My Real Fairy Tale!

I was researching my family lineage for a paper I was writing in my American Literature I class when I found an interesting story about one of my paternal grandmother's Kilburg ancestor. Castle Vianden in Luxembourg was built atop Roman ruins in the Ardennes forest. Before the Roman's came, this land was owned by my ancestor's. They controlled all the land from the River Kyll to the Kyll forest and founded one of the oldest villages in Europe, Kyllburg. In the eleventh century, the Counts of von Viaden took control of Kyllburg and the original castle was destroyed in the fierce battle. The von Viandens, who intermarried with the Kyllburgs, then rebuilt the present castle on top of the old foundation over the course of three centuries. The photograph above is of Castle Vianden in Luxembourg. Please note the tower on the left side of the photograph.

Now to the tale~
In the year 1337, Count Heinrich II von Vianden was killed while fighing for the vatican in the Christian Crusades. Upon his death, his beautiful daughter, Marie von Vianden, inherited the title of Countess from her father, as he had no living sons. As it was the custom fo the day, the young Countess was appointed an evil Guardian. When she refused to marry her supposed protector, she was left to starve, locked in the tower of Castle Vianden. Her faithful dog managed to keep her alive for months by stealing scraps of food from the kitchen and carrying them to the tower. Eventually the Countess' fiancee, Simon von Sponhein, was led to the tower by her dog. He immediately killed the evil Guardian and rescued his betrothed. They were soon married and lived (as you might guess) happily ever after. Marie von Vianden Sponheim is buried in Cistercian Abbey, under an image of her beloved dog.