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Why are the Swiss called the Swiss? After all, Schwyz in only of 26 cantons, and not one of the largest ones. How did the proud and prosperous citizens of Zurich or Berne, mighty city states in their own right, decide they wanted to be named after a mountainous region largely inhabited by peasants tending to their gorgeous brown cattle, the Braunvieh. They even called their national airline Swissair, until my former colleagues at McKinsey let the air out of that one.
So, why Swiss? The answer goes back to today’s topic, a war that the Swiss call the Schwabenkreig or Swabian War. This war played a massive role in Swiss historiography, and its main battles at the Caven and at Dornach was mentioned in the same breath as Morgarten and Sempach. It was seen as the moment when Switzerland de facto exited the Holy Roman Empire and began ploughing its own furrow in European history. Meanwhile in Germany, this war that we called the Schweizerkreig or Swiss War is largely forgotten amongst the hundreds of other military conflicts.
It was also the first of many contests between the two formidable fighting forces of the Renaissance, the Swiss Reisläufer and the German Landsknechte. These soldiers of fortune have percolated the national consciousness on both sides, their fanciful dress depicted in art on both sides of the Rhine and still providing one of Rome’s most instagrammable photo opportunities.
That on top of the usual incompetence and skullduggery should be incentive enough to listen to this episode.
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
As always:
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
The House of Habsburg once ruled Spain, Benelux, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, most of Italy, at times Portugal and all of Latin America, the Philippines and of course, the Holy Roman Empire. Most histories of the Habsburgs start out with Maximilian I, his marriage alliances that brought together this empire. But he was not the first Habsburg emperor, and by no means the first Habsburg ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Their history goes back to the 13th century when they almost established their dynasty on the throne, had it not been for John Parricida murdering his uncle. In this show we follow the dramatic events that saw this dynasty rising and then falling hard, its struggles to recover, the feats and forgeries, the victories and terrible defeats that shaped this family and its lore. We take the story from Rudolf of Habsburgs’ ascent to the throne in 1273 to the election of Charles V in 1519.
This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show.
So far I have the following seasons:
The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD)
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD)
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190)
Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268)
Saxony and Eastward Expansion
The Hanseatic League
The Teutonic Knights
The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD)
The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD)
The Empire in the 15th Century
The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)