Bartholomew Sastrow: Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster

A first-person memoir traces the author's journey from family tragedies and prolonged lawsuits through student life at northern universities, dramatic travels in Italy and across Europe, and varied public offices. It records studies and hardships, appointments as municipal secretary and solicitor, participation in imperial diets and the Imperial Chamber, and a later municipal career culminating in marriage and duties in Stralsund. Interwoven are vivid anecdotes about local politics, church disputes, legal cases, military dangers, and encounters with prominent contemporaries, giving a detailed, episodic portrait of civic life and personal fortunes during the Reformation-era German lands.