ГРУМБАХ Аргула фон (урожденная фон Штауфф) ♀ 1492 Бавария, Регенсбург - ~1553 (1568) GRUMBACH Argula von (nee von Stauff) ♀ 1490 Bavaria, Regensburg - ~1553 (1568)

Argula von Grumbach (nee von Stauff, l. 1490 to c. 1564) was born to an upper-class, highly devout, Catholic family in Bavaria who valued education. Her father ignored the Church's teachings discouraging education for women, and she was already reading and memorizing the Bible by age ten. She was a lady-in-waiting at court by age 16 where she continued to study the Bible, and in 1516, she was married to the noble Friedrich von Grumbach (d. 1530). In 1522, Argula read the works of Luther and Philip Melanchthon (l. 1497-1560) and converted to the Protestant vision. Her husband remained Catholic and, as she wrote frequently about her new faith, his colleagues encouraged him to break her hands or even murder her if he could not make her stop. He did neither, but their marriage seems to have suffered because of their religious differences. She is best known for her eloquent letter defending a young Lutheran teacher at the University of Ingolstadt who was arrested for heresy. The letter was quickly turned into a pamphlet, printed, and became a bestseller. She was regularly denounced as a whore and was shunned by many of her family and friends, but she continued writing, corresponding with Luther, and even traveling alone to preach on the new teachings until her death from unknown causes c. 1564.