Argula von Grumbach – Reformation Writer

One courageous woman who lived during the Reformation and wrote many pamphlets and other religious poems was Argula von Grumbach.

Reformation leader, Martin Luther published his first treatises in 1520 and his friend, Philip Melancthon laid out Luther’s teachings in a book. By 1522, Luther had finished his translation into German of the New Testament. Argula von Grumbach read all these writings, and by that same year she had become a follower of Luther and had begun a correspondence with Luther and other Reformed leaders. She would later meet Luther face to face in 1530.

The authorities in Bavaria had forbidden anyone to read Lutheran ideas at the time, and in particular the city of Ingolstadt enforced that mandate. In 1523, Arsacius Seehofer, a young teacher and former student at the University of Ingolstadt, was arrested for Protestant views and forced to recant. The incident would have occurred quietly, but Argula, outraged over it, wrote what was to become her most successful writing, a letter to the faculty of the university objecting to Seehofer’s arrest and exile. In her letter she asked the authorities to examine the Scriptures and not just follow Roman traditions. It also said she had decided to speak out even though she was a woman because no one else would. An excerpt from her letter as follows:

“To the honorable, worthy, highborn, erudite, noble, stalwart Rector and all the Faculty of the University of Ingolstadt: When I heard what you had done to Arsacius Seehofer under terror of imprisonment and the stake, my heart trembled and my bones quaked. What have Luther and Melanchthon taught save the Word of God? You have condemned them. You have not refuted them. Where do you read in the Bible that Christ, the apostles, and the prophets imprisoned, banished, burned, or murdered anyone? You tell us that we must obey the magistrates. Correct. But neither the pope, nor  the Kaiser, not the princes have any authority over the Word of God. You need not think you can pull God, the prophets and the apostles out of heaven with papal decretals drawn from Aristotle, who was not a Christian at all. . . .

You seek to destroy all of Luther’s works. In that case you will have to destroy the New Testament, which he has translated. In the German writings of Luther and Melanchthon I have found nothing heretical. . Even if Luther should recant, what he has said would still be the Word of God. I would be willing to come and dispute with you in German. . . . You have the key of knowledge and you close the kingdom of heaven. But you are defeating yourselves. The news of what has been done to this lad of 18 has reached us and other cities in so short a time that soon it will be known to all the world. The Lord will forgive Arsacius, as he forgave Peter, who denied his master, though not threatened by prison and fire. Great good will yet come from this young man. I send you not a woman’s ranting, but the Word of God. I write as a member of the Church of Christ against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. . .”          —Argula von Grumbach, 1523

In the entire long letter she cited over 80 Scriptures with which she made logical comparisons to the behavior of the university theologians to argue her case that they were wrong.

Her letter, which was turned into a booklet, provoked a huge reaction, greatly angering the theologians and became nearly an overnight sensation. It went through fourteen editions in two months, and became a bestseller. Argula wrote more letters and copies of the first one to other significant figures like Duke Wilhelm to also argue her case.

Theologians wanted her punished, and her husband lost his position at Dietfurt over the controversy. Argula was also called by many offensive epithets by her critics, especially through the sermons of Professor Hauer who called her things like “shameless whore” and a “female desperado.” Well, I guess if you can’t win an argument honestly, you can resort to name-calling! Things really haven’t changed much.

Argula wrote poems in response to the slander of her character, such as one she wrote against a poem apparently written by someone from Ingoldstadt which attacked her and accused her of being a neglectful wife and mother. This poem was the last of her published works but she continued correspondence with Luther and other Reformers.

Argula was highly controversial and shunned by her family but she also had admirers for her writings. She was praised by a Lutheran preacher Balthasar Hubmaier in nearby Regensburg, who wrote that she “knows more of the divine Word than all of the red hats (canon lawyers and cardinals) ever saw or could conceive of” and compared her to other heroic women in the Bible.

Even though her challenges to the university were largely ignored and her efforts to promote her Protestant beliefs unsuccessful, Argula was undeterred, and continued writing pamphlets. She did things like traveling alone to Nuremberg which was unheard of for women, to encourage German princes to accept Reformation principles.

She has finally been recognized for her contributions to the Reformation and today there is a mural on the wall of the University of Ingolstadt where she debated with the professors about her reformed views.