In today’s installment of ‘Game of Thrones ain’t nothing on a history book’, I’d like to talk about the mighty river Rhine, some very naughty knights, and a minor Swiss noble who would go on to do great things. I call this one, ‘Rise of the Rhine Robber Barons!’ THREAD /1 
For almost two millennia, the Rhine was one of Europe’s great trade highways. Why? Despite the inherent dangers of river travel, it was safer than road travel, with bandits, wild animals and other dangers. Heck, you could also carry a lot more on a boat. /2
Of course, when medieval landowners saw boats passing through their territory, human nature meant that they wanted to be paid for the privilege. Tolls on river traffic were established, and more importantly were controlled by the Holy Roman Emperor to ensure fairness & flow. /3
This worked when there was a central authority with the muscle to enforce the system. When Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II died in 1250, and his heir, Conrad IV later died in 1254, the Great Interregnum began. Chaos! Anarchy! The unchecked expansion of toll stations! /4
Very quickly, local nobles, particularly in the Rhine river gorges, began to build up their fortresses so they could collect tolls. At first, they charged the standard rates, but over time, began to charge an arbitrary fee, and take bits of the cargo that looked pretty good. /5
Hell, eventually, many of those along the river decided that even tolls were for suckers, and straight up robbed anybody who came along. Nobles were kidnapped, like the Queen of Holland, who had to be rescued from the Rietberg in 1255. /6
Now, this wasn’t great for the local economy, no matter how many new falcons, sets of armour, or naughty illuminated manuscripts these ‘robber barons’ could afford. Cities were starved of their lifeline, and very soon reached the point where decisive action was needed. /7
In 1254, cities from the far north to the far south of what would become Germany founded the ‘Rheinischer Bund’ or ‘Rhenish League’. They each pitched in men and equipment with a singular mission - take out the ‘robber barons’ and send them packing. /8
Two famous victories of the Rhenish League happened at Burg Sooneck and Berg Rheinstein. Both were besieged in 1254 and once the nobles had fled, the castles were reduced to rubble, leaving nothing that could be possibly be used as a base for fleecing river traffic. /9
Of course, nobody can agree on anything, ever, and eventually the Rhenish League fizzled out - there were closer, more local threats for each city to deal with. Many of the ‘robber barons’ returned and started rebuilding, robbing and fleecing as if nothing had happened. /10
Now this is where something pretty big happens. Once the ‘electors’ got together in 1273 to choose a new German king, politicking pushed a Count from a minor-league family called the Habsburgs in modern day Switzerland to the throne. /11 blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2018/08/bor…
Rudolf von Habsburg, far from the obedient, compliant sort some had planned him to be, actually ended being a relentless, unstoppable conquestin’ machine. Among the many fights he picked during the course of his reign, one of the most dramatic was against ‘robber barons’. /12
Rudolf managed to lay siege to a number of ‘robber barons'. Perhaps the most significant was Burg Reichenstein, held by the von Hohenfels, in 1282. They’re still digging up arrowheads. He starved them into submission, forcing surrender. /13 burg-reichenstein.com/geschichte/?la…
While Dietrich von Hohenfels, the ‘robber baron’ managed to escape, the rest of his garrison weren’t so lucky. Rudolf had them hung along the length of the valley as a warning to others - law and order was being restored along the Rhine. /14
While Rudolf was never crowned Holy Roman Emperor, and his sons weren’t half the man he was, the rise of the Habsburgs would eventually bring more stability & peace to what had been a fractious, conflict-riven region. Wars would break out, but big players kept them in check. /15
‘Robber Barons’ would emerge later in the medieval period during periods of strife. They would never again reach the numbers that they had before, however. Tolls were abolished in the 19th century as commercial river traffic slowed. /16
In the 19th century, the name ‘robber baron’ would also be given to capitalists such as Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller, who were thought to demonstrate a lack of ethics in business. The name was meant to recall the rampant criminality of those old knights. /17
So there you go. There aren't many decent English sources on the ‘robber barons’ of old, but most histories of Germany do devote a bit of time to them. Medieval Germany - the period I am, perhaps, most passionate about, has so many of these stories. I hope you enjoyed that. /18
If you like what I do, you can always kick me the cost of a coffee at bit.ly/mskofi , or subscribe monthly at bit.ly/mspatsy . Every little bit helps in bringing more stories of horrific historical violence, disease and madness. /FIN
