Katharina Zell

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Katharina Zell (born Schütz ; * around 1497 in Strasbourg ; † September 5, 1562 there ) was an Alsatian theological author and reformer .

Life

Signature of Katharina Zell (title entry in a book by Martin Bucer )

Katharina Schütz was born as the daughter of a master carpenter between July 15, 1497 and July 15, 1498 in Strasbourg. As a young girl she was already preoccupied with religious questions, attended church services intensively and, as she once said herself, “loved and feared all pastors and church relatives”. As early as 1521, Matthäus Zell was preaching in the spirit of the Reformation in Strasbourg Cathedral . Katharina was one of his listeners and Matthäus Zell noticed her. At the beginning of the Reformation in Strasbourg, Catherine had interfered in the public disputes and wrote to the Strasbourg Bishop Wilhelm III. von Hohnstein "rough letters".

On December 3, 1523 she married Matthäus Zell. The marriage was sanctified by Martin Bucer . At the side of her husband she became a helpful partner in his office and from 1524 wrote her first literary works. She cared for the poor, the sick, the suffering and the prisoners. At the side of her husband, she tried to find a hospitable rectory. The large cathedral rectory often resembled a hostel for those seeking protection and those in need. In the days of the Peasants' War and the famine, there were often 100 people who were cared for here. Two Strasbourg widows and alms pfleger helped.

She also took care of the poor pupil and worked in 1543 for the establishment of the Wilhelmerstift. But she also knew how to help in emotional distress; Her letter of consolation is well known: "To the suffering Christian women of the community in Kenzingen ". She used to socialize and exchange letters with the scholars of her time. She wrote to Luther several times and received replies from him. When the Swiss theologians were in Strasbourg on their way to the Marburg Religious Discussion , it was an honor for them to be their maid and cook. When the waves of the Lord's Supper controversy began to subside, Martin Luther suggested that she help “so that peace and unity are preserved”.

After 1538 she accompanied her husband to Wittenberg , where she spoke with her husband and Martin Luther about the questions of the Lord's Supper . Like her husband, she was generous enough to accept Ulrich Zwingli , Kaspar Schwenckfeld and the Anabaptists as well as Luther . In her foreword to Michael Weißes hymn book, she wishes these songs "that the craftsman sing for his work, the maid for washing dishes, the farmer and vine man in his field and the mother singing the crying child in the cradle". She remained with this generous attitude even after the death of her husband, for whom she herself gave the funeral oration. Admittedly, because of her friendly relationship with Schwenckfeld, she did not go unchallenged. In the face of the attacks by Ludwig Rabus, however , she knew how to defend herself and in later years, although penniless, continued her service in the community everywhere.

In her will of April 1, 1562, she appointed Johann Winter von Andernach , his wife, her friend Felicitas, and his sister-in-law Elisabeth Heglin as universal heirs.

On the occasion of the Reformation anniversary in 2017 , the outstanding importance of Katharina Schütz-Zell for the Reformation in Strasbourg was recognized.

Fonts

Title page of the apology Katharina Schützinn (1524)

All of the writings listed here have appeared in the work edition edited by Elsie A. McKee ( see under Literature ):

  • The leydenden Christian believers weybern the common zů Kentzigen mines co-sisters in Christo Jesu zů handen (1524, consolation for women of religious refugees from Kenzingen im Breisgau, 10 pages).
  • The Psalms Misere (1558, consolation for Felix Armbruster).
  • Excuse Katharina Schützinn (1524, defense letter for the husband Matthäus Zell, 38 pages).
  • A letter to the entire citizenry was created by the Statt Straßburg (1557, treatise in letter form in response to Ludwig Rabus).
  • Complaint and admonition Catharina Zellin to the people at the grave m: Matheus cells pastor to the minster of Strasbourg (1548, transcript of the funeral speech , source unsecured).
  • From Christo Jesu our saeligmacher (1534–1536, hymn book with foreword, song texts not included in the edition).
  • various letters, etc. a. 1553 to Kaspar Schwenckfeld.

Remembrance day

September 5th in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

literature

  • Roland H. Bainton : Katherine Zell. In: Paul M. Clogan (Ed.): Medievalia et humanistica. Studies in medieval and renaissance culture. New Series. Vol. 1, 1970, ISSN  0076-6127 , pp. 3-28.
  • Roland H. Bainton: Women of the Reformation. From Katharina von Bora to Anna Zwingli. Ten portraits. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1996, ISBN 3-579-01442-0 , p. 56 ff.
  • Lindtraut Belthle-Drury: "The Gospel helped build ..." - Katharina Zell (1497–1562). In: This: "Women of the Reformation". Do-it-yourself help for women 2010. Evangelische Frauenhilfe Westfalen e. V., Soest 2010, pp. 14–23 ( PDF; 496 kB ; with excerpts from sources).
  • Andrea Christmann: authors of the early modern period. Katharina Schütz-Zell and Caritas Pirckheimer. Dissertation, University of Mannheim 2005 ( full text ).
  • Sonja Domröse: Women of the Reformation. Learned, courageous and faithful. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-525-55012-0 , p. 45 ff; 2014 3 .
  • Gabriele Jancke: prophet, pastor's wife, publicist. The Strasbourg “mother of the church” Katharina Zell. In: Evangelisches Predigerseminar Lutherstadt Wittenberg (Ed.): Women get involved. Katharina Luther, Katharina Melanchthon, Katharina Zell, Hille Feicken and others. Drei-Kastanien-Verlag, Wittenberg 1997, ISBN 3-9804492-2-X , pp. 55-80.
  • Martin H. Jung : Katharina Zell, b. Schütz (1497 / 98–1562). In: Journal of Church History . Vol. 10, 2003, pp. 145-178.
  • Thomas Kaufmann : Pastor's wife and publicist. The reformatory "office" of Katharina Zell. In: Journal for Historical Research . Vol. 23, 1996, pp. 169-218.
  • Inge Mager :  Zell, Katharina. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 380–383, last updated: June 30, 2006.  ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive  on June 30, 2007 archived memento, accessed on 22 June 2016)
  • Elsie A. McKee (Ed.): Katharina Schütz Zell. Brill, Leiden / Boston / Cologne 1998.
    • Vol. 1 The life and thought of a sixteenth-century reformer (= Studies in medieval and reformation thought. Vol. 69). ISBN 90-04-11125-5 .
    • Vol. 2 The writings. A critical edition (= Studies in medieval and reformation thought. Vol. 69). ISBN 90-04-11126-3 .
  • Linda Maria Koldau : Women - Music - Culture. A manual on the German-speaking area of ​​the early modern period. Böhlau, Köln / Weimar 2005, ISBN 3-412-24505-4 , p. 456 ff.
  • Carolin Zeiher: About Christian interaction with one another. Rhetoric and polemics in Katharina Zell's work "A letter to the whole citizen of Strasbourg". In: Britt-Marie Schuster, Ute Schwarz (ed.): Communication practice and its reflection in early New High German and New High German times (= commemorative publication for Monika Rossing-Hager on her 65th birthday ). Olms, Hildesheim 1998, ISBN 3-487-10713-9 , pp. 135-156.
  • Ursula Koch (ed.): Mocked, respected, loved - the women of the Reformation. Stories of courage, challenge and perseverance. Neukirchener Aussaat, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2015, ISBN 978-3-7615-6214-7 .

Web links

Commons : Katharina Zell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jacob Bernays : On the biography of Johann Winthers von Andernach. In: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine . Vol. 55 = NF Vol. 16, 1901, ISSN  0044-2607 , pp. 28-58, here: pp. 49 f.
  2. ↑ Worms and Coburg are "Reformation cities of Europe". epd message. October 30, 2014. In: ekd.de/aktuell_presse, accessed on June 22, 2016.
  3. ↑ Katharina Schützin: The leydenden Christian believers woo the common zu Rentzingen to treat my sisters in Christ Jhesu. Ulhart, 1524 ( facsimile of the copy from the Bavarian State Library in Munich in the Google book search).
  4. ↑ facsimile. Wolfgang Köpfel , 1524 ( preview in the Google book search).
  5. ↑ Katharina Zell in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints , accessed on September 12, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Zell, Katharina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schütz, Katharina; Schütz-Zell, Katharina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Alsatian theological writer and reformer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1497
PLACE OF BIRTH Strasbourg
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1562
Place of death Strasbourg