ABSTRACT
In the decades before the Thirty Years War, confessional differences in Augsburg became externalized in new ways, especially through the public assertiveness of the Catholic minority and Protestant resentment of a government they believed to be biased in favour of the Catholic party. One of the most valuable aspects of the Urgichten is the opportunity to reconstruct compelling narratives involving the actions and motivations of specific individuals, narratives that may have greater implications for the study of musical culture. They often provide vital information on the ages and social backgrounds of the accused, allowing the scholar to place the individual within a wider network of social relations. Physical evidence included with the documents, especially printed and manuscript songs, may also prove useful. Furthermore, these records paint a vivid picture of the consequences of criminal behaviour, ranging from imprisonment, to judicial torture, to conviction and punishment. The notion of a 'composer' of popular vernacular song is fraught with difficulties.
