THE WIVES OF WEINSBERG

THE WIVES OF WEINSBERG

Adapted from a telling

by Charlotte Younge

          Here are some heroines with quick wits and great hearts.

          It happened in Germany, in the Middle Ages.  The year was 1141.  Wolf, the Duke of Bavaria, sat trapped inside his castle of Weinsberg.  Outside his walls lay the army of Frederick, the Duke of Swabia, and his brother, the Emperor Konrad.

          The siege had lasted long, and the time had come when Wolf knew he must surrender.  Messengers rode back and forth, terms were proposed, conditions allowed, arrangements completed.  Sadly, Wolf and his officers prepared to give themselves to their bitter enemy.

          But the wives of Weinsberg were not ready to lose all.  They sent a message to Konrad, asking the Emperor to promise safe conduct for the women in the garrison, that they might come out with as many of their valuables as they could carry.

          The request was freely granted, and soon the castle gates opened.  Out came the ladies -- but in a startling fashion.  They carried not gold or jewels.  Each one was bending under the weight of her husband, whom she hoped to save from the vengeance of the victorious host.

          Konrad, who was really a generous and merciful man, is said to have been brought to tears by the extraordinary performance.  He hastened to assure the women of their husbands' perfect safety and freedom.  Then he invited them all to a banquet and made peace with the Duke of Bavaria on terms much more favorable than expected.

          The castle mount was afterwards known as the Hill of Weibertreue, or woman's fidelity.