We have decided that in the following articles we will, after all, describe two women (rather than four), because for each woman we will provide a little more information than in the booklet produced by the women of the Central German church. For this purpose we have obtained additional information from other articles.
For your attention, two women: Dorothea Susanna of the Palatinate, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar (on the left) and Magdalena von Staupitz (on the right).
Dorothea Susanna of the Palatinate, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar
Dorothea Susanna was born on 15 November 1544 in Simmern to Frederick III and Maria, who was the daughter of Margrave Casimir of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
In 1559, Dorothea’s father Frederick III became Elector Palatine – one of the most influential princes of the empire. He was also the first to establish a congregation of the Reformed confession (Calvinist theology) in German territory. Thus the children of Frederick III – Dorothea Susanna, Ludwig and Elisabeth – became Lutherans, but the son Johann Casimir, like his father, adopted the Calvinist conviction.
Because of the differing convictions, the family was sometimes not without discord. Within the Protestant confession of Lutheranism there had also formed a circle of supporters of the theological ideas of Philipp Melanchthon, the so-called Philippists. In this context Dorothea Susanna was a ruler who saw to it that Luther’s teaching was observed in the territory of her rule. The Duchess had access to extensive confessional materials which, in their content and structure, resemble the Formula of Concord, which was adopted only later, in 1577. The presence of the text of the Formula of Concord in Dorothea Susanna’s possession is a rather surprising fact. Elector Augustus of Saxony is said to have stated, among his arguments against the Lutheran confession, that the Duchess Dorothea had taken part in theological debates regarding the social norms of the time for women. Dorothea tried to comply with Elector Augustus’s admonition (because after the death of her husband, with Dorothea left a widow, her children were placed under Augustus’s guardianship). Dorothea tried not to speak publicly, but wrote several personal theological letters to Augustus. In all her letters she emphasised that she was a simple Christian, setting out simple assertions about various questions of faith. The Duchess defended her religious convictions and pointed out to Augustus that the situation called for a public solution, so that every living believer would be free to choose their own confession or denomination. In her letter Dorothea Susanna adds that “in matters of faith and confession God does not regard any individual person or distinctions within the human family, namely the distinctions between the female and male sexes. A person must profess their conviction and believe as often as is necessary and where it is necessary..”
It should be added that the confession of faith of the Duchess Dorothea Susanna was motivated both by her personal faith and by paying tribute to her late husband, who was a convinced Lutheran. She always justified her actions as the fulfilment of her late husband’s will. While Dorothea’s husband was still alive, both he and his wife tried to bring about the public condemnation of specific dissenting views within Lutheranism, for which both incurred displeasure among a large part of the Protestants. The negative attitude of those around her did not stop Dorothea even when she was left a widow. Dorothea continued to fight and to strive to achieve her goals in purifying Luther’s teaching of admixtures. The conflict with Elector Augustus, as well as her disadvantaged (vulnerable) position after her husband’s death, forced her to be creative in her tactics. Despite the difficulties, Dorothea managed to achieve many of her seemingly hopeless goals. This also makes her an admirable figure. In the painting, Dorothea Susanna is depicted with a fluttering banner bearing a hymn that characterises her: “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Magdalena von Staupitz
Magdalena von Staupitz was born around 1485 at the Motterwitz estate, near Grimma. Her parents were of the so-called lower nobility. In 1501 she was admitted to a Cistercian convent, where she received an education – the ability to read and write, as well as a basic knowledge of Latin. Magdalena von Staupitz was one of those nuns who, on the night of Easter 1523, escaped from the convent together with Katharina von Bora and set out for Wittenberg. In 1529 she was appointed the first headmistress of the Grimma girls’ primary school and worked as headmistress of the school until the end of her life (until 1548). In addition to reading and writing, Magdalena also taught the girls in her school the fundamentals of the Lutheran faith.
In the painting, Magdalena is depicted with a Bible in her hand, teaching catechesis, dressed in a teacher’s gown.
Photo: LLSTA
Related articles: Women of the Reformation in Central Germany, Part I