Abstract
Historians of early modern Europe have recently begun to employ a wide range of new sources in their studies of such topics as daily life and the spread of Reformation ideologies. This article suggests the value to the historian of an often overlooked source, the funeral sermon. As an example, the Nordlingen funeral sermons of 1589-1712 are presented as documents reflecting local pastoral attitudes regarding marriage, childrearing, familial relationships, and mourning. Not only do these sermons reveal much about local teachings concerning family life, but they also provide the historian with clues about the reception of Lutheran values in a small city far from the established centers of learning.