The Kings of the Wends Today
It is an old legend that the Wends in the Lower Lusatia still have their king among them to this very day, whom they choose jointly out of their midst, give him crown and scepter, and collect a yearly poll tax to support him. They pay him homage with all honors due to a king and obey his commands in all concerns that affect their people as a whole. However, they keep this matter so secret that all efforts to ascertain the truth behind this legend and determine who is the king among all the farmers have been met with failure. It is only known that the right to the royal title is hereditary within a certain family. However, this family supposedly died out a few years ago with the last scion of the Wendish royal lineage, a seventy year-old woman. Shortly before her death, this old woman had bemoaned deeply that she could take no one into her confidence about what she knew of such matters. Several farmers’ dynasties in the Bautzen area claim royal descent, and in the Spreewald forest the legend of the last ruler of the Wends is tied to the Burgberg (“castle hill”) in the village of Burg where he supposedly resided and where, allegedly, golden diadems were found among other antiquities.
Once, a Wendish farmer stood at the forefront of a conspicuous mob and acted as if he was a king. When, in the year 1548, Franz von Minkwitz demanded more labors from his Wendish subjects than they believed were rightfully due and confiscated their properties, this led to an outright insurrection. Under the leadership of this king, they held council with each other, decided to stand up for each other as one, held speeches, and openly resisted their lord. A large number of the surrounding villages were involved in this insurrection, so that the Vogt of the region was forced to put his heavy hand down on the area, seized the Wendish King, and punished him on his body. The latter had been overheard as saying that he “wanted to get to a state of affairs where Minkwitz had to pay homage to him.”
The great Elector-Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg also ordered intensive searches after this secretly-acting king. Once a strong, thin, and handsome Wendish youth was introduced to him as their king. But an old farmer, who had noticed this betrayal, berated the young man and asked: “Boy, why do you stand here and gape? Go back to your work!” In this manner he prevented the Elector-Prince from investigating further.
Source: Grässe - Der Sagenschatz des Königreichs Sachsen Zweiter Band, p. 109
 Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles: Commentaries on German folklore. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary! |