Marie Dentière (c.1495–1561)

Abstract

Marie Dentière was converted to the Protestant faith in the early to mid-1520s. This chapter explores her life and the historical circumstances to which her writings responded, with a particular focus on Marie’s uses of Scripture in her Very Useful Epistle (1539). This text illuminates not only her scriptural themes and exegetical strategies. Dentière aimed to apply biblical histories and scriptural signs to interpret the events of her time, rebuke worship practices that she deemed contrary to God’s Word, and expound a vision for Protestant unity for which she argued that women had a distinct and crucial role to play. She also offered more than just a defense of women reading Scripture; she provided one of the first examples of an early modern Reformed woman’s extensive engagement with Scripture around themes of right worship and a vision for Protestant unity rooted in God’s Word alone.