Rather a selfish kind of piety this appears!  Yet mayhap Hans was really devoted to his daughter, and his resolution to part with her possibly entailed a heart-rending sacrifice; while, be that as it may, he had the reward he sought, for now his prison was stormed and he himself released, whereupon he hastened back to his home at Ruedesheim with intent to fulfil his promise to God.  On reaching his schloss, however, Graf Hans was confronted by a state of affairs which had not entered into his calculations, the fact being that in the interim his daughter had conceived an affection for a young nobleman called Walther, and had promised to marry him at an early date.  Here, then, was a complication indeed, and Hans was sorely puzzled to know how to act, while the unfortunate Minna was equally perplexed, and for many weeks she endured literal torment, her heart being racked by a constant storm of emotions.  She was deeply attached to Walther, and she felt that she would never be able to forgive herself if she broke her promise to him and failed to bring him the happiness which both were confident their marriage would produce; but, on the other hand, being of a religious disposition, she perforce respected the vow her father had made, and thought that if it were broken he and all his household would be doomed to eternal damnation, while even Walther might be involved in their ruin.  “Shall I make him happy in this world only that he may lose his soul in the next?” she argued; while again and again her father reminded her that a promise to God was of more moment than a promise to man, and he implored her to hasten to the nearest convent and retire behind its walls.  Still she wavered, however, and still her father pleaded with her, sometimes actually threatening to exert his parental authority.  One evening, driven to despair, Minna sought to cool her throbbing pulses by a walk on the wind-swept heights overlooking the Rhine at Ruedesheim.  Possibly she would be able to come to a decision there, she thought; but no! she could not bring herself to renounce her lover, and with a cry of despair she flung herself over the steep rocks into the swirling stream.

A hideous death it was.  The maiden was immolated on the altar of superstition, and the people of Ruedesheim were awestruck as they thought of the pathetic form drifting down the river.  Nor did posterity fail to remember the story, and down to recent times the boatmen of the neighbourhood, when seeing the Rhine wax stormy at the place where Minna was drowned, were wont to whisper that her soul was walking abroad, and that the maiden was once again wrestling with the conflicting emotions which had broken her heart long ago.

Gisela

Knight Broemser of Ruedesheim was one of those who renounced comfort and home ties to throw in his lot with the Crusaders.  He was a widower, and possessed a beautiful daughter, Gisela.  In the holy wars in Palestine Broemser soon became distinguished for his bravery, and enterprises requiring wit and prowess often were entrusted to him.