1634: The Bavarian Crisis (assiti chards)

by Eric Flint

  All groups of two to four women. Possibly suspicious, especially if they appeared to be fairly prosperous. Pile two.

  Groups of more than four women. Unless they contained the same number as the English ladies, pile one. It was, after all, coming on to harvest season. Farmers and estate managers all over Bavaria were hiring seasonal laborers right now; seasonal laborers were out looking for work.

  Discerning just who a suspicious group might be was a different matter. Possibly members of the archduchess' household? Pile two-A. Possibly members of Duke Albrecht's household in Munich or possibly people from Duke Albrecht's rural estates? Pile two-B. Possibly former servants of the late Wilhelm Georg of Leuchtenberg? Pile two-C. Possibly members of the households of various Munich patrician families? Pile two-D.

  Why could the duke not have addressed these problems one at a time? At the moment, there were far too many women whom one could presume to be sharing a single thought: let's get the hell out of Bavaria.

  He was a cautious man. The times were uncertain. His wife and daughters were currently en route to Tyrol.

  He did his best to make his summaries dull.

  ****

  On the twentieth of July, the district administrator in Vilsbiburg reported that a group of women representing themselves to be pilgrims returning from the shrine at Altotting had transversed his district. According to the innkeeper in Muhlburg, there were seven in the group; they were said to reside in Landshut and to have letters of approval from their own parish priest. There was no indication that this group of women were of interest to the inquisition. In any case, since both their purported place of origin and the destination of their pilgrimage were outside of his own jurisdiction, he did not consider it a judicious use of his budget to expend monies to observe them farther.

  The city clerk of Landshut, upon inquiry by the chancery, sent confirmation that a group of local women had indeed left two weeks earlier to undertake a pilgrimage to Altotting. This group included the wives of the baker Adolf Blum and the sausage maker Veit Haller. All of the women regularly attended their local parish church and none of them were delinquent in their annual obligation to receive Easter communion. The city clerk did not understand why this pilgrimage is of interest to the Holy Office, particularly since the distance to Altotting from Landshut is less than forty miles.

  The chancery sent a query to the city clerk in Landshut asking him to ascertain, when the women return home, whether they had at any time during their pilgrimage deviated from the route they had been expected to take, or whether, at the time they returned, there were more people in their party than when they had left.

  The city clerk in Landshut reported that when the group returned home, there was one less person in their party than when they left on the pilgrimage. They asserted that this was because one of the women, an unmarried sister of the teamster Adalreich Pfister, remained behind temporarily to visit her grandmother in Dingolfing.

  The mayor in Dingolfing reported that a woman who could be the missing individual from the Landshut pilgrimage to Altotting had been observed in Dingolfing, the prior Sunday. According to the nephew of the priest, she accompanied to mass a woman whom she asserted was her grandmother. Local informants confirmed the identity of the grandmother and stated that she did indeed have an unmarried granddaughter residing in Landshut. It was said that the visitor intends to return to Landshut within a fortnight.

  The bureaucrat rubbed his aching temples. The district administrator in Vilshofen reported that four women were staying as guests in the household of Count von Ortenburg, which was not, of course, under his jurisdiction. Prior to arriving in Ortenburg on the previous Wednesday, these women had supposedly made a trip to Freising, in order to see the duke's wedding procession. They had a carriage and are accompanied by a driver and a footman. He had not been able to confirm that they had indeed visited Freising, nor where they intended to go upon leaving Ortenburg. In a tavern in Ortenburg, the driver indicated that they intended to take their leave on Tuesday next and proceed to Passau. Thus far, however, they had not left Ortenburg."

  Pile two-A, with follow-up.

  The chancery clerk anxiously requested further details on the four visitors to Ortenburg, particularly as to whether these might possibly be some of the English Ladies who had left Munich and who were of interest to the Inquisition.

  The district administrator in Vilshofen replied that he did not believe that these were English ladies, since they had been overheard speaking German to one another.

  The frustrated clerk replied that he was not asking about English ladies but rather about English Ladies, members of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a religious order that has been dissolved by papal decree and whose members were of interest to the Holy Office.

  The district administrator from Vilshofen replied that he did not think so, because one of the ladies was advanced in pregnancy and was accompanied by a ladies' maid and a laundress. The fourth appeared from her clothing to be a gentlewoman of high standing.

  The chancery clerk wrote, Why didn't you say that one of them was pregnant before?

  The district administrator answered, Nobody asked me.

  More summaries. Dull, think dull. Very, very, dull.

  The district administrator in Vohburg reported that three women in religious habits had passed through his district two weeks before. They stated that they were beguines from a house in the city of Cologne, and they were traveling on passports issued by the archbishop-elector of Cologne. They presented papers indicating that they were traveling to Salzburg.

  Pile one.

  The district administrator in Vohburg added in passing that during the past week, two or three groups of women had been observed traveling toward Neuburg, and one to Reichartshofen.

  Pile two.

  The district administrator in Muhldorf reported that three women in religious habits had passed through his district a week before. They professed to be beguines from Cologne. He does not know where they went after they left Muhldorf, although they had stated that they were on their way to Salzburg.

  The district administrator in Aichach reported the arrest of four vagrant prostitutes, one a young girl. One of the older women asserted that the girl was her daughter; two professed to have been born in Tyrol; the woman and her daughter in Augsburg. There was no indication that they were heretics, although all four were very poorly instructed in the tenets of the Catholic faith. They have been remanded to a Spinnhaus for repentant magdalens, from which the girl had already made an effort to flee.

  The district administrator in Abbach reported that he was keeping close watch on all efforts made by groups of women to enter the portions of the Imperial City of Regensburg that are on the south side of the Danube.

  The bailiff in Griesbach reported that his wife, while shopping in Vilshofen the previous week, saw three well-dressed women whom she did not know. Since his wife was personally acquainted with every woman in Vilshofen who could afford to dress well, he believed that he should report this, although nobody had asked him about it. The women were wearing dresses in the current style, one green, one blue, and one deep red. These dresses were trimmed with silk and made in the modern style with wide arms. Two of the women wore broad collars in the French style. All of the women wore caps, embroidered with silk, and hats. They claimed to be on their way to a spa, where they intended to take the curing waters. The Amtmann reported that he did not know of any popular spas in the general direction in which they were traveling until one reached Karlsbad in Bohemia.

  Frantically, the chancery clerk requested follow-up to this sighting. Four days later, the bailiff reported that he had ascertained that this party of women, which was on horseback and accompanied by two grooms, had passed the border into the diocese of Passau.

  On behalf of the prince-bishop, an administrator in Passau replied to the Bavarian inquiries that he had not seen such a party of women. This was quite literally true, which did not mean that
he did not know who they were, one of them being both his own cousin and a former lady in waiting of Archduchess Maria Anna. It also did not mean that he had not issued orders to expedite their travel through Passau to their homes in Austria.

  A low-level clerk in the Passau chancery sent duplicate copies of these orders to Munich, accompanied by an invoice for his services.

  The Bavarian chancery clerk did not know whether or not to hope that this meant that the archduchess and the two witches were out of Bavaria and out of his hair. Pile two, though; definitely pile two.

  He kept reading reports, of which those he had already extracted and summarized were only a small sample. The unsummarized pile, no matter how steadily he worked, grew inexorably. They kept coming in daily.

  The bailiff in Schleissheim reported that one of his informants stated that a group of about a dozen women and one man, dressed in the ordinary clothing of rural workers, had come into Hohenkammer, where they had been met by a merchant, presumably their employer, who was waiting for them at an inn. The group had continued north, walking, in the company of the merchant, who was also walking. This was not a suspicious circumstance, since the man had eaten at the inn and complained to the host that a cavalry troop had confiscated his horse that very morning. The informant assumed that these were migrant laborers, hired for the harvest season. The Schleissheim bailiff concurred. Pile one.

  The official sighed. He wished that he had received more reports from the region between Munich and Ingolstadt, but with the troop movements there, it was probably too much to hope for.

  In any case, he had received a letter from his wife. His family was safe in Tyrol. He closed up his desk. Times were very uncertain in Bavaria. Someone else would have to deal with the rest of the reports. He was leaving for Tyrol.

  ****

  Salmading. So far, so good. Reichertshausen. The whole town was in chaos because of Bavarian foraging parties. Ilmmuenster. The flow of refugees heading south was becoming a stream. Pfaffenhofen. Only ten miles again today, but they would have to stop. There was no possibility that Mrs. Simpson could walk farther.

  Refugees. Sources of information.

  Baner's army was pouring across the Danube at Neuburg. Some had forded, but the great majority was crossing on the bridge. First, he had sent across scouts; then squads that secured the perimeter of the town on the west and south; then they had secured a route to the south of Ingolstadt.

  From Neuburg to Ingolstadt, no one could reach the Danube without crossing a well-secured line of Swedish and USE regulars.

  Refugees. Carrying with them as much of their worldly goods as they possibly could. Willing to sell some of them for hard cash. Not a lot, from any one group. Plus, the English Ladies still had some things in their satchels. Others, he had traded for them.

  Miss Ward was a reasonable woman. When he explained what he had discovered, she agreed readily enough that crossing at Ingolstadt would be impossible. They would try for Neuburg. They could all stay with Veit Egli until the southward traffic on the bridge slacked off. Then they could cross and go on to Grantville.

  Refugees. One sold him a sedan chair. Mary Simpson was no longer a crippled old man but rather an old woman, her short hair hidden by an old-fashioned, capacious, matron's cap, her shoeless feet swathed in bandages. Sores from gout, they could tell anyone who asked. Two day-laborers, happy enough to find paid work that would take them away from the presence of Bavarian troops, were carrying her.

  Leopold felt considerably relieved. He considered himself an enlightened enough man, but the Bible itself forbade women to wear men's clothing. He understood that in Grantville, certain forms of trousers were defined as women's clothing; so be it. Undoubtedly, however, when the women found him in Hohenkammer, Mary Simpson had been wearing men's clothing. Down-time men's clothing. The kind of thing for which the Catholics of Bavaria would burn a woman, if they discovered it.

  Be fair, Leopold. The kind of thing for which the Calvinists of Geneva would burn a woman, if they discovered it.

  He looked at Mary Ward. Mrs. Simpson had been dressed in those male clothes with the consent of a Catholic. A nun, the superior of a Catholic religious order, no matter how troublesome a one. It was all very disturbing.

  In any case, he was far happier now that Mrs. Simpson was dressed as a woman again.

  ****

  Pfaffenhofen. Several days in Pfaffenhofen. It was as secure as Neuburg and refugees were still coming south steadily. There was little point in trying to move farther north. Leopold had not spotted anyone observing them. He was rather surprised that the surveillance, thus far, appeared to have been so lax. Happily surprised, but surprised.

  Pfaffenhofen and, at the end of the week, a Neuburg newspaper. Dramatic Flight of the Heir of Bavaria and His Family. How providential. That might account for some of the surprisingly thin surveillance. No clue, however, as to the goal of their flight. Or, for that matter, the reason for their flight.

  Another day. Another newspaper, a week old, carried by a refugee, who sold it to the innkeeper. Who wouldn't let it out of his hands, although, for a fee, he would read it out loud to people in his dining room.

  Duke Ernst and General Baner Mount Intense Attack on Ingolstadt.

  "Gee, whiz. As if we hadn't guessed," Mary Simpson said later that evening. It was safe enough to speak English in their own rooms, Leopold thought.

  Well, it was a Nurnberg newspaper. But it scarcely came as new information to people who were sitting here in Pfaffenhofen in the middle of a region that was not just ankle deep in military types but, by now, practically neck deep.

  Two more days. A special edition of the Augsburg newspaper, brought in by a runner who was risking his neck to make a lot of money. Between the arrival of the last newspaper and this one, Duke Maximilian had issued a proclamation forbidding the importation of all foreign printed matter. Duchess Mechthilde and Duke Karl Killed During Escape from Bavaria. Mysterious Disappearance of the Younger Bavarian Dukes. The innkeeper wasn't reading the papers out loud any more, but he had bought a half dozen and resold them surreptitiously and for a highly inflated price.

  The reporter whose despatch had reached Augsburg had apparently based his lead story on talking to the man who provided the wagon and coffins to transport their bodies to Leuchtenberg. The story only went that far. There was no information as to whether Duke Albrecht had reached Bohemia.

  ****

  Maria Anna read though the meager information in the Augsburg paper over and over, as if she could force the printed columns to provide her with more information than they contained.

  The only consolation she had found was what was not there. No headlines saying that Dona Mencia had been captured. No headlines saying that Father Vervaux was dead. Not even the most minute notice at the bottom of the sixth column on the fourth page.

  No news from Austria. Why was there no news from Austria? Never had she been in more need of the School of Patience.

  Chapter 52

  Excursio Culpae

  Bavaria, south of Ingolstadt

  The stream of refugees was slacking off. Those who were still passing through Pfaffenhofen were mainly, they said, going to stay with relatives. The body of the Swedish army was on the south bank of the Danube now. They had invested Ingolstadt itself from the south and constructed a body of counter-fortifications to keep the Bavarians at a distance. There had been two sizable battles, both to the east of Ingolstadt, when the Bavarians had tried to force their way through. The attacks had been repulsed.

  The Bavarians took the two day-laborers whom Leopold had hired to work on fortifications, so he re-sold the sedan chair to a family going south with a sick woman.

  He asked what was happening farther to the west, toward Neuburg. The answer was that the Swedes had built fortifications all along, the whole dozen miles from Neuburg to Ingolstadt. A "secured supply line," they called it.

  To the east, the Bavarians were massing at Manching and Ernsgaden. Nobody
knew for sure, but it was generally assumed that since they could not break through at Ingolstadt itself, they would drive west, south of the "secured supply line," and try to break through at Neuburg. Nobody-well, no ordinary person-knew precisely when they planned to move, but it had to be soon. There was hardly anyone still in the expected path. The reason that the stream of refugees was slowing down was that Weichering was empty. So were Zell, Obermaxfeld, the villages and hamlets around them. Schrobenhausen had taken in so many refugees that there was, literally, room for no more. Even the villages further to the south had driven away any livestock that the foraging parties had left them and the people were prepared to run if the armies swung a few more miles to the south than people expected.

  At Neuburg itself, though, the Swedes were permitting traffic to pass in and out of the city.

  ****

  Leopold was inclined to stay in Pfaffenhofen, he said. To wait and see.

  Privately, he was beginning to worry. Marc had not caught up with them, even with the pause, and there was no indication that he was ahead of them.

  Mary Ward was not inclined to wait and see. He learned something about determination. Although he did not learn that she had addressed the College of Cardinals in Latin in defense of her order and her orthodoxy, he learned something about the personality that had permitted her to do that without flinching. Learned that she had, in her pocket, a letter from the pope that ordered her to Grantville.

  He could stay, or he could come, she said, but the Ladies were making a run for Neuburg and the bridge before an army marched between them and it. Twenty-five miles. Mrs. Simpson's feet were largely healed. They would make a run for it. With him or without him.