family in 1685, and/or in the occupation of the area by French armies in 1689 and 1692. At any rate, original sources for this period are hard to come by.2 There is one surviving source, however, that does address some of these questions—Frederick III’s preface to the HC, which he attached to the catechism when he sent it to the publisher on January 19, 1563. His reflections there on the need for a new catechism and his mention of the persons involved in its production can serve as a starting point,