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Landgrave Ludwig, the grandson of Ludwig the Jumper, was kind and
humble, gentle and good natured towards both nobility and lower classes in
his youth.
For that reason he was not feared by his troops and consequently was
conquered by many rebellious people who damaged the country and severely
oppressed the people. His nobles considered him a fool, but his citizens
and peasants cursed him and thought him evil - for the reason that for the
sake of his kindness and patience, they became impoverished and ruined.
The nobles saw and knew very well that the complaining poor were let go
before they reached him, but the princes used it secretly to their own
advantage.
Well, it happened that the Landgrave went hunting one day, as he often did
for his amusement, and became seperated from his fellows. Besides that,
the darkness had drawn in.
 After
he had been wandering aimlessly through the forest for a long time, the
fire of a forest smithy in the Ruhl shone brightly towards him. As he
stood before the blacksmith, in grey robes and with his hunting bugle, he
asked him for shelter. Loudly, the blacksmith asked him who he would be
and he said, "The Landgrave' s huntsman".
To which the blacksmith replied, "No! No! The coward who reveals his name
should wash his mouth out."
He continued to moan about him badly, but then he said, "I will gladly
accomodate you, but not for his sake. Leave your horse in the shed, there
you will find some grass. And you will have to help yourself this night as
there is no bedding available here."
After that, the Landgrave did as he was told. But, during the night, the
blacksmith in the Ruhl took care of greater and harder work, burned and
heated the iron, and then struck it with the large hammer so that sparks
flew.
During this he cursed and complained about the Landgrave in such a way, "Landgrave
Ludwig, become hard, become hard! You shameful, soulless man, become hard!
Your nobles flatter you to your face, and then pillage and plunder your
people. They writhe in your power - one of them discredited you to your
family, another robbed them. They will become rich from your family, and
you will become poor with your family. Landgrave Ludwig be tough, be tough!"
So the blacksmith called everything how it is in the country and he damned
the Landgrave to hell.
The Landgrave overheard everything the blacksmith said, slept very little
during the night for thinking about it.
Now he became so strong in his courage, as beforehand he had been weak. In
the early hours of the morning he rode away. He had learnt much from the
blacksmith in this one night, and after that he ruled with a rod of iron.
When he had harnessed his rebellious vassals many times to the plough and
badly humiliated them, they had to swear a great truce to him, and since
then he became quite feared from them. They only had to hear his name
called and they sighed. All their friends in Hesse and Thuringia were
aggreived by him because he did not let them have their own way.
Whatever they could do to cause him trouble they did, and strove in
various ways to bring him to his death. The Landgrave was frequently
warned about this, and from then on he always went out prepared in his
impressive iron armour, whenever he was amongst gentlemen and honourable
people.
For that reason only they called him "the Iron Landgrave".
Which of them who were out to kill him, or whose friends or servants he
caught by doing any atrocious deed, or learned the truth that they thought
him harmful, he immediately left them to hang, or be strangled, or be
drowned.
Thanks to Mr. Wolf
(Pummpälzweg e.V.) who conceded the translation of the
legend to me for publication.
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