Song pamphlets, the first mass medium for popular music, reached their height in the 16th century. They could be produced quickly and cheaply, and were also easy to market.
The song presented here addresses matrimonial problems of marriage. It exhorts wives in a longwinded, schoolmasterly manner to be good wives and is directed against another song called a »disgraceful little song« that condones a rather more relaxed attitude towards marriage and the household.