In the late Middle Ages, Alsace was a region characterized by unrest and upheaval. The local nobles, who constantly started feuds, were just as much to blame for this as big politics, as Hagen Seehase writes in his new book “Ritter, Räuber, arme Gecken; Das Elsaß im Spätmittelalter 1350 – 1500”.
Alsace, today the easternmost province of France, which stretches from the Palatinate border in the north to the Swiss border in the south, from the main Vosges ridge in the west to the Rhine in the east, is one of the regions steeped in history with a unique landscape characterized by castles and abbeys, patrician houses and churches or their ruins. These stone witnesses to an eventful and glorious past bear witness to turbulent times in which knights, robbers and “poor fops” determined the history of the country. Of course, bishops, priors, counts, bailiffs, millers, gun masters and minstrels also played a role, often getting into war-like situations or having bizarre experiences such as the Battle of Sempach or the Buchsweiler Women’s War.
Thanks to the lively and knowledgeable descriptions of the most important historical events, reading this richly illustrated volume allows you to experience the warlike and peaceful conflicts of the former protagonists and feel transported back to the Middle Ages. For particularly interested readers who want to explore the sometimes unbelievable events on site, the book also contains two suggested tours into the history of this unique region.
The title “Knights, robbers, poor fops; Alsace in the late Middle Ages 1350 – 1500” has been published as a hardcover edition (234 pages) by Buchverlag König and is available under ISBN: 978-3943210200. 
Reading sample
Jakob von Lichtenberg, who had always kept a low profile in politics, now caused a major scandal. Before the death of his wife, or shortly afterwards, a young lady of humble origins – it is said that her father was a farmer – had come to Lichtenberg Castle, initially as a maid. The lady, born in 1430, was young, very pretty, charming – at least that’s how Count Jakob saw it – and very ambitious. Her name was Barbara von Ottenheim, known as the “Beautiful Bärbel”. After the death of Countess Walburga, she became the count’s mistress and acted as mistress to the servants and the entire count’s household in the moated castle of Buchsweiler. The enamored Jacob let her get away with it. The local population, however, did not: after Bärbel had maltreated them by demanding their servitude, the people of Buchsweiler took up arms in 1462. Bärbel had overstepped the mark: they had to perform two days of labor every week, and the poor farmers were not even given food. If they objected, they were arrested, the people got too fed up and a small mission was sent to the count to present their complaints. He listened to everything, then dismissed the emissaries and nothing changed. The people from Buchsweiler then occupied a town gate with six armed men. All the other men left the town and some went to Lichtenberg Castle to present their complaints to Count Ludwig. Bärbel now thought she could force the women and children who had stayed behind to leave the town. But they did not do so. The orders of Count Jakob’s bailiff were met with a negative response from every house. When “Schöne Bärbel” then ordered the castle guards to throw the women and children out of the town, they were in for a real surprise. The women of the town had armed themselves with pitchforks, spears, axes, roasting spits and hammers and drove the castle guards back. https://militaeraktuell.at/airbus-macht-eurofighter-fit-fuer-den-elektronischen-kampf/ In the meantime, Count Ludwig arrived with armed men and horsemen also appeared from the town of Strasbourg. The city was soon in Ludwig’s hands and a veritable siege ring was drawn around the castle. Deeply offended by his brother’s attitude, Count Jacob now wanted to disinherit his brother. Of course he didn’t want to do this, but he also didn’t want to leave the people of Buchsweiler at the mercy of “Beautiful Bärbel”. A compromise was reached through the mediation of the Ochsensteins and Fleckensteins as well as some Strasbourg officials: all of Jacob’s subjects were to swear to recognize Count Ludwig as their lord if Jacob died before him. Barbara was expelled. However, Jacob quickly brought her back from exile in Speyer.
She eventually took up residence at Stephansfelder Hof in Hagenau, where she was married to a certain lawyer named Eucharius. About the author
Hagen Seehase was born in 1965 and works as a secondary school teacher in Lower Saxony. After his military service with the Panzergrenadiers, he studied history and German language and literature in Braunschweig. He works as a freelance author for various cultural and military history magazines (also Militär Aktuell) and has published five books on Scottish history. He was awarded the “Diploma of Honor” of the “St. Andrews Association of the Order of St. Andrew” for the successful volume “The Highlanders – Volume 1”.
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