Luther, We Knew Thee Not

"Luther . . . believed firmly that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and seemed to feel that, time being short, life should be lived to the fullest. He celebrated conviviality—no great novelty in Wittenberg, where one out of three houses was licensed to brew beer—and was unusually supportive of women. In his view, a woman with an impotent or unwilling husband should seek a divorce and, if he refuses, request sex with one of his relatives or friends. Failing that, she might leave and start fresh in another town. Luther, who lived out his life in familial contentment, undertook considerable legal wrangling to will his entire estate to Katharina, rather than to their sons. He died in 1546."