Kriegsritter Johannes Braun – Imperial Knight
Copyright© 2026 by Vonalt
Chapter 13: On the Road to Aachen
It was mid-June when Johannes departed the Frangipani estate north of Rome, accompanied by Marcus, eight of the Frangipanis’ mounted men-at-arms, Father Denis, and a handful of servants to tend the pack animals, make camp each evening, and attend to their needs whenever they accepted the hospitality of a local lord or bishop. With a smaller company than on his previous journeys, Johannes hoped they would make better time on the road.
They made their way toward the port city of Civitavecchia, though Johannes had yet to decide how they would continue their journey. Traveling by sea might take a few days longer, but he believed it would be less arduous than the overland route. Marcus was less convinced and repeatedly reminded him of ships lost to storms and pirates. In truth, neither man feared pirates as much as the sea itself. Johannes had lost his wife—the same woman who was Marcus’s sister—when the ship on which she had been sailing foundered in a storm. Johannes postponed the decision until they reached the port, intending to inquire about the safety of sea travel at that time of year.
Their first night’s stop was at Cerveteri, where they accepted the hospitality of the bishop. He proved even more welcoming than he had been on Johannes’s previous visit. Knowing that his guests were the nephew of Oddone Frangipani and the Imperial Protector of Pope Adrian IV made him an even more genial host than he had been several months earlier.
The next morning, after the traveling party had departed the bishop’s manor, Father Denis shared information he had learned from the monks who served in the bishop’s household. Pope Adrian IV’s health was failing. Although he was still able to carry out his duties as Bishop of Rome, he tired more easily and was often seen taking frequent naps while seated upon the Throne of St. Peter. Several bishops and cardinals had already begun quietly lobbying to succeed him upon his death.
Johannes thanked Father Denis for the valuable information. He made a mental note to relay it to the Emperor when they reached Aachen.
Johannes and his companions reached the port city of Civitavecchia at dusk that evening. They lodged at a different inn from the one they had used during their previous visit to the city.
In the inn’s great room that night, Johannes and Marcus spoke with several sea captains and shipowners about the wisdom of traveling by sea at that time of year. Nearly every man they questioned gave the same answer: attempting such a voyage would be foolhardy. After hearing the same warning from captain after captain, Johannes reached his decision. They would travel overland to Aachen.
It took the party nearly a week to reach Pisa. They passed through several towns where they had stayed on their previous journey with Apollonia, choosing instead to press on to different villages and accept the hospitality of new hosts. On nights when no suitable lodging could be found, they made camp among the trees just off the ancient Roman road.
Father Denis, besides being an excellent priest, proved to be quite the scrounger. He would visit farms and the homes of fishermen along the road, invariably returning with food that could be cooked over an open fire. Johannes often teased him, asking whether he had found “a few fishes and three loaves.” Father Denis would feign outrage at the comparison, and before long, they would all be laughing around the campfire.
They remained in Pisa for several days, allowing both men and animals to rest while replenishing their supplies after more than a week on the road. The next stage of their journey would carry them north toward the Alps and, ultimately, the Brenner Pass, the most demanding stretch of road they had yet faced. Before reaching the mountains, they would spend nearly a week crossing the broad plains and rolling countryside of northern Italy on their way to Verona.
Johannes was determined not to overtax either the horses or the pack animals before they reached the high country. He was equally mindful of those in the party who were unaccustomed to such arduous travel, especially Father Denis and the servants. Once they entered the Alps, the roads would grow steeper, the air colder, and each day’s march more difficult than the last.
Over the next couple of weeks, Johannes and his party traveled north from Pisa to Verona and finally to the foot of the Alps. They rode through the broad, relatively flat countryside of the Po Valley, passing countless vineyards and fertile fields. The air remained warm, still tempered by the lingering influence of the Mediterranean climate.
Beyond Trento, however, the character of the land began to change. The valley narrowed as limestone cliffs rose on either side of the road. The Adige River became their constant companion, guiding them northward toward the mountains. Before long, the gentle hills gave way to steep mountain slopes crowned with castles whose garrisons watched over the approaches to the Alpine passes. The towering peaks beyond served as a constant reminder that the most difficult part of their journey still lay ahead.
At Bolzano, the mountains became noticeably higher, and the horses and pack animals tired more quickly as the road climbed steadily upward. The farmland through which they had ridden gradually gave way to dense evergreen forests. The landscape had become unmistakably alpine, with thick stands of pine and fir covering the slopes and high meadows where cattle and sheep grazed during the short summer months.
Churches and monasteries were more common in the mountain valleys, and Johannes took advantage of their hospitality whenever possible. Once again, Father Denis proved his worth by calling upon his fellow priests, who gladly provided lodging and simple meals for the travelers. Their generosity spared the party many nights of camping in the cold mountain air.
At Bressanone, the valley through which they had been traveling became noticeably narrower and steeper. Dense forests, countless mountain streams, and high meadows where local herdsmen grazed their cattle and sheep stretched along the valley floor and up the surrounding slopes. The road continued its steady ascent until, at last, they reached the Brenner Pass.
To Johannes’s surprise, the road climbed by gentle grades rather than the steep, winding switchbacks he had expected. It proved to be a far easier route than the Great St. Bernard Pass, which he and the Emperor had crossed on their journey from Trier to Rome. Even so, the thin mountain air and the long, relentless climb had left both men and animals weary by the time they reached the summit.
Johannes smiled at Marcus’s constant complaints about the cold night air when they stopped for the night at the pass.
“If you stay over the winter, Marcus, it’s going to be even colder. Then there are the winter winds that drive the cold into your bones. That will give you even more to complain about.”
Marcus looked back at him, ready with another complaint, but decided against it. Instead, he went to sit beside Father Denis around the fire they had built to cook their evening meal.
That night, they chose to camp rather than press on in the hope of finding a local priest still awake who would allow them to sleep in the church.
The next morning, they pressed on through the Brenner Pass and continued to Innsbruck. From there, they traveled through Hall in Tirol, Kufstein, Rosenheim, Munich, Augsburg, Ulm, and finally Mainz.
At Mainz, they stopped for several days to rest and replenish their supplies before beginning the final leg of their journey to Aachen, where Emperor Frederick Barbarossa maintained his capital.
Johannes found a washerwoman willing to clean their surcoats for their arrival in Aachen. He wanted to make an appearance at court worthy of his reputation as the Emperor’s Imperial Knight, the Emperor’s “Hammer.”
While in Mainz, Father Denis visited with his fellow priests, hoping to gather any information that might prove beneficial to his patron and now friend, Johannes.
He did find one important piece of information and quickly went to find Johannes.
Father Denis found Johannes in conversation with several fellow travelers. He did not wait for an opening but blurted out, “Johannes, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa has married Countess Beatrice of Burgundy!”
Surprised by the news, Johannes asked Father Denis where he had learned it. He wondered how it would affect his status as an Imperial Knight and his friendship with the Emperor. Now, it seemed, he would have two masters to whom he would have to answer.
Father Denis said, “The Emperor married Countess Beatrice of Burgundy in June at Würzburg. The Bishop of Trier anointed her queen that same day. That is what my fellow priests told me. I doubt they would have any reason to lie, Johannes.”
Johannes decided they would remain in Mainz to allow their horses and the donkeys that had served as pack animals a chance to rest and recover. They had been pushed hard throughout the journey, and the passage through the mountains had been especially taxing. The delay would also give him and his fellow travelers time to uncover any other news concerning the Emperor’s marriage.
Johannes spent time with the local bishop, asking what he knew of the Emperor’s recent marriage. He also visited the local inns, hoping to learn what the townspeople had heard. Yet no one seemed to know anything more than what Father Denis had been told.
If the news Father Denis had uncovered were true, nearly a month had passed since the marriage took place. It was now the end of July; surely the Emperor had returned from Würzburg. One would have thought the news would have spread throughout the aristocracy by now.
Two days later, they left Mainz and followed the Rhine Valley toward Cologne. Traffic along the road had increased, for it was one of the principal routes used by merchants carrying Italian silk, spices, and fine cloth northward. They passed pilgrims making their way south to Rome, while peasants crowded the road with wagons laden with produce for local markets, slowing their progress and making travel even more difficult.
Every so often, they encountered knights and their retainers. Johannes would stop to ask whether they had heard of the Emperor’s marriage, but few had. In fact, despite wearing his surcoat, most of the knights did not recognize Johannes.
News of imperial importance was not a matter of concern here, Johannes reasoned. Most knights concerned themselves only with matters that affected them locally. Their world revolved around their obligations to their lord and to the peasants who depended upon them for protection and who, in turn, paid them taxes and tithes.
The only men who seemed to know of the marriage were Imperial officials traveling between the cities, and even they knew little more than Father Denis had already reported. They appeared far more concerned with reaching their destinations than with lingering to speak with Johannes, even though he was an Imperial Knight.
Following the Rhine broke the monotony of the journey. Johannes and Marcus invented a game in which they tried to guess what cargo each passing boat or barge carried. After making their guesses, they would call out to the crew and ask what was in the vessel’s hold. At the end of each day’s ride, whoever had guessed the fewest correctly bought the first round at the inn that evening.
They drank mostly wine, for the region was renowned for its vineyards, which blanketed the hillsides along the Rhine. The slopes faced the sun at just the right angle, providing the warmth the vines required to produce fine grapes.
The route they traveled was lined with numerous castles, whose local lords collected tolls from those passing through their lands, whether by road or along the Rhine. At some toll stations, the river itself was controlled by heavy chains stretched across the channel until the required toll had been paid. To enforce these demands, the lords maintained retainers ready to ensure compliance.
At one such toll station, a local knight took issue with Johannes paying only the standard fee. In his view, an Imperial Knight should be required to pay more, and he challenged Johannes to settle the matter by arms. The dispute was quickly resolved, with Johannes forcing the knight to retire from the field for the rest of the day.
The journey from Mainz to Cologne took three days, and each night they stayed at an inn established near one of the many castles that guarded the route. While his men and Marcus entertained themselves at the inn, Johannes sought out the local lord and paid him a visit.
The two would exchange gossip, and Johannes entertained his host with tales of Rome, of his role as protector of Pope Adrian IV, and of the events he had witnessed firsthand in the city. Yet while he shared his stories, Johannes listened carefully to everything the lord had to say. Such information could prove invaluable when he stood before the Emperor in the days ahead.
At Cologne, Johannes arranged an audience with Frederick II of Berg, who had recently been appointed Archbishop of Cologne. There had been a dispute during the election, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had intervened by appointing him to the position.