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THE WIVES OF WEINSBERG.
In the year of grace 1140 a German army, under Conrad III., emperor,
laid siege to the small town of Weinsberg, the garrison of which
resisted with a most truculent and disloyal obstinacy. Germany, which
for centuries before and after was broken into warring factions, to such
extent that its emperors could truly say, "uneasy lies the head that
wears a crown," was then divided between the two strong parties of the
Welfs and the Waiblingers,--or the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, as
pronounced by the Italians and better known to us. The Welfs were a
noble family whose ancestry could be traced back to the days of
Charlemagne. The Waiblingers derived their name from the town of
Waiblingen, which belonged to the Hohenstaufen family, of which the
Emperor Conrad was a representative.
And now, as often before and after, the Guelphs, and Ghibellines were at
war, Duke Welf holding Weinsberg vigorously against his foes of the
imperial party, while his relative, Count Welf of Altorf, marched to his
relief. A battle ensued between emperor and count, which ended in the
triumph of the emperor and the flight of the count.
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