The Pants of Mr. von Bredow

This story has all the attributes of a good chivalric novel: a noble master of an ancient castle, his devoted wife ready to save her husband from death, the abduction of an ancient artifact, a conspiracy, betrayal, execution, terrible ghosts, ominous omens, and, of course, love. How could there be a story without love?
Now we call the mid-nineteenth century – the time when this book was written – ancient history, but Willibald Alexis believed that the 'good old times' existed no later than the fifteenth century, when German barons still wore chain mail and flaunted in deer skin pants.