The Story of Switzerland

by Lina Hug; Richard Stead

In the Low Valais the counts of Savoy had obtained a footing, and were moreover advancing into Vaud. Vaud was at that time governed by a host of more or less important nobles, such as the barons of Grandson, Cossonay, Blonay, &c., and was contended for by the bishops of Lausanne and Geneva, and the counts of the latter town, whilst the counts of Greyerz governed in the districts of the Saane, and those of Neuchâtel in the lake districts of the Jura. Little Burgundy, with Solothurn as capital, fell to the counts of Buchegg. One of the wealthiest and most ancient of the native families was that of Lenzburg, whose counts held sway in Aargau, Zurichgau, and the Forest Cantons, and were governors of famous religious-houses. One of the counts of Lenzburg, Ulrich IX., was an intimate friend and a minister of Frederick Barbarossa, and on the extinction of the rule of these counts, their heritage fell to the Habsburgs, and gave that family a great lift in the early days of their rise. In the east we meet with the famous House of Kyburg, to which belonged young Werner, the friend of Ernest II. of Swabia. Their ancestral manor house near Winterthur is still in good condition. They had numerous vassals and followers. In Zurichgau the barons of Regensberg and others, and the counts of Rapperswyl were harassing the people. The most powerful nobles in the east were the abbots of St. Gall, who governed part of St. Gall and Appenzell, and the counts of Toggenburg, and in Chur-Rhætia and the Rhine districts the counts of Montfort and Werdenberg. This sufficiently shows how feudalism had grown apace in Switzerland, and what a hard struggle the people had to hold their own against the impositions of princes and nobles. How feudalism had arisen has been already shown in the previous chapter.

To find some explanation of this rapid growth and the distracted state that followed in its train we must turn for a moment to the empire. Owing no doubt to the loftiness of the imperial dignity—for the emperors were indisputably the greatest of the civilized monarchs—the vassal princes rose to far greater independence in the empire than in other countries. Yet the possession of the imperial crown was in the end the weakening of royalty. Henry III. had raised the empire to its pinnacle of greatness, and the imperial dignity increased the prestige of the German name, and surrounded the German monarch with a halo of glory and even reverence. But the engagements abroad, the campaigns in Italy, the struggles with the Pontiffs, and the close attention required to be paid to Italian affairs, kept the emperors away from duties and cares nearer home. The Italian claims and titles, in fact, proved in the long run injurious to German interests. Frederick I., Barbarossa, had indeed, by his just and powerful rule, forced his insubordinate vassals into submission, but it was far different with his grandson, the brilliant Frederick II. (1215-50). Born in Italy and brought up to love the land of his birth, Naples and Sicily, more than his fatherland, Frederick II. was more Southerner than Teuton. He gave Southern Italy a model administration, but allowed Germany to be weakened by a divided internal government. And though we cannot but admire the unflinching spirit with which this "wonder of the world" carried on his unequal struggle with the Papacy, yet it is clear that the conflict which sealed the doom of his own family was equally ruinous to the empire.[23]

BRONZE FIGURES FROM THE MAXIMILIAN MONUMENT AT INNSBRUCK.

During the interregnum (1254-73) Germany was without an actual ruler, although two foreign princes had been elected as its sovereigns. One of these never even showed his face in Germany, and the other, Richard of Cornwall, could not make sure his ascendency in the country, notwithstanding all the money he lavished in the attempt. This was the unhappy time of the Faustrecht—the name indicates its character—when the right of the strong hand (fist) alone was of avail. The empire lost its prestige, and it slowly dissolved into a loose confederacy of some five thousand larger or smaller states and fragments of states, each struggling for independence.

Most eminent amongst the crowd of nobles on Swiss soil aiming at their personal exaltation were the counts of the great Houses of Kyburg, Savoy, and Habsburg. Taking advantage of the general state of misgovernment or want of government, they systematically planned the aggrandisement of their own families, whether by conquest, purchase, or unjust encroachment. Yet there was opposition from the city burgesses, who, seeing their liberties in danger, felt the love of freedom roused in their breasts.

The powerful Kyburger, the mightiest Swiss nobles, were the first to threaten the liberties of the people. Count Ulrich was reckoned one of the wealthiest princes throughout Swabia. By clever policy he had arranged the union of his son Hartmann (the elder) with Margaretha of Savoy. Ulrich's daughter, too, was married to Albrecht of Habsburg, and became the mother of Rudolf, the German king. He upheld the cause of Frederick II., and his elder son, Werner, went with him on his crusade where he was carried off by the plague, leaving one son, Hartmann the Younger. Their territories, after they had inherited the Zaeringen estates, reached from Lake Constance to Swiss Burgundy. Both the elder and the younger Hartmann encroached without scruple on the crown lands adjoining their estates, whilst Frederick II. was engaged in his struggle with the Church. In this emergency Bern and Murten, whose independence was at stake, followed suit, and resorted to means which would be a precedent in the future struggles for Swiss freedom. They joined in an offensive and defensive union with the Kyburg city, Freiburg, with Lucerne and the Bishop of Sion (1243). Bern had always adhered closely to the Hohenstaufen, and when Hartmann ventured on an open attack in 1255, that city applied to the empire for help. Unable to obtain support, however, both Bern and Murten placed themselves under the patronage of Count Peter of Savoy, who was already at variance with Kyburg, and a peace was arranged.

Peter of Savoy, "the second Charlemagne" as he was styled, was a most remarkable man, and a striking figure amongst the Savoy princes. Being the fourth of seven brothers he had been placed in the Church by his father, Count Thomas. However, on the death of the father Peter doffed his priestly robes, married the heiress of Faucigny, and added that province and Chablais to his territories, and set up as guardian of his brothers. Like his father he had constantly his mind on Vaud, and the daily feuds amongst its leaderless swarm of nobles facilitated the conquest. Castles were erected to further his object; and Chillon, which to-day gives us an excellent idea of what a fine feudal castle was in mediæval days, became his princely residence, having indeed been, to a great extent, built by him. Invited to the Court of England by his niece Eleanor, he spent the greater part of his life abroad, gathering in the service of Henry III. men and money. These he used to achieve the acquisition of Vaud, to which he every now and then returned to overthrow his enemies. In England he occupied a high position in the Council, was knighted, and had titles and honours lavished on him; the palace of the Savoy in the Strand bears witness to his magnificence. Many of the nobles in his train, such as De la Porte, Grandson, Flechère, married Englishwomen, and hence arose the family names of Porter, Grandison, Fletcher. Possessing an iron will, and thoroughly versed in diplomacy, Peter of Savoy finally annexed Vaud, partly by conquest and partly by agreement. In truth, the whole nobility lay at his feet ready to do him homage and acknowledge him as lord paramount. The German government sanctioned his protectorate of Bern and Morat, and Richard of Cornwall his conquests in the Bernese Highlands. Thus West Switzerland became the portion of a Savoy prince, and in the place of the ancient kingdom of Upper Burgundy arose a feudal sovereignty. However, order, discipline, and wise organization were the fruits of Peter's rule. And his generous nature, his chivalrous spirit, and his love of justice and good government, won for him the affection of his people, and the title of Le Petit, or Le Second, Charlemagne.

Presently the Kyburg domains in Eastern Switzerland devolved on him, the male line having died out in 1264—the elder Hartmann leaving no children, and the younger but one daughter, Anna, a minor. But when Peter attempted to take possession of the inheritance in the name of his sister, Margaretha of Savoy, he found himself in conflict with a rival claimant of superior strength, Rudolf, of Habsburg. This prince confiscated the whole of the lands of Hartmann the Elder, regardless of the claims of the widow, Margaretha. There was no mistaking the meaning of this, and war broke out between Savoy and Habsburg. Rudolf invited the whole of the nobles of the west to rise against Count Peter. He was engaged in East Switzerland when the Burgundian lords proceeded to besiege Chillon, in 1266. Peter himself was at war in the Valais. He suddenly returned, and at dead of night fell upon the enemy. He found them asleep, and some eighty nobles, barons, counts, seigneurs, and followers fell into his hands. These he conducted into the castle of Chillon, but instead of treating them as prisoners, entertained them at a banquet. Thus Peter became once more master of the west. Bern by a "writ of submission" regained from the House of Savoy the freedom it had forfeited on a previous occasion.[24] Rudolf signed a peace at Morat, and obtained the Kyburg heritage with the exception of the lands settled on the Dowager Countess. On the death of the "Conqueror of Vaud," which occurred soon after, the sovereignty passed to his brother Philip, a man of far inferior stamp. French Switzerland, save Geneva, gradually became a loose confederation of petty states, and their languishing political life led to their gradual amalgamation with the Eastern Republics.