ABSTRACT
It therefore caused public scandal when a prominent pastor lived in open strife with family members, drank excessively, and drew shame or ridicule upon himself and others through his preaching. Protestant pastors were expected to teach God's Word from the pulpit with the seriousness it deserved, and without resorting to the anecdotes and extravagant gestures used by medieval preachers, who were often either Franciscan or Dominican friars. As Tridentine reforms took root in these areas, the religious situation polarized, and it became especially important that Basel's Protestant pastors live up to the high expectations concerning their personal and professional lives. Fearing that the pastor would take his complaints to friends in the Senate, the president of the church convent wrote a full account of the meeting to submit to the entire Senate the primary source from which the charges against Brandmueller are taken.
