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The late middle ages was often described as an age of crisis. Natural catastrophes such as famine and plague led to rapid social changes in economic, family, and religious life. When the population was hit by outbreaks of the Black Death, many customs and norms where abandoned. This, and other disasters, greatly weakened the Church's control over the populace. During this time, many people deserted their family and friends, including young children. The traditional funeral customs also collapsed and were replaced by new funeral customs and the writing of wills also began. People believed that the plague was God’s punishment for their sins. People where becoming unsure about their salvation. If God was supposed to be a loving, just God, then why had he done this? People knew that God’s grace is absolutely necessary for salvation, and they thought that church was the only place for them to be saved, but during the late 1400’s, people where becoming skeptical about the church because of it’s materialism and corruption. At this time, before Luther’s reform, people based their salvation on achieving good works and people began questioning if they had done their very best or done enough to earn salvation. One of