Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town Book

In an era when women were supposed to be disciplined and obedient, Anna proved to be neither. Defying 16th-century social mores, she was the frequent subject of gossip because of her immodest dress and flirtatious behavior. When her wealthy father discovered that she was having secret, simultaneous affairs with a young nobleman and a cavalryman, he turned her out of the house in rage, but when she sued him for financial support, he had her captured, returned home and chained to a table as punishment. Anna eventually escaped and continued her suit against her father, her siblings and her home town in a bitter legal battle that was to last 30 years and end only upon her death.

Drawn from her surviving love letters and court records, The Burgermeister's Daughter is a fascinating examination of the politics of sexuality, gender and family in the 16th century, and a powerful testament to the courage and tenacity of a woman who defied the inequalities of this distant age.

This extraordinary historical narrative examines the tragic 16th-century battle between Anna Buschler and her powerful father, burghermeister of the imperial German city of Schwabisch Hall. Forced from her house after being caught having simultaneous affairs with two men, Anna brought suit against her father, charging financial abandonment. Thus began almost 30 years of on-and-off litigation between Anna and her father, her siblings, and the city council of the Hall. of photos.