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The Men Who Were Saved From Execution Because Their Wives Gave Them Piggyback Rides
A doomed group of 12th century German men were set to be killed by a besieging force when their spouses came up with an ingenious way to save them
Men married to women typically owe their wives a lot; some might say everything. However, one medieval community suffering through the ravages of war were about to have all of their men executed until quick thinking intervened and the village’s ladies saved their husbands by giving them piggy back rides
In the 12th century, Weinsberg was a community in the modern-day region of Baden-Wuttemberg, Germany, and part of the Holy Roman Empire. The community was unfortunately in the midst of armed conflict between the Welfs, which included the walled city of Weinsberg, and the Hohenstaufen.
When Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II passed away in 1137, his son-in-law, the Welf heir, Henry the Proud, pursued the vacant throne. His candidacy was opposed on a number of fronts. In 1138, local princes elected Hohenstaufen Conrad III and began doling out titles and favors to those who aligned with him politically. This sat none to well with the Welfs, and Count Welf of Atolrf, the brother of Henry the Proud, initiated a war.
