Specimens of German Romance; Vol. I. The Patricians

In the spring of 1568, Althea sits alone in her Schweidnitz chambers, her mourning veil trailing over a face still bright with sorrow. The loss of her husband haunts every corner of the house, and her four‑year‑old son Henry clings to her, oblivious to the weight she bears. Her uncle, Seifried von Schindel, arrives with a full goblet and a stern counsel, insisting that prolonged grief is unChristian and that her estate and child demand a sturdy protector. He presses the idea of remarriage, arguing that a new husband must secure both the family’s fortunes and her son’s future.

The conversation quickly turns to a parade of suitors—hard‑living knights, ambitious merchants, and the wealthy widower Christopher Friend, whose patrician ties could lift Althea into a life of comfort. As her uncle touts duty and honor, Althea struggles between the pull of personal grief and the practical demands of a turbulent era, aware that any choice will reshape her world.