International Men's Day was celebrated worldwide just recently. Almost many people congratulated the men on this day while appreciating their sacrifices. A similar thing happens on Women's Day. Here is a love story that should be told to everyone.
The story goes like this. In 1140, King Conrad III, the nephew of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, laid siege to Castle Weinsberg, the home of Duke Welf VI in Bavaria, Germany. Conrad's rapidly advancing army was about to overrun and slaughter the people, and the castle was about to fall.
Conrad fully intended to kill or imprison the Weinsberg men and burn down every building because they had refused to comply with his demands and instead chose to fight. After all, he was a man of his word, and every emperor or king must carry out threats in order to maintain power.
The locals knew they had no choice but to surrender, which they did under two conditions: first, the women were freed, and second, they were allowed to take with them their valuables and belongings.TheThe King agreed. After all, the women were not his adversaries or a threat.
In another act of kindness, he allowed the women to take their most valuable possessions with them, declaring that he would not leave them hungry on the road after sacking their homes. He gave them a deadline to gather their belongings and flee before he killed their husbands and burned down their homes. What he didn't expect was for these women to completely outwit him, turning his own act of mercy against him.
When the deadline arrived and the women gathered at the city gates, Conrad was taken aback to see that they were not carrying gold, food, or clothing, but rather their husbands, sons, or other male family members slung over their backs. Again, Conrad kept his word, and the scene moved him to the point where he gladly let them leave the city, saving both the men of the town and the town itself.
The castle gates creaked open at sunrise the next morning. Conrad was astounded to see that they were not carrying gold, food, or clothing rather they were carrying their own husbands, sons, brothers and fathers over their backs. King Conrad III laughed. His soldiers demanded that all traitors be executed at once. The King refused, claiming that he had already given them his royal word that they could take whatever they could carry on their backs and he said that "a king always keeps his word." As a result, the women of the castle were granted safe passage and the opportunity to rescue their beloved menfolk.