Women’s History Month: The Siege of Weinsberg

Just a really cool story.

In 1140, a German king surrounded the town of Weinsberg. There was no escape for the defenders and the king knew this. It was also an age of chivalry–and sieges were expensive and if they went on for some time, expensive for the besiegers, so to speed things along, the king told the defenders that the women could leave Weinsberg without harm–and that he would even let them take whatever they could carry on their backs with them.

When the women lined up the next day to leave–they were not carrying belongings. Instead, someone had a wild idea–what if we carried the men out rather than our possessions? It was worth a try–so the women came to the town gate and as they left, carrying husbands on their backs, they wondered what the besieging king would say. Clearly it wasn’t his intent to let the men out–but they were following the letter of his offer.

The king let the women pass. He accepted their creativity and that they were fulfilling the terms of his offer. While Weinsberg was conquered, its defenders all survived.

And after that day, Weinsberg gained a new name: Burg Weibertreu–the Town of Faithful Women.

What a cool story…and one that never makes it into American histories of the Middle Ages.

(I admit, though, as I write this, I have an urge to break the story into two parts and interrupt it with an ad for Husk Varna…then say “And now, Page Two”…finish the tale and say “And now you know…the rest of the story.)