1. Communion and community: the refusal to attend the Lord's supper in the sixteenth century -- 2. A prophet in the thirty year's war: penance as a social metaphor -- 3. The sacred bond of unity: community through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old witch (1683) -- 4. Blasphemy, adultery and persecution: paranoia in the pulpit (1696-1710) -- 5. The conscience of the poor: a village detective story (1733-43) -- 6. The sins of belief: a village remedy for hoof an mouth disease (1796)