Half forgotten now except by well-informed tourists, the townsfolk of Rothenburg, Bavaria, were mildly astonished one morning in 1631 when an invader rode up the hill from the Tauber River and announced his intention of burning their old city. The burgomaster begged him not to do so; Tilly, the invader, listened patiently to these speeches and announced, according to the likely legend, that he would spare Rothenburg if its mayor would drink, at one sitting, a hogshead of its famous beer. The burgomaster, with relish rather than resolution, did so immediately. Rothenburg, since...
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