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Women in Anabaptist Munster: Sadness and Suffering Part 7

© Michelle Powell-Smith

Women were legally accorded the right to deny a marriage proposal; however, this law was not particularly enforced. The story of Elizabeth Holschern clearly indicates both the lack of freedom women had in choosing their husbands, and also the punishment for female disobedience. Elizabeth Holschern was charged with having denied her husband his "conjugal rights" on three occasions. She defended herself by claiming that she had not consented to the marriage, and thus her "husband" had no rights over her. Not only had the rights of an adult woman to choose her own husband been removed, but asserting her rights to her own body was now punishable by death. King Jan decreed that she had violated the will of God and she was executed on September 25, 1534. The following day, Katherine Kockenbeckin was executed because she had taken two husbands. Clearly what was good for the gander was most certainly not good for the goose. Polyandry, the practice of one woman taking more than one husband, has been condemned throughout Christianity, particularly by Christian polygamists. Jan van Leyden even went so far as to publicly execute one of his own wives. The story of Elizabeth Wandsheer, Jan van Leyden's tenth wife, will be discussed later in this paper.

In theory, at least, women had the right to refuse a marriage, although they were expected to choose another suitor. If a marriage did not produce children, a divorce could be granted. Complete obedience was expected of women within marriage. All women had to marry, regardless of age. In reality, as may be seen in the case of Elizabeth Holschern, things were even more difficult for women.

Just as the Munster justifications for polygamy can be paralleled in the modern world, so can the relationship of husband and wife within the polygamous marriage. Even today, polygamous marriages are strictly patriarchal, and women are often forced to marry without a choice in the matter. Violence against women clearly existed in Munster and it exists in polygamous communities today. The doctrine of complete obedience is and was clearly enforced in both situations. While the women of Munster did not leave us a record of their thoughts or feelings on the introduction of polygamy, perhaps we can glean an idea of their feelings from those of women in the modern world who are or have been involved in polygamous relationships. The women of Munster had not been raised in a polygamous society, and it seems likely that they were, by and large, displeased by it. It seems likely that some women probably enjoyed the new situation. It would certainly, then as now, have alleviated some of the burden on an individual woman.

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