In three pages this text about a merchant's family during sixteenth century Nuremberg is analyzed in terms of its religious aspects.
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Stephen Ozments Magdalena and Balthasar: An Intimate Portrait of Life in 16th Century Europe. This book examines the typical of the German couple by analyzing the letters between husband and
wife. The book also provides interesting insight into the religious practices and superstitions of the time. At the time during which
the book was based on Germany itself was undergoing interesting religious change -- early on in the century, Martin Luther had nailed his 95 pieces against the papal authority in
Rome to the door of a Nuremberg church, thus launching rebellion against the church in Rome. Because of Luthers doctrines, Nuremberg moved from a Catholic faith to a protestant
one. It was primarily against this backdrop that letters between Magdalena and Balthasar were passed back and forth between each other. In
addition, Nuremberg had suffered from a very fatal plague -- which prompted those who survived to turn to a God they believed that could either punish them or save them
from damnation. Magdalena and Balthasar were no different from most of their neighbors -- according to Ozment, the couple had his "a love-hate relationship with God, their Afflictor and
Redeemer" (Ozment 14). As a result, Magdalena and Balthasar not only put their faith in good health in the various medical remedies of the time, but also did everything
they could to placate an apparently vengeful God. This especially was made clear when the couple had a child, little Balthasar.
When the youngster turned 8, he became ill. In one letter Magdalena wrote to Balthasar Sr., she states "may each kernel God at his grace to the medicine, so