Legends -- France; Legends -- Germany; Legends -- Rhine River Valley
Guntram was quite overcome by the horror of his situation, and seemed
for a time bereft of his senses. Then he had his horse saddled,
and galloped as hard as he was able to Falkenburg. Liba greeted him
solicitously. She could see that he was sorely troubled, but forbore to
question him, preferring to wait until he should confide in her of his
own accord. He was anxious that their wedding should be hastened, for he
thought that his union with the virtuous Liba might break the dreadful
spell.
When at length the wedding day arrived everything seemed propitious,
and there was nothing to indicate the misfortune which threatened the
bridegroom. The couple approached the altar and the priest joined their
hands. Suddenly Guntram fell to the ground, foaming and gasping, and was
carried thence to his home. The faithful Liba stayed by his side, and
when he had partially recovered the knight told her the story of the
spectre, and added that when the priest had joined their hands he had
imagined that the ghost had put her cold hand in his. Liba attempted
to soothe her repentant lover, and sent for a priest to finish the
interrupted wedding ceremony. This concluded, Guntram embraced his wife,
received absolution, and expired.
Liba entered a convent, and a few years later she herself passed away,
and was buried by the side of her husband.
The Mouse Tower
Bishop Hatto is a figure equally well known to history and tradition,
though, curiously enough, receiving a much rougher handling from the
latter than the former. History relates that Hatto was Archbishop of
Mainz in the tenth century, being the second of his name to occupy that
see. As a ruler he was firm, zealous, and upright, if somewhat ambitious
and high-handed, and his term of office was marked by a civic peace not
always experienced in those times. So much for history. According to
tradition, Hatto was a stony-hearted oppressor of the poor, permitting
nothing to stand in the way of the attainment of his own selfish ends,
and several wild legends exhibit him in a peculiarly unfavourable light.
By far the most popular of these traditions is that which deals with
the Maeuseturm, or 'Mouse Tower,' situated on a small island in the
Rhine near Bingen. It has never been quite decided whether the name was
bestowed because of the legend, or whether the legend arose on account
of the name, and it seems at least probable that the tale is of
considerably later date than the tenth century. Some authorities regard
the word Maeuseturm as a corruption of Mauth-turm, a 'toll-tower,' a
probable but prosaic interpretation. Much more interesting is the name
'Mouse Tower,' which gives point to the tragic tale of Bishop Hatto's
fate. The story cannot be better told than in the words of Southey, who
has immortalized it in the following ballad:
THE TRADITION OF BISHOP HATTO
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account