Rudolf of Hapsburg (1218-1291) and Holy Priest. Rudolf, one of the most famous Roman emperors, was even in youth very respectful to the Church. At one time, in the wild mountain passes about his home, he met a poor priest struggling against wind and storm to bear the last sacrament to a dying peasant. Rudolf dismounted, placed the priest upon his horse, and guided him to his destination. He then insisted on the holy man’s retaining the horse as a gift, saying that, having once borne the messenger of God, it could never be used for a lesser purpose. Rudolf I was the first King of Germany from t
Rudolf of Hapsburg (1218-1291) and Holy Priest. Rudolf, one of the most famous Roman emperors, was even in youth very respectful to the Church. At one time, in the wild mountain passes about his home, he met a poor priest struggling against wind and storm to bear the last sacrament to a dying peasant. Rudolf dismounted, placed the priest upon his horse, and guided him to his destination. He then insisted on the holy man’s retaining the horse as a gift, saying that, having once borne the messenger of God, it could never be used for a lesser purpose. Rudolf I was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II in 1250.
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Keywords: 1200s, 13th, century, count, frederick, german, germany, great, habsburg, hapsburg, hero, holy, horse, house, ii, interregnum, king, legend, priest, royalty, rudolf
