Über die Probenächte der teutschen Bauermädchen

The text examines a rural custom in which young peasant women grant prospective partners nocturnal access before formal betrothal, describing local etiquette (roof-window visits, staged encounters), stages of courtship, risks such as pregnancy, and communal responses. The author situates the practice historically and legally, offering examples from medieval records, remnants in barbarian law codes, and parallels among both indigenous and cultivated societies across continents. The pamphlet blends ethnographic description, legal argument, and comparative observation to consider causes, moral interpretations, and social consequences of the custom.