Part 3

“Albert had availed himself of the short interval during which his son held quiet possession of Bohemia, to support the pretensions of his nephew Charles of Naples, in opposition to Otho of Bavaria, who was lineally descended from Bela IV., and had been raised to the throne of Hungary by the anti-papal party in 1306. He entered Hungary with a considerable army, but did little more than devastate the country, till he was called to defend his own territories against an irruption of the Hungarians.

“He likewise engaged in a war for the possession of Misnia and Thuringia, which he endeavoured to appropriate as fiefs of the empire.

“But at this juncture the insurrection of the Swiss called his attention to another quarter.

“Helvetia, or, as it is now called, Switzerland, at this period was divided into small sovereignties and baronial fiefs, the imperial cities of Zurich, Berne, Basle, and Schaffhausen, the demesnes of the church, and the small states or cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Underwalden, which, though dependent on the empire, enjoyed a democratic form of government. Among the sovereigns, the most conspicuous were the counts of Savoy, and the house of Hapsburgh, which had considerably increased in power and territory by the elevation of Rodolph and Albert, who, as chiefs of the empire, possessed the right of appointing bailiffs in the imperial cities and districts, for the purpose of administering the criminal jurisdiction.

“At the suggestion of Albert, Rodolph seems to have formed the design of acquiring the sovereignty of the ecclesiastical and baronial territories, and having thus encompassed the free cities and democratic states, either to obtain their voluntary submission, or compel the refractory to acknowledge his authority. In consequence of this design, Rodolph made considerable purchases, particularly of Friburgh from the house of Kyburg, and of the town of Lucern from the abbey of Murbach, with the seignorial rights in several villages of the district of Schwyz. These acquisitions excited jealousies and discontent among the natives of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, and gave birth to an association by which they bound themselves not to submit to foreign jurisdiction. The temperate spirit of Rodolph yielded to the opposition of a people so jealous of their liberties, and from whom he had received such essential services; he accordingly quieted their apprehensions by a solemn confirmation of their privileges, as head of the empire, and this act was confirmed by Adolphus.

“Soon after the death of Rodolph, Albert manifested his intention of appropriating or subjugating the free districts of Helvetia. The natives of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, justly apprehensive of his rapacious character and powerful resources, held a general assembly to renew their confederacy, and assert their independence. They also espoused the cause of Adolphus, and assisted him with a small but chosen body of their bravest troops. On the death of Adolphus, and the election of Albert, a general panic spread through all the people of the Alps; and their alarms were increased by the declaration of Albert to their deputies, who requested him, as chief of the empire, to confirm their privileges, that he intended to propose an alteration in their government.

“Before, however, he attempted to subjugate these brave and spirited people, he increased his influence and acquisitions in Switzerland. He pacified the citizens of Zurich by confirming their privileges, obtained the advocacies of the abbeys of St. Gallen and Einsidlin, demolished the castles of the petty lords in the district of Glarus, who had adhered to Adolphus, and by purchase and intrigue, acquired the supreme authority in various parts, from the lake of Thun, to the heart of the country inhabited by the Grisons. Having thus nearly surrounded the Swiss by his extensive domains, he summoned them to submit to his authority. His haughty spirit was little affected by the simple answer of these free mountaineers: “We are partial to the condition of our forefathers, and only desire the confirmation of our privileges.” He disdained to listen to their remonstrances, and placed over them governors, whose tyrannical and capricious administration at length roused the natives to assert their injured rights.

“Under the auspices of three patriots, Fürst, Melchthal, and Stauffacher, the plan of a general insurrection was secretly formed, and the revolution, which gave liberty to Switzerland burst forth in Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, on the 13th of January, 1308. The governors were expelled, their castles seized, and the whole people rose, as with one accord, to defy the power of the house of Austria, and of the head of the empire.

“Albert, confident of his superior force, rejoiced at this insurrection as affording a pretext for subjugating the natives of a territory which he had long coveted, postponed the intended invasion of Bohemia and Thuringia, and was preparing to lead an army into Switzerland, when his life and reign were closed by the hand of violence.”

The Austrian princes, Frederic and Leopold, were unquestionably disappointed at the election of Henry of Luxembourg to the imperial throne, instead of one of themselves; but, after some intrigues, they concluded to accept quietly from him the investiture of their hereditary dominions, and Leopold faithfully served the Emperor in Italy and elsewhere. At his death there was a contested election, and both Frederic of Austria and Louis of Bavaria were chosen. In the wars that ensued between these rivals, Switzerland was again invaded by Leopold, who commenced hostilities against the three Swiss cantons, who had espoused the Bavarian party.

“Leopold seized the pretext of a dispute between the convent of Einsidlin, of which he was advocate, and the natives of Schwyz, who had surrounded the abbey, and seized four of the canons and the schoolmaster, in revenge for an insult on some Swiss pilgrims. He considered the reduction of this country as an easy task, and vain of his military skill and superior force, boasted that he would trample the audacious rustics under his feet. He assembled 20,000 men, and hastened to put his threat in execution; 4,000 on the side of Oberhasli were to pass by Mount Brunig into Underwalden; a body of 1000 from Lucern was to make a diversion by Stantz, and he himself intended to march from Zug with 15,000, and penetrate to Schwyz.

“The northern inlets of the country being fortified with strong entrenchments and towers, only two passages led towards Schwyz. The first was the pass of Art, along the foot of the crags which border the lake of Zug, impracticable for armed cavalry; the other led through the straits of Morgarten, about three miles in length, between the lake Egeri and the heights rising above the village of Morgarten, from which it derives its name.

“The Swiss, hardy and brave from their modes of life and forms of government, disdained to submit to a foreign power, and beheld the gathering of the storm without dismay, though with the interest due to the importance of the cause in which they were engaged. Fourteen hundred men, the flower of their youth, grasped their arms and assembled at the town of Schwyz. A solemn fast being proclaimed, they passed the day in religious exercises and chanting hymns and kneeling down in the open air, petitioned “the God of heaven and earth to listen to their lowly prayers, and humble the pride and arrogance of their enemies.” By the advice of an experienced veteran they took post on the heights of Morgarten, and with the same spirit which had animated the Greeks at the strait of Thermopylæ, waited the approach of the enemy. Fifty outlaws also, who had been expelled from Schwyz, petitioned the magistrates that they might share the danger of the day with their countrymen; and, though rejected, occupied an eminence commanding the entrance of the pass.

“At the dawn of the morning (November 16.) the Austrians were seen advancing in all the pomp of war, and flushed with the hope of certain conquest. The cavalry, on whom the warriors of that day placed their principal reliance, armed from head to foot, led the way, and were followed by the infantry in a compact body. When they began to fill the strait, and stretch along the borders of the lake, the fifty exiles raised a sudden shout, and hurled among them huge blocks of timber, heaps of stones, and fragments of rock. This unexpected assault threw the column into confusion; and the confederates perceiving the impression, rushed down from the heights, and charged the enemy in close array with their clubs, halberts, and pikes. Cramped by the narrowness of the defile, the Austrians were unable to make any evolution, and their embarrassment was increased by the effects of a hoar frost. Many of the horse leaped into the lake, and the remainder recoiled on their infantry, who, unaware of the attack, and unable to open their files, were run over, dispersed, or trampled to death; numbers were driven into the lake, crushed by their companions, or fell by the hands of an enraged enemy. Not less than fifteen hundred, most of whom were nobles or knights, were slain in the rout, and Leopold himself with difficulty escaped under the guidance of a peasant to Winterthur, where he arrived in the evening, gloomy, exhausted, and dismayed.

“At the close of evening the Unterwalders, apprised of the advance of the body from Lucern, embarked with a hundred Swiss on the lake, and landing at Buchs, attacked and dispersed the enemy. Notwithstanding the exertions of this arduous day, the victorious troops, joined by a few of their countrymen, hastened to Alpnach, where the four thousand had taken a strong position. The Austrians, beholding the victorious banners of the Swiss, and hearing the shouts of exultation, were panic struck, and began to retreat; but were attacked by the confederates, and, notwithstanding the exertions of their commander, driven back in disorder over the mountains towards Lucern.

“The three cantons in a public assembly declared the anniversary of this day, ‘in which the God of Hosts had visited his people, and given them the victory over their enemies,’ a solemn festival, and ordered the names and heroic deeds of those champions, who had fallen in defence of their country, to be annually recited to the people. They also rendered perpetual their ancient league, which had hitherto been renewed every tenth year, and obtained a confirmation of their confederacy from the head of the empire.”

We omit the rest of the history of these two brothers, on account of their too great complication with the interests of other princes, including the Pope, who pursued their objects with the same recklessness of the welfare of the countries which were the theatre of the disputes, that is the ever continued course of the House of Austria, and with no shadow of a better purpose than family aggrandisement, ever manifested by every one of them, whether in peace or war.

They both died before 1330, leaving their younger brothers, Albert II. and Otho, heads of the family, who immediately concluded peace with the Emperor Louis. Hardly was this effected before we find the brothers engaged in war for the succession of Carinthia and the Tyrol. Being invested with both by Louis, they took forcible possession of Carinthia, but were obliged to renounce the Tyrol, so effectually were they opposed by its nobles and magistrates.

“While Albert was thus on the whole extending his possessions, and consolidating his power on the side of Austria his paternal domains and influence in Switzerland were curtailed by the three petty republics of the Alps, who had already resisted the efforts and humbled the pride of his house.

“At the commencement of their administration, Albert, in conjunction with his brother Otho, had made considerable acquisitions in the neighborhood of the Rhine; they had obtained possession of Schaffhausen, Rheinfelden, and Brisach; and had purchased from the House of Lauffenburgh the feudal rights over the town and country of Rapperschwyl. By these acquisitions, and by the extent of their paternal inheritance, the Austrian princes almost surrounded and isolated the three republics: they possessed nearly the whole of that part of the canton of Berne which is now called the Argau; they were masters of the Thurgau; they held the sovereignty of Zug and Lucern, including the Entlibuch, and the towns of Sempach and Reichensee; and, as advocates of the abbeys of Einsidlin and Seckingen, their authority was paramount in the district to the south of the lake of Zurich, and over the town and canton of Glarus.

“By the death of Otho, and of his two sons, who deceased in 1344, the whole possessions and power of the House of Austria devolved on Albert. But he was at first too much embarrassed in contests on the side of Austria and the empire to give the necessary attention to the affairs of Helvetia, where a concurrence of events had begun to diminish the authority of his family.

“Since the battle of Morgarten, the power and influence of the Swiss had increased with their success; and the spirit of that liberty which they had so courageously defended was diffused over the neighboring Alps, and among the towns and districts on the borders of Germany. The surrounding people were eager to obtain an exemption from feudal despotism; and panted for an equal participation of those rights which had raised the three democratic cantons to such reputation and prosperity. Lucern set the first example. In consequence of the unceasing disputes and contests between the Austrian feudatories and the confederated republics, Lucern was exposed to perpetual inroads; her commerce to Italy was interrupted, her fairs deserted, and her citizens, continually under arms, were unable to protect their territories from depredations, or their walls from insult. In these depressing circumstances the flower of her youth was summoned to the field under the Austrian standard, her citizens loaded with excessive contributions, and, the authority of the Austrian princes being supported by the nobles, the town was agitated with discordant factions. At length the majority of the burghers obtained from the emperor Louis the protection of the empire, and with his approbation concluded an armistice of twenty years with the Swiss cantons. The nobles applied to the baron of Ramschlag, the Austrian castellan of Rotenburgh, who advanced with a body of 300 horse to surprise the town; but this project being defeated by the vigilance and firmness of the burghers, many of the Austrian partisans retired, and the remaining inhabitants entered into an alliance with the Swiss cantons. In forming this alliance, however, both parties observed the most rigid dictates of justice, and confirmed all the rights and prerogatives of the House of Austria. Albert and Otho, failing in their attempts to recover Lucern by intrigue or arms, took advantage of their reconciliation with Louis, and solicited him to dissolve the alliance of Lucern with the Swiss cantons. The cause was accordingly submitted to arbitrators, selected from Zurich, Berne, and Basle: but the confederacy was confirmed, and a truce for thirty months concluded between the dukes of Austria and Lucern, which was renewed at different intervals.

“The four cantons, which, from this period, are called the four Forest Cantons, took an active share in the subsequent transactions, and, after vindicating their own independence, assisted in extending and maintaining the liberty of the neighboring towns and districts, who sought their alliance and protection.

“Zurich next became a member of the Helvetic confederacy. The House of Austria had more than once endeavoured in vain to annex Zurich to their other territories; and in the peace of Hagenau, it was one of the four imperial towns mortgaged by the emperor to Albert and Otho. But the inhabitants claiming the privilege granted to them by Adolphus, of never being separated from the empire, Louis yielded to their remonstrances, and instead of Zurich ceded Brisach, a town of the Brisgau. The Austrian princes, however, did not relinquish their purpose, and gained a considerable party of the nobles, who had gradually acquired the principal share in the administration of affairs. But their views were thwarted by a revolution which annihilated the influence of the nobles, and established a popular form of government; and Rodolph Brun, by whose influence and intrigues this revolution was effected, under the title of perpetual burgomaster, secured the chief authority. The nobles who opposed the change were driven into exile, their estates confiscated, and the severest measures were adopted to prevent the restoration of the ancient government. The tyrannical proceedings of Brun having excited great discontents, the exiles united with John of Hapsburgh, lord of Rapperschwyl, who had afforded them an asylum, to recover their lost ascendancy. In 1351 they succeeded in introducing a considerable body of men into the town; but at midnight, when the explosion was about to take place, the plot was accidentally discovered. The conspirators were put to death, or dispersed; and John of Hapsburgh, with Ulrich of Bonstetten, the two leaders, made prisoners. Many of their adherents among the burghers were afterwards executed; and the authority of Brun was more firmly established than ever. He led a party against Rapperschwyl, made himself master of the town, expelled the inhabitants, levelled every house to the ground, and demolished the walls of the castle; but, aware that these proceedings would expose him to the vengeance of Albert, he saw no other resource than the protection of the Swiss cantons, and succeeded in procuring the admission of Zurich into the Helvetic confederacy, which took place on the 7th of May, 1351.

“Albert, at length relieved from his embarassments in Germany, hastened to recover his declining authority. He assembled at Bruck all his governors, barons, and magistrates, from the Thurgau, Argau, Alsace, the Black Forest, and Suabia, and roused their indignation by expatiating on the flagitious conduct of Zurich. He then summoned the deputies of Zurich, who came to congratulate him on his arrival, into his presence, and, after rebuking them with severity, dismissed them with an order that the towns of old and new Rapperschwyl should be rebuilt, the marshes restored, and his people indemnified for their losses. On the refusal of the burghers to comply with these conditions, he invested the town with 16,000 men.

“On the first appearance of danger, the people of Zurich applied to the Forest Cantons, and a body of Swiss prepared to march, without delay, to the assistance of their new ally. The burghers, however, panic struck with the force and menaces of the Austrians, requested an arbitration to arrange the dispute, and yielded sixteen hostages as pledges for the fulfilment of the award. The arbitrators chose Agnes, queen of Bohemia, the sister of Albert, as final umpire, who decided in favour of her brother. A treaty was accordingly concluded; but a dispute arising in regard to the release of John of Hapsburgh, and the Swiss disapproving the conditions, both parties had again recourse to arms.

“Among his allies, Albert summoned the people of Glarus to his standard; but these husbandmen, who were animated with the same spirit as their Alpine neighbours, refused to obey the summons; and when he despatched a body of troops, as well to awe them into compliance as to annoy the Forest Cantons, the Swiss, bursting in the depth of winter into the valley, were joyfully received by the inhabitants, and expelled the governor. The people, grateful for this deliverance, entered into a treaty of alliance with the Forest Cantons, and 200 of their bravest youth marched to the defence of Zurich. At the commencement of the ensuing year they repulsed and defeated with great slaughter an Austrian force in the field of Rutly, and soon after this event Glarus was formally admitted into the Helvetic confederacy. In a similar manner the Swiss expelled the Austrians from Zug, and the natives of that town and district were received into the confederacy; the two cantons however did not yet throw off their feudal subjection to the house of Austria, but reserved, in their full latitude, all the rights and revenues of the duke.

“During these transactions, four thousand Austrian troops had been defeated by fifteen hundred burghers of Zurich, at Tatwyl, and a corps of a thousand by forty-two Swiss at Kussnacht. Albert, unwilling to continue this predatory warfare, in which all the advantage lay on the side of the active and light-armed peasants of the Alps, and which dispirited his own troops while it increased the courage and skill of the enemy, collected from all quarters an army sufficient, as he imagined, to humble the confederates by a single effort. He drew out the whole force of his own hereditary dominions, and persuaded the nobles of Burgundy, Suabia, and Helvetia that their interests were equally concerned in punishing refractory subjects, and checking the progress of the Helvetic union; he likewise succeeded in obtaining the support of the elector of Brandenburgh, and many other princes of the empire; and was assisted even by the republic of Berne, and its allies of Oberland, Hasli, and the Pays de Vaud. Having in 1352 assembled 30,000 foot, and 4000 horse he intrusted the command to an experienced warrior, Everhard, count of Wirtemberg, who laid siege to Zurich. Albert himself was indefatigable in forwarding the siege, and either on a litter, or on horseback, assiduously visited and encouraged the different posts; but the invincible spirit of the burghers, assisted by a corps of the confederates, baffled all his efforts. In consequence of an alarming scarcity of provisions, his auxiliaries successively retired, and Albert at length gladly accepted an accommodation, which was concluded by the intervention of the elector of Brandenburgh, with the plenipotentiaries of the confederates assembled at Lucern. All prisoners, conquests, and hostages were to be restored on both sides; the prerogatives and revenues of the duke in Lucern, Schwyz, and Underwalden were to be preserved; Zug and Glarus agreed to render him due allegiance; and the duke in return promised to be their friend. The confederates were to conclude no alliance with an Austrian town or country; Zurich and Lucern were to admit no Austrian subject into their burghership; John of Hapsburgh was to be released; and all former alliances, immunities, and established regulations to remain inviolate.

“The signal proofs of spirit, valor, and perseverance, displayed by the confederates in this arduous and apparently unequal contest, increased their former reputation; and before the close of 1352, their union was strengthened by the accession of Berne, the most powerful republic in Helvetia, which, by purchase or arms, had enlarged her frontiers, and acquired a considerable domain; but was still more formidable from the military skill and prowess of her warlike citizens.

“The treaty which Albert, from his necessities rather than from inclination, had concluded with the confederate cantons, was a suspension of arms instead of a solid peace; for disputes soon arose relative to the interpretation of the articles. Albert insisted that the engagements of Glarus and Zug to pay him due allegiance dissolved their alliance with the Swiss cantons; and the Swiss urged that the article in which the maintenance of all former alliances was stipulated comprehended the Helvetic union. Albert had recourse to the mediation of the emperor, who was anxious to compose the troubles of the empire, that he might receive the crown from the hands of the Pope at Rome. Charles repaired to Zurich, and endeavoured to effect an accommodation; but as he displayed an evident partiality in favour of Albert, the Swiss cantons declared their resolution to reject any award before their confederacy was acknowledged; and at the same time they tendered a compensation for the ducal prerogatives, which was to be fixed by the emperor. Charles, irritated by this mark of disrespect, declared the Helvetic union null and void, and all confederacies illegal, which were formed without the consent of the head of the empire.