Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1870-11-24
The Legend Of Kyff,auser

1t is amusing sometimes to see how 6c-
ton mixes itself with history, and how the
legends of remote ages can be made to
play an active part in the events of the
present day. This is the case with the
legend of Frederick the First, Emperor OF
Germany, surnamed .'Barbarossa," or Red
Beard This most famous of all the Eu-
ropean Emperors of medieval Germany,
having become involved in a serious quar-
rel with the Church, sought to avert its
anathemas and conciliate its favor by join
ing in the third crusade against the Turks
for the expulsion of those followers of
''Mohammed and Termaguent'' from Asia
Minor and the Holy Land. But his for
tltude was not commensurate with his zeal
for in bathing in the icy waters of the riv-
er Cydnus he was drowned doth June,
| 1170), fate which Alexander the Great
had very narrowly escaped in the same
stream fifteen hundred years previously.
In those days, good Germans, when
they died, did not go to Paris, but such a
fate was kept in reserve for Frederick Bar
barossa for he was transported bodily to
the Mountain of Kyfhauser, in Thuringia
in state of semi-consciousness, and in
his habit as he lived" by whom is not ex-
actly known, but most probably by the
tutelary angels of Germany. One side of
the mountain was opened by the same
mysterious hands, and tolerably large
apartment was eXcavated, wherein the
monarch was deposited in a comatose state,
with his attendants, and page, who plays
| off,
seated before stone table, nodding drows-
lily in chair, the drowned Emperor was
condemned to nod and wink and dream un-
til the crows, which by thousands had
built their nests in the old ruined tower
on the top of the mountain, should disap-
pear. But it was at the same time de-
creed that they should not do so until all
discord had ceased in Germany; and when
that remarkable state of things should
come about, no matter from what cause.
then the Emperor. weary with long sleep
ing and waiting, should come forth from
his cavernous prison. and hire peasant to
carry his sword and shield before him,
with the view of terrifying all those who
fancied they had better blood in them
than the peasant had.
In this manner the Emperor was to 60
| forth and reclaim his empire. Once, at
the expiration of each century he was al
lowed to wake up and send his page up to
the tower to see if the crows had left it.,
and this favor he has hitherto carefully
availed himself of Six times has the page
done his errand, only to return with the
answer, ''the crows are still there" and
six times has the disappointed monarch
fallen asleep for another hundred years.
But on the fifteenth of July last, he was
awakened in an unusual manner, and he
sent his page up to the tower in haste, to
| look after the crows. What then was the
delight when the page returned with the
tidings that the crows were preparing to
leave. as war had been declared by France,
and all discord had ceased in Germany,
because the nation was united under one
flag to repel the invader! Yes, the hour of
awakening had come, and the spirit of
Barbarossa stepped forth to animate the
new Emperor (that is to be) William the
First, while his sword and shield were
borne before him (metaphorically), not by
one peasant bit by every man in the land
not one, not even duke or count, con-
sidering his blood any better than that of
a peasant in the cause of the Fatherland.
Such is the wild, yet beautiful legend
which has suddenly resumed its popularity
in the German heart, as significant OF the
approaching unifcation of its native land.
Barbarossa is the type of this oneness of
will, and the circumstance of his waking
up the moment his beard had grown so
long that it touched the ground, is sym
bolical of that will having taken root in
German soil. There are, however, two
modes of interpreting the legend one.
which may be called Bismarck's; the 9TH
er, Heine's. The Bismarck theory is that
the Red Bearded Emperor will unite all
Germany beneath his sway, after the man.
ner of feudal times and repress the revo-
lutionary tendencies of modern times
The Heine theory is that he will, On the
contrary, cause these tendencies to germi-
nate and expand, and that this is what is
intended by the legend, when it says that
the Emperor shall hang his sword and
shield on withered tree, which tree shall
thereupon begin to blossom. This last
view is the most popular