On a beautiful hill near the town of Eisenach, Germany, there stands an
ancient castle, famous in history for the many remarkable events which
have taken place within its walls.
It is called the Wartburg, and it was here, in 1521, that Martin Luther
found shelter and protection after his return from the Diet of Worms.
Within the secure walls of the old castle he spent a peaceful year,
laboring on the translation of the Bible, which has brought light and
joy to so many hearts. The room where he worked, with the table,
book-case, and other furniture, is still carefully preserved.
The Wartburg is one of the oldest castles in North Germany. It was built
about the middle of the eleventh century, by Count Lewis, a very
powerful lord in Thuringia. It is said that one day the Count was out
hunting, when a deer that he was pursuing led him to the foot of a steep
rocky hill, where it plunged up the cliffs, and disappeared in the thick
forest. The Count stopped, surrounded by his followers, and declared
that although the hill had robbed him of the desired game, it should, in
its turn, become his fortress and stronghold. This was a bold
declaration, for the hill was the property of another Count, and it was
against the laws of the great German empire that a man should build on
soil which was not his. But Count Lewis had thought of this. He had
twelve trusty knights, and at his command they worked many hours in the
darkness, carrying soil in baskets from the lands of their master to the
top of the hill, until enough was collected upon which to build a
castle. Then Count Lewis went boldly to work, and erected the fortress
which still crowns the heights above Eisenach.
The counts of Thuringia after this made the Wartburg their home, and it
was here that St. Elizabeth passed her life in holy deeds. Her true
history is that she was a daughter of a King of Hungary, and was born at
Pressburg in 1207. When very young she was betrothed to Lewis, son of
Count Hermann of Thuringia, and brought to the Wartburg to be educated.
As she grew to womanhood she became remarkable for her charitable deeds,
and the family of her young husband complained bitterly that she was
wasting his property. Not long after her marriage her husband died while
absent in the great army of the Crusaders, and Elizabeth with her three
little children was driven away from the Wartburg, and compelled to beg
for bread in the neighboring villages. But the people loved her so much
that her husband's family were soon forced to restore her rights. The
hardships she suffered, and the sacrifices she made, were too heavy for
her to bear, and in 1231 she died, when only twenty-four years old. Four
years after her death she was made a saint by Pope Gregory IX., and a
multitude of beautiful legends were wreathed about her memory. Poets
sung her praises, and the poor who had received food and clothing from
her gentle hands remembered her loveliness and kindness through many
generations.
A German poet of the thirteenth century wrote a life of St. Elizabeth in
verse, which contains some pretty legends about her birth and life. In
1207 Count Hermann of Thuringia called a grand meeting of poets and
minstrels at the Wartburg, and offered a prize to him who should compose
the best poem. From far and near came poets to the competition, and a
vast assemblage of noble lords and ladies were gathered to hear them
sing the quaint ballads of that olden time. One evening the company were
all in the great balcony of the castle, when, a poet, pointing with
prophetic finger to the setting sun, declared that a daughter was at
that moment born to the King of Hungary, who would become the wife of
the son of Count Hermann, and whose wondrous virtue and charity would be
remembered through all coming ages. Count Hermann at once dispatched
messengers to the court of Hungary asking for the hand of the baby
princess for his son, and the betrothal at once took place.
Another beautiful legend is about St. Elizabeth and the roses. Soon
after Elizabeth's marriage to Lewis, the son of Count Hermann, a
terrible famine came upon Thuringia. There was no bread, and the poor
people of the country were compelled to eat roots and wild herbs to keep
from starving. Their sufferings touched the tender heart of Elizabeth,
and she commanded that bread should be baked in the great kitchens of
her castle, which she daily distributed to the poor with her own hands.
It is said that the lives of many hundreds of people were saved by her
bounty. Her husband's family begged him to put a stop to this waste, as
they called it, and to forbid his wife from any longer feeding the poor.
It is said that he yielded to the wishes of his mother and sisters, and
declared that no more bread should be sent out from the castle. So far
the story is true. Now comes the pretty legend which has ever since
caused St. Elizabeth to be pictured with roses in her hands.
Her kind heart could not rest while the poor people around her were
dying of hunger. With a basket filled with bread she would go from the
castle and distribute her bounty among the poor who crowded around her.
One day when starting on this mission of charity, her basket on her arm,
she met her husband, who stopped her, and sternly demanding what she
carried in the basket, tore off the mantle which covered it. To the
astonishment of both the basket appeared filled with fragrant roses, and
on the forehead of Elizabeth, shone a glittering cross. Her husband was
so overcome by what he recognized as a miracle that he gave orders that
in future her noble charities should be done with perfect liberty, and
he himself did all in his power to aid her in the generous task.