Argenschwang  Argenschwang is an "Ortsgemeinde" – a municipality belonging to a "Verbandsgemeinde", a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the "Verbandsgemeinde" of Rüdesheim, whose seat is in the municipality of Rüdesheim an der Nahe. Argenschwang lies in the southern Hunsrück, between the Soonwald and the Gauchswald, at the 361 m-high Geisberg. Argenschwang borders in the north on the municipality of Spabrücken, in the northeast on the municipality of Dalberg, in the east on the municipalities of Wallhausen and Braunweiler, in the south on the municipality of Sponheim, in the west on the municipalities of Allenfeld and Spall and in the northwest on the municipality of Münchwald. Also belonging to Argenschwang are the outlying homesteads of Webersmühle and Wiesenhof. In 1127, Argenschwang had its first documentary mention under its former name, "Hausen", which was customary up until the 16th century. In this document, Argenschwang was mentioned as an endowment estate for Sponheim Abbey. According to a record written by Johannes Trithemius, Abbot Baldemar von Sponheim acquired the village of Hausen (Argenschwang) in 1195 from the local lords, the Counts of Sponheim, for 2,000 pounds in Heller. In 1332, Count Johann of Sponheim pledged the castle along with the dale below (and hence the village as well) to the Knights of Ariswanke. The knights were themselves vassals of the Counts of Sponheim. The name Argenschwang is made up of the Old High German root word "wang", meaning “field”, “meadow” or “grazing land” (this is also seen in the name Feuchtwangen), and another Old High German word "arin", which might be taken either to mean “eagle” or to be a short form of a man's name, perhaps "Arinbald" or "Arinfried". It could therefore be that the village of Argenschwang arose as a small grazing farm on Arin's meadows.