Christians in the Roman Empire made a special Lenten food of flour, salt, and water, since meat and dairy foods were forbidden during Lent.  Because Lent was a season of penance and devotion, the dough was shaped into the form of two arms crossed in prayer.  In Latin, "little arms" is bracellae.  When the food was taken to Germany, it was called a brezel or a pretzel.  The oldest known picture of a pretzel may be in a manuscript from the fifth century in the Vatican.  Pretzels are still an item of Lenten food in many parts of Europe and are sometimes distributed to the poor in the cities.