after them, all those cities where this letter appears, Nicholas
the younger Zorn, mayor of the city, and the burghers of Strassburg
generally offer their free service with entire friendship. Many things
are done honorably and justly, which in foreign countries are
perverted, because their origin is not rightly understood. Hence we
humbly pray you to receive our address with favor and sympathize with
us, because they have troubled us, for whom we have done very much
indeed. Your Worships, the barefooted friars and the preachers
(Dominican monks) had fallen into the practice of taking legacies in
the world outside of the monasteries, and when a rich man, or a rich
lady, lay on a deathbed, then they ran thither and persuaded him to
give all his property to them, and thus all his heirs were disinherited
and ruined. Then the latter came before us crying and complaining that
they had been disinherited. Many such complaints came before us. The
monks sold also their own property, on condition that it should revert
to them again on the death of the buyer. _This made us think that our
city would in a short time become entirely theirs._ They received also
into their order the children of rich people, without the consent and
knowledge of their friends, in order to get their property. At this
also we have been greatly troubled and many complaints against them
have been brought before us. When this had continued for a long, long
time, and we could bear no longer the manifold complaints of the
burghers; then we went to the preachers and begged them to conduct
themselves so, that such complaints would no more reach us from our
citizens. Then they spake and promised us that what papers the
barefooted friars (Franciscans) would give us, not to do it any more,
they also would give us. We went to the barefooted friars and laid this
matter before them. They answered thus: What Your Worships require us
to promise you, that we are directed by the rules of our order not to
do; even if you had never issued a command, yet had we been forbidden
not to do it. Then spake we: Make us such a paper on it as seems good
to you, that it may stand as a pledge between us. They drew up the
paper as we send you the copy word for word. Then we came to the
preachers (Dominicans) with the paper and they bade us give them a
copy. After that their provincial came, and they did as he told them,
and abused us for this thing beyond measure, four years in succession.