The Story of Switzerland

by Lina Hug; Richard Stead

XX.

THE LEAGUE OF THE THIRTEEN CANTONS COMPLETED.

(1513.)

No traveller visiting the picturesque town of Innsbruck should miss turning into the Hofkirche to inspect one of the most remarkable masterpieces of German art, the imposing monument erected by Maximilian, of Austria to himself. Amongst the numerous magnificent bronze effigies adorning this monument, we find those of Rudolf of Habsburg, Leopold III., who fell at Sempach, Charles the Bold, and many others whose names are familiar to the reader of the "Story of Switzerland." But the grandest figure there is that of Maximilian himself, a personage hardly less interesting to the Switzer, from the part played by that ruler in the separation of Switzerland from the empire.[43]

MAXIMILIAN'S MONUMENT AT INNSBRUCK, MARBLE RELIEVI. (From a Photograph of the Original.)

Maximilian, the son of Frederick III., is the first of a long series of monarchs who regarded their high vocation as a serious trust, and earnestly desired the well-being of the people whom they ruled; and of an empire sadly torn by the dissensions amongst the various factions of prelates, princes, and cities, each of which followed its own special ends, regardless of the welfare of the empire as a whole. Desirous of drawing more closely together the various members of his kingdom, he sought to lighten his hold over the Swiss Confederation, the bonds between which and the empire lapse of time had loosened. He was at the same time hopeful that he might win Switzerland over for his Italian schemes. He first invited, and then ordered the Eidgenossen to acquiesce in the new constitution (1495), and to join the Swabian Bund, a league formed by the nobility and the great cities, under the ægis of Austria. But this sacrifice of their freedom and independence did not at all suit the Swiss, and they flatly refused. They quite realized by this time that their own federal union was a much better guarantee of safety for them than the dubious assistance of party-torn Germany. Moreover they felt that the Reichstag, composed only of aristocratic elements, would ever fail to really represent and promote their republican and democratic interests. And besides, their strongest feelings were arrayed against Austria. The imperial crown had become almost hereditary in the Habsburg family, and to submit to imperial rule meant to the Swiss the loss of all the political freedom and advantages they had gained. Last, but not least, after the double-dealing of Frederick III. in the Burgundian wars, the Swiss could have but little confidence in imperial rulers. The position of the Eidgenossen was indeed much like that of the Americans three hundred years later. They refused allegiance to a government which placed burdens upon them, but in which they had little or no share. Maximilian threatened the Swiss with invasion, whilst his chancellor proposed to bring his pen to bear upon them. But a Swiss envoy replied to the monarch that he would be very ill-advised to start on such a venture, whilst to the chancellor he said, "Why, sir, should we fear your goose quills? We are known not to have feared your Austrian lances." For the first time, perhaps, the Swiss truly realized that they were in a singularly independent position, and needed no foreign support for their protection. The truant child had grown strong and self-reliant, and would certainly decline to give up his dearly-bought and much-cherished freedom.

This stout refusal, the great friendship of the Swiss for France—for since the days of St. Jacques they had been slowly drifting to the French side—and their independent bearing, nettled beyond measure their Swabian neighbours. Mutual recriminations and accusations followed, and the desire of both sides for war was intensified by vexatious lawsuits, and by serious troubles in the Grisons. At last the flame burst forth. That "Rocky Island" where three Swiss nationalities mingle peacefully together, afraid of falling beneath the Habsburg sway—for the Austrian and Rhætian lands were still inextricably mixed together—sought shelter with the Eidgenossen as Zugewandte connections (1497 and 1498), the Zehngerichte excepted. The Tyrolese Government, seizing on this occurrence as a pretext, summoned the Swabian League to its aid, and sent troops into the Münsterthal in the absence of the monarch. The Bündner replied by calling in the Confederates, and war was soon raging along the whole line of the Rhine, from Basel to the borders of Voralberg and the Grisons. The deliverance of Rhætia (Graubünden) thus went step by step with the separation of the Swiss League from the empire. This war, called the Swabian war, from the people who took the most prominent part in it, glorious though it was in many ways, cannot be described in detail here. Maximilian was drawn into the struggle, but his troops never entered into the spirit of the enterprise, and were completely routed. No Swiss war has been more fruitful in glorious deeds and acts of self-sacrifice. As an example we may just allude to the noble courage of Benedict Fontana, the chieftain of the Gotteshausbund. He led the charge on the strong fortress deemed impregnable in the narrow valley, An der Calven (Chialavaina), on the Tyrolean frontier. Lacerated by a bullet he nevertheless covered his wounds with one hand, fighting with the other till he fell exhausted, calling to his troops, "Onward, comrades! I count but for

CITY WALLS OF MURTEN.

one man; to-day we are Rhætians and allies, or nevermore!" Fired by his example, Von Planta and other noble leaders sacrificed themselves; the fort was taken, and the two leagues were rescued from the Austrian grip. The Swabian war had lasted for six months, the Swabians themselves had suffered reverses on ten occasions, whilst in only two cases had the Swiss been repulsed; the German territory beyond the Rhine had been wasted; two thousand villages and castles having been reduced, and twenty thousand of their soldiery killed. No wonder both the contending parties longed for peace, and this was secured by a treaty at Basel, September 22, 1499. The effect was the separation of the Swiss League from the empire, but this was understood rather than officially expressed. The Eidgenossen were released by the emperor from the Reichskamergericht, a step tantamount to acknowledging their independence. One hundred and fifty years later this independence was formally declared at the Peace of Westphalia. For a time, however, many curious anomalies continued; the Swiss still submitted their charters for the sovereign's approval, accepted patents of nobility, and so forth. But the late wars had again won for them the respect and admiration of many of their neighbours.

Admission into the league was now requested by Basel and Schaffhausen, and their request was granted in 1501. Basel ranked as the ninth link of the federal chain, and thus took precedence of Freiburg and Solothurn, in acknowledgment of its high position and great merits. Basel had indeed advanced greatly in prosperity. She had opened her University in 1460; her importance as an emporium was great; and she formed a fitting corner-stone in the West. She gloried in her union with the league and the protection it afforded her; and to show the perfect trust she felt, she dismissed all the guards at her gates, and placed in their stead an old woman with a distaff who, much to the annoyance of the neighbours, used to receive the tolls. Henceforward the Swabians and the Swiss were looked upon as distinct nationalities. Wurtemburg and Bavaria joined in union with the Swiss the very next year, and even Maximilian himself renewed his friendship with the Swiss states. "Could there be a greater compliment paid to the excellence of the Swiss Union," says a German historian, Uhlmann, "than this mark of confidence on the part of Maximilian?" After various refusals, and only after having qualified itself for taking its position, Appenzell was admitted into the federal fold December, 1513, despite the resistance of the Prince Abbot of St. Gall, as a member on equal terms, and the list of the XIII. Orte, or cantons, was complete, and remained closed for three centuries.

The Italian wars which follow bear more or less the stamp of mercenary wars, and are interesting chiefly from a military point of view, only the essential points of their story will therefore be touched upon here. It has been shown how the league got a footing in Ticino under the Visconti;[44] and later on the Swiss not only strove to increase their acquisitions in Italy, but played a prominent part in the wars waged by foreign princes and powers which set up pretensions to Naples, Milan, &c.

The period of the French invasion of Italy opened in 1494 when the Swiss assisted Charles VIII. of France in the conquest of Naples, which he claimed from the house of Aragon. His successor, Louis XII., took Milan from Ludovico Sforza, surnamed Il Moro, with the aid of the Swiss, promising to cede Bellinzona to the Swiss as a reward for their services. Of the numerous enemies he raised up against himself the bitterest was Pope Julius II., who counted on the help of the Eidgenossen in the task of driving the French from Italy, and the more so as he discovered amongst them a fit instrument for carrying out his schemes. Matthæus Schinner, a priest, was a most remarkable man. Born of the poorest of parents, in the Upper Valais, he had in early life sung in the streets for bread. From this humble origin he had raised himself to the position of Cardinal, and had become an intimate friend of the Pontiff. Having money, indulgences, and power liberally at command, he brought about a five years' alliance between the Papal See and Switzerland. The Swiss readily entered into this agreement, as they had been slighted by Louis, and, moreover, their contract with France had expired in 1510. Spain, England, and other powers, had likewise entered into league with Pope Julius, but his chief supporters were the Swiss. In their march through Lombardy, against the French (1512), Pavia surrendered, and Milan also fell to the victors. Zwingli, the reformer, who had been present in the campaign as camp-preacher, reports that it was curious to see the ambassadors of great powers appearing at the Tagsatzung held at Baden to decide on the fate of Milan, and pleading with the Eidgenossen for a greater or less share of the duchy.[45] Despite all flatteries, the Swiss envoys reinstated Maximilian Sforza in his heritage, and in return for this they received Lugano, Locarno, &c.

The attempt of Louis to re-conquer Milan miscarried. His fine army, commanded by the greatest generals of the age, Trémouille and Trivulzio, was defeated at Novara in 1513. This siege surpassed all the Swiss had yet gone through, yet they left open the gates, and in derision hung linen before the breaches. Foreign historians compared this battle with the greatest victories of the Greeks and Romans. The historian, Machiavelli, prophesied that the Swiss would one day acquire the leadership of Italy, but that was not to be, however.

FREIBURG CUSTOM-HOUSE.

On the accession of Francis I., that youthful and ambitious prince wished to signalize the opening of his reign by the recovery of Milan. Anxious to have Switzerland neutral he made overtures, which were rejected. But intrigues amongst the Swiss and dissensions among their allies worked in his favour, and Bern, Freiburg, and Solothurn, accepted a peace against the interests of Switzerland, and their men returned home. Cardinal Schinner, strongly averse to the French, by a false report that the enemy was at the gate, brought up in wild haste the Eidgenossen, who had been wavering hitherto. The Swiss followed their leader who was mounted on his horse, his purple cloak streaming in the wind, and came up with the enemy at Marignano (the modern Malegnano) September 13, 1515. A terrific struggle ensued, abating only when the moon went down at midnight. Trivulzio had cut his way through the force with his sword. Bayard, the "Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche," for the first time in his life fled. At dawn the Swiss renewed to the attack. Their fortunes fluctuated till noon, when the cries of "San Marco!" announced the approach of the Venetians. These appeared to be about to cut off retreat, and the plain on which the Swiss stood being now under water—for the French had broken down the dykes of the Lambro—the Eidgenossen were compelled to retire. This they did in perfect order, carrying with them their wounded, and retaining their guns and banners. They were, indeed, rather foiled than defeated, and Francis, full of admiration for the Swiss, forbade his troops to pursue. Trivulzio declared that the eighteen battles he had previously witnessed were but child's play to that of Marignano.

In the November of the following year (1516) an "eternal peace" was concluded between France and the Swiss, and this drew Switzerland closer to her powerful neighbour. The material results of the war were the acquisition of Ticino (which was admitted a canton in 1805), and of Valtellina and Chiavenna. This defeat was a turning-point in Swiss history, establishing as it did the supremacy of France. The part they had hitherto played in European politics had come to an end, and the ascendency they had so long maintained as a leading military power had been strangely shattered. A decline was clearly inevitable.

A few words may be given here respecting the famous monastery of St. Gall. The cloisters of St. Gall shed a bright lustre on Swabian lands during its best period, from 800 to 1050 a.d. This famous religious-house was a centre of art and high culture, and was a blessing to the whole country. We can but allude to some of its famous monks, such as the Notkers, Ekkehard, Rabbert, and so forth; many famous as poets, musicians, savants, historians, and teachers of the very highest rank. In the noted school attached to the monastery there resided and were educated some three hundred sons of the German and Helvetic nobility. The discipline kept up was most severe. A story runs that King Conrad I., on a visit to the institution, wished to put this to the test, and caused to be scattered under the school benches a basketful of fine apples. Not a single scholar touched the fruit, and, to reward them for this very remarkable self-restraint, Conrad gave the youths three holidays. But the number of anecdotes attaching to this magnificent institution is endless.