Haertel—Social Conditions in Southern Bavaria. 1067 
also tortured people 1 . Helmbrecht tells how he dragged peas¬ 
ants through the hedge by their hair 2 , gouged out. the eyes of 
some, beat others, tied some by hands and feet and threw them 
into ant-heaps, hung some up in the smoke, pulled the hair 
from their beards with tongs, scalped others, broke their bones, 
and hung some up in the willows by their feet 3 . In the cold¬ 
est of weather they tore every shred of clothing from men and 
women 4 ; once Helmbrecht tied a babe up in a sack while 1 it 
was sleeping, and, when it. cried, threw it out into the snow 5 ; 
another time he ravished the daughter of a peasant 6 . The 
regular cry of the knight is 7 : “Bide, knight, ride; stab and 
strike; mutilate all those who can see; chop off that man’s foot 
and this man’s hands; catch a rich man, and hold him for a 
hundred pounds ransom.” 
3. Belation of knight to peasant. 
Helmbrecht’s course showed that there was practically no 
difference between the well-dressed young peasant and the 
knight. There must have been some degree of social equality, 
for a knight acted as godfather to young Helmbrecht 8 . Still, 
there was some haughtiness in the attitude of the man who lived 
at court towards the peasant, for, when Helmbrecht came back 
home, he at first refused to permit his father to touch his horse 9 . 
III. Social Life. 
1. Religion, morality, education, and superstition. 
The attitude towards the church was not a respectful one. 
The old peasant complains that no attention is paid to the 
ban 10 . One might infer that the priests were preaching a cru- 
1 Li. 1243 fti 
2 L. 372. 
3 LI. 1243 ff. 
4 L. 1198. 
5 LI. 1853 ff. 
6 L. 18(55. 
7 LI. 1028 ff. 
8 L. 488. 
9 L. 766. / 
30 L. 1019. 
