Women were visible in early modern Germany. Although lesser creatures than men in theory, law, and official life, because their labor was essential, they were present nearly everywhere. When Martin Luther gathered with boarders and dinner guests at the table in his home, the Black Cloister in Wittenberg, some of the guests were female, usually the wives of theologians and other scholars. Katharina Lutheryn served the meal, aided by women relatives such as “Muhme” Lehna, and by servants. The Luther children were also present. Although the men conversed in Latin on learned topics, often their discourse involved plain concepts best expressed in the vernacular tongue. At least to this extent, the women had access to such exchanges; Katharina herself is reputed to have learned some Latin while a nun. Although women appear seldom to have initiated conversations, we must recall that Luther's adoring followers wrote down exclusively what he said. Where women's remarks appear, it is because Luther interacted with them. Certainly Katharina and women guests talked with their table-mates, and domestic happenstance frequently diverted the men from their lofty plane. Despite Luther's conviction that women lacked the mental acumen of men, he was glad to engage them on matters of mutual interest.

The Reformer's correspondence likewise reveals his sympathy for women in their human predicaments. Martin rendered advice to literate women concerning their marriages and their spiritual afflictions. The recipients' very literacy increased the likelihood that they were members of Germany's higher urban and noble classes.