upon himself, sparing the Count by bringing about his own death. Early knowledge of the town of Kreuznach is documented in one line of a song by the minstrel Tannhäuser from the 13th century, which is preserved in handwriting by Hans Sachs: "vur creűczenach rint aűch die na". In Modern German, this would be "Vor Kreuznach rinnt auch die Nahe" ("Before Kreuznach, the Nahe also runs"). Records witness Jewish settlement in Kreuznach beginning in the late 13th century, while for a short time in the early 14th century, North Italian traders ("Lombards") lived in town. In the 13th century, Kreuznach was a fortified town and in 1320, it withstood a siege by Archbishop-Elector Baldwin of Trier (about 1270–1336). In 1361, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor granted Count Walram I of Sponheim (about 1305–1380) a yearly market privilege for Kreuznach. In 1375, the townsfolk rose up against the town council. Count Walram's response was to have four of the uprising's leaders beheaded at the marketplace. Through its long time as Kreuznach's lordly family, the House of Sponheim had seven heads: Simon I (1223–1264) John I (1265–1290) John II (1290–1340) and Simon II (1290–1336) Walram (1336–1380) Simon III (1380–1414) Elisabeth (1414–1417) In 1417, however, the "Further" line of the House of Sponheim died out when Countess Elisabeth of Sponheim-Kreuznach (1365–1417) died. In her will, she divided the county between Electoral Palatinate and the County of Sponheim-Starkenburg, bequeathing to them one fifth and four-fifths respectively. In 1418, King Sigismund of Luxembourg enfeoffed Count Johann V of Sponheim-Starkenburg (about 1359–1437) with the yearly market, the mint, the Jews at Kreuznach and the right of escort, as far as Gensingen on the Trier-Mainz highway. In 1437, the lordship over Kreuznach was divided up between the Counts of Veldenz, the Margraves of Baden and Palatinate-Simmern. In 1457, at a time when a children's crusade movement was on the rise, 120 children left Kreuznach on their way to Mont-Saint-Michel by way of Wissembourg. In 1475, Electoral Palatinate issued a comprehensive police act for the Amt of Kreuznach, in which at this time, no Badish Amtmann resided. Elector Palatine Philip the Upright and John I, Count Palatine of Simmern granted the town leave to hold a second yearly market in 1490. In that same year, Elector Palatine Philip bestowed ownership of the saltz- und badbronnen ("salty and bathing springs") upon his cooks Conrad Brunn and Matthes von Nevendorf.