Marie Dentiere: The Woman on the Wall

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Marie Dentiere: The Woman on the Wall

Marie Dentiere was born in 1495 in Tournai into a wealthy family. Unfortunately most of her life is shrouded in mystery but what information is available about her life reveals a determined woman whose religious convictions often led her to go against the grain even within the Protestant circles she moved in.

Marie entered the Augustinian Convent of Saint-Nicholas-des-Pres in Tournai in 1508 and by 1521 she had been appointed Abbess of the cloister. She was influenced by Lutheran preaching against monasticism and in favour of salvation by faith around 1524. Her newfound faith forced her to choose between the gospel or her life as an abbess. She chose the former and fled to Strasbourg which, in the early 1520s had become a haven for Protestant refugees in the region.

Part of the reason Marie was forced to flee to Strasbourg was the persecution she encountered when she renounced her vows to embrace the reformation. Some historians suggest she chose Strasbourg as a place of refuge because she was following the leading of certain French reformers though it is unclear exactly who those French reformers were. In 1524 the Circle of Meaux, led by William Briçonnet and comprised of Jacques Le Fèvre, Michel d’Andrade, Pierre Caroli, William Farel, Gerard Roussel and others was not only active but thriving. It may be that Marie encountered one or more of them and was encourage by them to seek refuge in Strasbourg. Some of these early reformers were forced to leave France around 1525 and exiled themselves in Strasbourg which also lends credibility to the theory that Marie associated with them.

Strasbourg, France

While Marie was in Strasbourg she met and married her first husband Simon Robert, a former priest who was also seeking refuge in Strasbourg. It is also likely that she and her husband frequently associated with the leading reformers in Strasbourg like Matthew and Katharina Zell, Wolfgang Capito and others.

Both Marie and Simon worked actively to spread the Reformation during this early period. Marie was especially vocal against clerical celibacy, and she wrote extensively on the joys of clerical marriage, often becoming embroiled in controversy. One particularly contentious incident was when Marie tried to convert a group of nuns in Geneva later in her ministry.

Some historical sources suggest that Marie and Simon Robert were the first French married couple to accept a pastoral assignment for the Reformed church, most likely commissioned by Matthew Zell who was the leader of the reformation in Strasbourg, in the early to mid 1520s. Marie and Simon had five children before Simon died in 1533.

Two years later, in 1535, Marie remarried the much younger but more charismatic Antoine Froment, who was a Protestant minister. The family moved to Geneva where Marie and Froment helped William Farel establish the Reformation there. They were also instrumental in turning Geneva into a city of refuge for persecuted French Protestants.

The Reformation Wall, Geneva, Switzerland

Most of what we know about Marie is gleaned from three primary sources. The first of these, a treatise on the events that took place in Geneva between 1532-1536, documents her husband’s involvement in what transpired, and Marie’s involvement is understood by association. The second is her letters to Margaret of Navarre.

Marie was a gifted, articulate and sometimes inflammatory writer and evangelist. She loved the Bible and was an outspoken advocate for the Primacy of Scripture. She believed that everyone, including women, should have the freedom to engage with Scripture individually without fear. Her most famous and controversial work was a letter written to Margaret of Navarre which she entitled “A Most Beneficial Letter”.

There are some indications that Margaret was the godmother of one of Marie’s daughters which created a link between them. Though there is no clear evidence that the women met it is most likely they did, and they had a close enough relationship to warrant correspondence between them.The letter Marie wrote to Margaret is a strong defence of the new teaching of justification by faith and other reformist ideas.

Marie was also outspoken in her denunciation of the sacrament and other church rituals that claimed to facilitate salvation. The opening address of the letter paints a picture of social upheaval and violence in Geneva which give us a glimpse of the challenges Marie faced living in the city. The letter was prepared for publication and a year before it appeared in print the City Council of Geneva had expelled Farel and Calvin because they felt their approach to reform was too rigid. The letter, which Marie intended to reach the King of France himself, begged Margaret to intervene on behalf of Swiss and French Protestants, interceding for them before her brother, so they would have the opportunity to worship freely.

Geneva, Switzerland

The writing demonstrates Marie’s extraordinary biblical knowledge and theological understanding which was rare among women during the period. Predictably the letter created an uproar - the printer was arrested and the pamphlets burned. The letter was denounced because Marie wrote against the sacraments and in favour of a woman's right to study the Bible and teach it to others. These concepts were not only foreign but unacceptable and largely unattainable. Women were seen as inferior to men in every aspect, especially intellectually. Women were also largely uneducated and not expected to contribute to the theological discourses of the church in any way. To add insult to injury the letter contained detailed biblical exegesis, an area women generally didn’t dabble in.

Marie’s controversial ways are revealed in two interesting historical anecdotes. The first took place in August 1536 when she spoke to a group of Catholic nuns at the Poor Clare’s Convent in Geneva urging them to follow her example by leaving the convent, embracing the Reformation and getting married. Her sermon scandalised the abbess who wrote a scathing letter against her. Many of the nuns were also appalled by what she said, especially when she encouraged them to find a husband. However some of them took her advice to heart. Later in 1546 Calvin reported that Marie Dentiere preached in public, which was unheard of for a woman during that period.

Calvin reported the incident in a letter written to William Farel, describing it within the context of reporting a hostile encounter between himself and Marie and adding her penchant for public preaching into the discussion derisively. Other parts of the same letter reveal that Dentière had taught her daughter to read the Bible in Hebrew and translate portions of it into French.

Like other reformers of her time Dentière denounced persecution against marginalised groups like the Waldenses who came under constant attack by the Catholic church. In a letter to Margaret of Navarre Marie mentioned the Waldenses by name, specifically referring to a group of French Waldenses living Luberon, in Provence, France.

Marie also cites a specific instance of persecution in 1545 when Waldenses living in Provence were attacked in an organised massacre authorised by Margaret’s brother King Francis I of France. Three years after the letter was written Marie’s husband Antoine Froment met with Francis I’s in Lyon, another hotbed of Protestant activity.

An Illuminated Early Modern Manuscript, Geneva, Switzerland

Marie was an outspoken defender of many reformers, but she also managed to grate on their nerves. Calvin often referred to her as being too outspoken, complaining that she had far too many theological ambitions for a woman. He also despised the fact that she openly criticized the male leadership of the church, himself included.

Despite early acrimony between the two, the tension between Marie and Calvin had subsided by 1561, the year of her death. By then Calvin not only respected her ministry but he appreciated it as well, even going so far as to ask her to write the preface for his printed sermon on female modesty from 1 Timothy 2:8-12.

Though the details about Marie Dentière’s life are sketchy the picture that emerges from the scant information reveals a woman who was deeply impacted by the truth of salvation by faith and was both determined and fearless in her advocacy of it wherever she went.

In 2002 Marie Dentière became the first and only woman to have her name engraved on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, a tribute to her contribution to the reformation 400 years after the fact.

Marie Dentiere: The Woman on the Wall

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