading myths and lies about Luther does nothing to advance Catholicism or ecumenical relations. There are plenty of real<\/em> issues where Luther was wrong in his theology that can be discussed. I\u2019ve dealt with them at length, on my Luther web page<\/a>, which is the most extensive Catholic critique of Luther online. I also have an extensive page about Lutheranism<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

Thus no one can claim that I don\u2019t take on Protestant errors or Luther himself when he is wrong (from the Catholic standpoint). But I won\u2019t countenance lies for a second, because it brings into question our credibility and Christian witness to historical truth and fairness. It\u2019s wrong, and we sin if we spread them, having been informed of their inaccurate and defamatory nature.<\/p>\n

Commenter Steve Perisho added some crucial linguistic information\u00a0on my Facebook page:<\/p>\n

Maritain (I\u2019m looking at p. 263 of the nouvelle edition revue et augment\u00e9e<\/em> in 1925) said, in his original French, \u201crapt\u201d, which is hardly unambiguous. The 1981 Larousse French dictionary<\/em> I have here at home allows for \u201crape\u201d, but says\u00a0first \u201ckidnapping\u201d and third \u201cabduction\u201d. It gives \u201crapt\u201d for \u201crape\u201d in the English-French section, but also enl\u00e8vement<\/em>\u00a0and (juridically) viol<\/em>. By contrast the larger 1991 Harrap\u2019s Shorter<\/em> I have here at home gives for \u201crapt\u201d only<\/em> \u201cabduction\u201d, \u201ckidnapping\u201d, and gives for \u201crape\u201d in its English-French section only\u00a0<\/em>viol<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So it might be interesting to look at a standard French dictionary published around or before 1925, or consult a native speaker of French. And also, of course, the context. The \u201cabduction\u201d or \u201ckidnapping\u201d reading would make better sense of what Maritain says Luther called Koppe, namely un \u2018bienheureux voleur\u2019<\/em>\u00a0(thief, robber), and especially if\u00a0<\/em>voleur<\/em> is related to violer<\/em> etymologically (which, without checking, I do not know to be the case).<\/p>\n

This is by itself enough for me to give also Maritain (if not his translator, Algar Thorold) some at least preliminary benefit of the doubt.\u00a0I am simply interested in whether there is any chance that Maritain<\/em>\u00a0can be detached from the scurrilous use they make of him (unfortunate as he may<\/em>\u00a0have been in his translator). And that I see as a slightly different question from the one about Denifle, or the 16th-century matter of fact.<\/p>\n

You provided an English translation of Denifle. But the word behind \u201crape\u201d in Denifle\u2019s footnote is actually Raub<\/em>, fundamentally \u201crobbery\u201d (Der Raub und die Entf\u00fchrung der gottgeweihten Nonnen<\/em>). And though the English-German section of my 1995 Langescheidt<\/em> adds both 2. Entf\u00fchrung<\/em>\u00a0and Raub<\/em>\u00a0to its entry on \u201crape\u201d, only 1. Vergewaltung<\/em>\u00a0and Notzucht<\/em>\u00a0get defined as \u201crape\u201d in the German-English section.<\/p>\n

I checked to see whether Maritain was citing Denifle\u2019s original German or a French translation. And of course he was citing the French translation by J. Paquier. So more relevant than the original German is the fact that Pacquier reduced the two terms Der Raub und die Entf\u00fchrung<\/em>\u00a0to the single term Le rapt<\/em>, the same word used by Maritain himself.\u00a0That doesn\u2019t answer the question of what the context in which Maritain placed it<\/em>\u00a0dictates about how Thorold should have translated it into English, but it does seem to me to be something to be taken into consideration in determining whether Maritain himself<\/em> can be charged with having (at this one crucial point in particular) really meant \u201crape\u201d in the unambiguously sexual sense or not.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, it looks to be\u00a0a matter of questionable English translations (and perhaps anti-Luther bias or even bigotry) in both cases: for Denifle and also Maritain, and also perhaps an unfortunate translation of German into French. We readily observe\u00a0the supreme importance of using the right word to convey the original language.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), former Catholic nun and Luther\u2019s wife. Portrait (1529) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons] *** (11-3-16; revised on 8-26-17) ***** The Toronto Catholic Witness blog put up an article on 10-31-16, entitled, \u201cMartin Luther advocated the raping of Nuns ~ how can any Catholic praise him, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":13081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[3747,3746,4264,4265,488,4262,3744,3743,3745,3742,4263,2348,3748],"class_list":["post-13080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martin-luther","tag-anti-luther-rhetoric","tag-distortions-of-luther","tag-katharina-von-bora","tag-katie-von-bora","tag-luther","tag-luther-raping-of-nuns","tag-luther-sexuality","tag-luther-women","tag-luther-in-context","tag-luther-on-women","tag-luthers-wife","tag-martin-luther","tag-misinterpretations-of-luther"],"yoast_head":"\nDid Martin Luther Advocate & Praise the Raping of Nuns?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This "raping" is shown to be a myth & notorious instance of bad translation. 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Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}