Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
[Illustration: ANCIENT SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS, ZURICH LAKE. (_From Design
by Dr. F. Keller._)]
The Story of the Nations
THE STORY OF SWITZERLAND
BY
LINA HUG
AND
RICHARD STEAD
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
London: T. FISHER UNWIN
1890
COPYRIGHT, 1890
BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
_Entered at Stationer's Hall, London_
BY T. FISHER UNWIN
Press of
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York
THE STORY OF THE NATIONS
12MO, ILLUSTRATED. PER VOL., $1.50
THE EARLIER VOLUMES ARE
THE STORY OF GREECE. By Prof. JAS. A. HARRISON
THE STORY OF ROME. By ARTHUR GILMAN
THE STORY OF THE JEWS. By Prof. JAS. K. HOSMER
THE STORY OF CHALDEA. By Z. A. RAGOZIN
THE STORY OF GERMANY. By S. BARING-GOULD
THE STORY OF NORWAY. By Prof. H. H. BOYESEN
THE STORY OF SPAIN. By E. E. and SUSAN HALE
THE STORY OF HUNGARY. By Prof. A. VAMBERY
THE STORY OF CARTHAGE. By Prof. ALFRED J. CHURCH
THE STORY OF THE SARACENS. By ARTHUR GILMAN
THE STORY OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE
THE STORY OF THE NORMANS. By SARAH O. JEWETT
THE STORY OF PERSIA. By S. G. W. BENJAMIN
THE STORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. By GEO. RAWLINSON
THE STORY OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. By Prof. J. P. MAHAFFY
THE STORY OF ASSYRIA. By Z. A. RAGOZIN
THE STORY OF IRELAND. By Hon. EMILY LAWLESS
THE STORY OF THE GOTHS. By HENRY BRADLEY
THE STORY OF TURKEY. BY STANLEY LANE-POOLE
THE STORY OF MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA. BY Z. A. RAGOZIN
THE STORY OF MEDIAEVAL FRANCE. By GUSTAVE MASSON
THE STORY OF MEXICO. By SUSAN HALE
THE STORY OF HOLLAND. By JAMES E. THOROLD ROGERS
THE STORY OF PHOENICIA. By GEORGE RAWLINSON
THE STORY OF THE HANSA TOWNS. By HELEN ZIMMERN
THE STORY OF EARLY BRITAIN. By Prof. ALFRED J. CHURCH
THE STORY OF THE BARBARY CORSAIRS. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE
THE STORY OF RUSSIA. By W. R. MORFILL.
THE STORY OF THE JEWS UNDER ROME. By W. D. MORRISON.
THE STORY OF SCOTLAND. By JAMES MACKINTOSH.
For prospectus of the series see end of this volume
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
TO
PROFESSOR GEORG VON WYSS
AND
PROFESSOR G. MEYER VON KNONAU
PREFACE.
For many reasons, some of which are obvious to the least thoughtful, the
history of Switzerland is peculiarly interesting, and not least so to
English-speaking peoples. In the first place, the "playground of Europe"
is every year visited by large numbers of British and Americans, some of
whom indeed are familiar with almost every corner of it. Then to the
Anglo-Saxon race the grand spectacle of a handful of freemen nobly
struggling for and maintaining their freedom, often amidst enormous
difficulties, and against appalling odds, cannot but be heart-stirring.
To the citizen of the great American republic a study of the
constitution of the little European republic should bring both interest
and profit--a constitution resembling in many points that of his own
country, and yet in many other respects so different. And few readers,
of whatever nationality, can, we think, peruse this story without a
feeling of admiration for a gallant people who have fought against
oppression as the Swiss have fought, who have loved freedom as they
have loved it, and who have performed the well-nigh incredible feats of
arms the Switzers have performed. And as Sir Francis O. Adams and Mr.
Cunningham well point out in their recently published work on the Swiss
Confederation, as a study in constitutional history, the value of the
story of the development of the Confederation can hardly be
over-estimated.
Few of the existing accounts of Swiss history which have appeared in the
English language go back beyond the year 1291 A.D., the date of the
earliest Swiss League, and of course Switzerland as a nation cannot
boast of an earlier origin. But surely some account should be given of
the previous history of the men who founded the League. For a country
which has been occupied at different periods by lakemen, Helvetians, and
Romans; where Alamanni, Burgundians, and Franks have played their parts;
where Charlemagne lived and ruled, and Charles the Bold fought; where
the great families of the Zaerings, the Kyburgs, and Savoy struggled;
and whence the now mighty house of Habsburg sprang (and domineered)--all
this before 1291--a country with such a story to tell of its earlier
times, we say, should not have that story left untold. Accordingly in
this volume the history of the period before the formation of the
Confederation has been dwelt upon at some little length. It should be
mentioned, too, that in view of the very general interest caused by the
remarkable discovery of the Swiss lake settlements a few years ago, a
chapter has been devoted to the subject.
Mindful, however, of the superior importance of the formation and
progress of the Confederation, an endeavour has been made to trace that
progress step by step, showing how men differing in race, in language,
in creed, and in mode of life, combined to resist the common enemy, and
to build up the compact little state, we now see playing its part on the
European stage. The whole teaching of the history of the country may be
summed up in Mr. Coolidge's words, in his "History of the Swiss
Confederation" (p. 65). "Swiss history teaches us, all the way through,
that Swiss liberty has been won by a close union of many small states."
And Mr. Coolidge adds an opinion that "it will be best preserved by the
same means, and not by obliterating all local peculiarities, nowhere so
striking, nowhere so historically important as in Switzerland."
It remains to add a few words as to the authorities consulted by the
writers of this little volume. The standard Swiss histories have
naturally been largely used, such as those of Dr. Carl Daendliker,
Dierauer, Vulliemin, Daguet, Strickler, Voegelin, and Weber ("Universal
History"). Amongst other histories and miscellaneous writings--essays,
pamphlets, and what not--may be mentioned those of Dr. Ferdinand Keller,
Wartmann, Heer, Heierli, Von Arx, Mommsen, Burkhardt, Morel, Marquardt,
Dahn, Buedinger, Secretan, Von Wyss, Meyer von Knonau, Schweizer,
Finsler, Roget, Baechtold, Marcmonnier, Rambert, Hettner, Scherer,
Roquette, Freytag, Pestalozzi, Schulze, and Kern. Amongst the English
works consulted are Freeman's writings, the Letters of the Parker
Society, Adams and Cunningham's "Swiss Confederation," Coolidge's
reprint from the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" of the article on the
"History of the Swiss Confederation," Bryce's "Holy Roman Empire," &c.
The authors are indebted for most kind and valuable assistance to
several eminent Swiss scholars. To Prof. Georg von Wyss and Prof. Meyer
von Knonau special thanks are due, whilst Prof. Kesselring, Herr J.
Heierli, and others, have shown much helpful interest in the progress of
the work. They also owe many thanks to Dr. Imhoof, who has most kindly
furnished them with casts from his famous collection of coins; and to
the eminent sculptors, Vela and Lanz, who have given permission to use
photographs of their latest works for illustration purposes.
ZURICH and FOLKESTONE, _July, 1890_.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE ix
TABLE OF CANTONS xiii
TABLE SHOWING NAMES, AREAS, AND POPULATIONS OF CANTONS xxiv
I.
THE LAKE DWELLERS 1-12
Discovery of Lake Settlements--Dr. Ferdinand Keller's
explorations--Three distinct epochs--Daily life of the
Lakemen--Lake Settlements in East Yorkshire.
II.
THE HELVETIANS 13-28
Extent of their territory--Their government and mode of
life--Orgetorix--Divico beats the Roman forces--Caesar routs
Helvetians--Vercingetorix--Valisians--Rhaetians.
III.
HELVETIA UNDER THE ROMANS 29-43
Caesar's mode of dealing with Helvetia--Augustus--Helvetia
incorporated into Gaul--Vespasian--Alamanni and
Burgundians--Christianity introduced.
IV.
THE ANCESTORS OF THE SWISS NATION 44-57
The Huns and their ravages--Alamanni--Burgundians--"The
Nibelungenlied"--The Franks subdue both Alamanni and
Burgundians--Irish monks preach in Switzerland.
V.
THE CAROLINGIANS--CHARLEMAGNE 58-70
Pepin le Bref--Charlemagne--His connection with Zurich.
VI.
THE KINGDOM OF BURGUNDY; THE DUCHY OF SWABIA; AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE 71-82
Division of Charlemagne's territory into three--Rudolf the
Guelf--Swabian Dukes--Genealogical tables.
VII.
BURGUNDY AND SWABIA UNDER THE GERMAN EMPERORS 85-94
Bertha, the "Spinning Queen"--Her son Conrad--Helvetia in close
connection with Germany--Henry III.--Struggle with the Papal power.
VIII.
THE REIGN OF THE HOUSE OF ZAERINGEN 95-100
Their origin--Freiburg and other towns founded--Bern
founded--Defeated by Savoy--The Crusades.
IX.
THE HOUSES OF KYBURG, SAVOY, AND HABSBURG 101-117
Fall of the Zaerings--Kyburg dynasty--Growth of Feudalism--The
Hohenstaufen--Savoy--Rise of the Habsburgs--Rudolf.
X.
THE CONFEDERATION, OR EIDGENOSSENSCHAFT 118-130
The Forest Cantons--The Oath on the Ruetli--Rudolf oppresses the
Waldstaetten--Tell and the apple--Investigation as to the facts
relating to the foundation of the League.
XI.
THE BATTLE OF MORGARTEN 131-137
Attempt on Zurich by the Habsburgs--Albrecht--Gathering of the Wald
peoples--Austrian defeat.
XII.
THE LEAGUE OF THE EIGHT STATES 139-146
Lucerne joins the League--Zurich follows--War with Austria--Glarus
attached to the League as an inferior or protected State--Zug joins
the Union--Bern.
XIII.
ZURICH AN EXAMPLE OF A SWISS TOWN IN THE MIDDLE AGES 147-157
Abbey Church of our Lady--Influence of the Lady Abbess--Citizens in
three classes--They gradually gain freedom--Trade of the
city--Zurich a literary centre--Uprising of the working classes--A
new constitution.
XIV.
BERN CRUSHES THE NOBILITY: GREAT VICTORY OF LAUPEN 158-166
Bern of a military bent--Forms a West Swiss Union--Siege of
Solothurn--Bern opposes the Habsburgs--Acquires Laupen--Victory at
Laupen--League of the Eight States completed.
XV.
THE BATTLES OF SEMPACH AND NAEFELS 167-178
Opposition to Austria--Leopold III., Character of--His
plans--Defeat and death at Sempach--Winkelried--Battle of Naefels.
XVI.
HOW SWITZERLAND CAME TO HAVE SUBJECT LANDS 179-189
Acquisition of surrounding territories
desirable--Appenzell--Valais--Graubuenden--Aargau--Quarrels with
Milan.
XVII.
WAR BETWEEN ZURICH AND SCHWYZ 190-199
Dispute concerning Toggenburg lands--Stuessi of Zurich and Von
Reding of Schwyz--Zurich worsted--Makes alliance with
Austria--France joins the alliance--Battle of St. Jacques.
XVIII.
BURGUNDIAN WARS 200-216
Charles the Bold--Louis XI. of France--Causes which led to the
war--Policy of Bern--Commencement of hostilities--Battle of
Grandson--Morat--Siege of Nancy and death of Charles.
XIX.
MEETING AT STANZ, &C. 217-229
Prestige gained by the League--Disputes respecting the admission of
Freiburg and Solothurn--Diet at Stanz--Nicolas von der
Fluee--Covenant of Stanz--Waldmann--His execution.
XX.
THE LEAGUE OF THE THIRTEEN CANTONS COMPLETED 230-242
Maximilian--Swabian War--Separation of Switzerland from the
Empire--Basel joins the League--Schaffhausen--Appenzell--Italian
wars--Siege of Novara--Battle of Marignano--St. Gall.
XXI.
THE GREAT COUNCILS, LANDSGEMEINDE, AND DIET, &C. 243-253
Two kinds of Canton--Constitution of Bern and of
Zurich--Landsgemeinde--Tagsatzung--Intellectual and literary life.
XXII.
THE REFORMATION IN GERMAN SWITZERLAND 254-268
Zwingli--His early life--His desire for a reformation--Appointed to
Zurich--A national Reformed Church established--Spread of the new
faith--The Kappeler Milchsuppe--Disputes between Luther and
Zwingli--Second quarrel with the Forest--Zwingli killed.
XXIII.
THE REFORMATION IN WEST SWITZERLAND 269-278
Political condition of Vaud and Geneva--Charles III. and
Geneva--The "Ladle Squires"--Bonivard thrown into Chillon--Reformed
faith preached in French Switzerland by Farel--Treaty of St.
Julien--Operations in Savoy.
XXIV.
GENEVA AND CALVIN 279-290
Calvin--His "Institutes"--His Confession of Faith--Banishment from
Geneva--His return--The _Consistoire_--The "Children of
Geneva"--Servetus burnt--The Academy founded--Calvin's death.
XXV.
THE CATHOLIC REACTION 291-302
_Droit d'asile_--Pfyffer--Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of
Milan--Borromean League--Protestants driven from
Locarno--Switzerland an asylum for religious refugees--Effect of
Swiss Reformation on England--Revival of learning--Escalade of
Geneva.
XXVI.
THE ARISTOCRATIC PERIOD 303-314
Thirty Years' War--Graubuenden and its difficulties--Massacre in
Valtellina--Rohan--Jenatsch--Peasants' Revolt--Treaty with France.
XXVII.
POLITICAL MATTERS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 315-323
Aristocracy and plebeians--French League--Massacre at
Greifensee--Davel's plot--Bern--Its three castes--Constitutional
struggles in Geneva--Affray in Neuchatel.
XXVIII.
SWITZERLAND AND THE RENAISSANCE: INFLUENCE OF VOLTAIRE AND ROUSSEAU 324-342
Voltaire--Residence at Ferney--No special influence on
Geneva--Rousseau--Madame de Stael--Swiss savants--Zurich a Poets'
Corner--Breitinger, Bodmer, Haller, Klopstock,
&c.--Pestalozzi--Lavater--The Helvetic Society.
XXIX.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND SWITZERLAND 343-359
Swiss Guards massacred in Paris--Insurrection of Staefa--Treaty of
Campo Formio--The Paris Helvetic Club--The "Lemanic
Republic"--Surrender of Bern--Helvetic Republic
proclaimed--Opposition by Schwyz, Stanz, &c.
XXX.
THE "ONE AND UNDIVIDED HELVETIC REPUBLIC" 357-368
A levy ordered by France--Franco-Helvetic alliance--Austrian
occupation--Russian occupation--Battle of Zurich--Suwarow's
extraordinary marches--Heavy French requisitions--Rengger and
Stapfer,--Centralists and Federalists--Napoleon as mediator.
XXXI.
THE MEDIATION ACT AND NAPOLEON 369-381
Conference in Paris on Swiss matters--Mediation Act signed--The
Bockenkrieg--Six new cantons formed--Material and intellectual
progress--Extinction of Diet--The "Long Diet"--Congress of
Vienna--Completion of twenty-two cantons.
XXXII.
SWITZERLAND UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1815-48 382-394
Dissatisfaction with results of Vienna Congress--The French
revolution of 1830--The "Day of Uster"--The Siebner
Concordat--Catholic League--Progress of education--Political
refugees in Switzerland--Louis Philippe--Louis
Napoleon--Disturbances in Zurich by the Anti-Nationalists--The
Sonderbund War.
XXXIII.
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1848 395-407
New Federal Constitution--Federal Assembly--Federal
Council--Federal Tribunal--Powers of the individual
cantons--Military service--Neuchatel troubles--Federal Pact
amended--The Initiative--The Referendum.
XXXIV.
INDUSTRY, COMMERCE, RAILWAYS, EDUCATION. THE "RIGHT OF ASYLUM" 408-421
Extent of trade--Exports and imports--Railways--Education--Keller the
poet--The Geneva Convention--International Postal Union--International
Labour Congress--Switzerland as a political asylum--Franco-German
War--Summary of population statistics.
GENEALOGICAL TABLES 83, 84
INDEX 423
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
LAKE DWELLINGS, ZURICH LAKE, FROM A DESIGN BY
DR. FERDINAND KELLER _Frontispiece_
MAP, SHOWING LAKE SETTLEMENTS AROUND ZURICH LAKE, BY MR. HEIERLI 2
(1) DECORATION ON SWORD HILT; (2 AND 3), STONE CELTS
FOUND IN SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS (COPIED BY PERMISSION
FROM "HARPER'S MAGAZINE") 4
(1) VESSEL; (2) SPECIMENS OF WOVEN FABRICS FOUND IN
SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS (COPIED BY PERMISSION FROM
"HARPER'S MAGAZINE") 7
SPECIMENS OF POTTERY FOUND IN SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS
(COPIED BY PERMISSION FROM "HARPER'S MAGAZINE") 10
JOHANNISSTEIN, WITH RUINS OF CASTLE OF "HOHENRHAETIA,"
NEAR THUSIS, GRAUBUeNDEN 16
HOUSE (FORMERLY CHAPEL) IN ROMAUNSH STYLE, AT
SCHULS, LOWER ENGADINE, GRAUBUeNDEN 27
SILVER COIN, VERCINGETORIX (DR. IMHOOF, WINTERTHUR) 29
GOLD COIN, VESPASIAN [VESPASIANUS IMPERATOR-AETERNITAS]
(DR. IMHOOF) 34
GOLD COIN OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY [ST. FELIX, ST.
REGULA-SANCTUS CAROLUS] (DR. IMHOOF) 42
THE EIGER 52
GREAT MINSTER AND WASSERKIRCHE, ZURICH
(APPENZELLER, ZURICH) 67
FURKA PASS 79
CATHEDRAL (EXTERIOR), LAUSANNE 92
CHATEAU DE VUFFLENS, VAUD (FOURTEENTH
CENTURY) 102
BRONZE FIGURES FROM MAXIMILIAN MONUMENT,
INNSBRUCK (ARTHUR OF THE ROUND TABLE,
BRITAIN; THEODOBERT, DUKE OF BURGUNDY;
ERNEST, DUKE OF AUSTRIA; THEODORIC, KING
OF THE OSTROGOTHS) 106
THE OLD HABSBURG CASTLE, CANTON AARGAU 112
THALER OF THE THREE CANTONS (URI, SCHWYZ,
AND UNTERWALDEN) 120
MAP OF OLD SWITZERLAND 138
UPPER FALL OF THE REICHENBACH (MEYRINGEN) 160
PORCH OF BERN MINSTER, WITH STATUE OF RUDOLF
VON ERLACH 165
WINKELRIED'S MONUMENT, STANZ 174
ARMS OF URI 189
ST. JACQUES MONUMENT, BASEL, BY SCHLOeTH 196
ARMS OF SCHWYZ 198
ELIZABETH, WIFE OF ALBERT II.; MARIA OF BURGUNDY;
ELEANOR OF PORTUGAL; KUNIGUNDE,
SISTER OF MAXIMILIAN (FROM MAXIMILIAN
MONUMENT, INNSBRUCK) 201
MAP OF GRANDSON 210
OLD WEAPONS AND ARMOUR IN ZURICH ARSENAL 214
INNER COURT OF THE ABBEY OF OUR LADY. LUTH
CHAPTER OF ZURICH 220
ARMS OF UNTERWALDEN 229
MARBLE RELIEVI, MAXIMILIAN MONUMENT, INNSBRUCK 231
CITY WALLS OF MURTEN 235
CUSTOM-HOUSE, FREIBURG 240
SARNEN, BERN 244
CITY WALLS, LUCERNE 246
ULRICH ZWINGLI 256
MINSTER, BERN 270
THALER OF 1564 (ST. GALL) 289
HIGH ALTAR, CHUR CATHEDRAL 306
ROUSSEAU 329
PESTALOZZI 330
HALLER 333
LAVATER 340
THE LION OF LUCERNE 344
LA HARPE 348
REDING 354
DILIGENCE CROSSING THE SIMPLON PASS 362
INTERLAKEN, FROM THE FELSENEGG 386
POLYTECHNIKUM AT ZURICH 397
VIEW OF SION 404
LAW COURTS AT LAUSANNE 407
"VICTIMS OF THE WORK," ST. GOTHARD TUNNEL,
FROM A BAS-RELIEF BY VELA (BY SPECIAL
PERMISSION OF SCULPTOR) 411
PORTRAIT OF GOTFRIED KELLER, THE POET 413
INTERIOR OF LAUSANNE CATHEDRAL 419
TABLE
SHOWING NAMES (GERMAN AND FRENCH), AREAS, AND POPULATIONS OF CANTONS.
----------------------------+------------------------+---------+-------------
| | Area in| Population
German Name. | French Name. | Square |(approximate)
| | Miles. |Dec. 1, 1888.
----------------------------+------------------------+---------+-------------
1. Aargau |Argovie | 543 | 193,000
2. Appenzell | Appenzell | |
{Ausser Rhoden | {Rhodes Exterieures| 100 | 54,000
{Inner Rhoden | {Rhodes Interieures| 60 | 13,000
3. Basel Stadt |Bale-Ville | 14 | 74,000
" Land | " Campagne | 163 | 62,000
4. Bern |Berne | 2,660 | 539,000
5. Freiburg |Fribourg | 644 | 119,000
6. St. Gallen |St. Gall | 779 | 229,000
7. Genf |Geneve (Geneva) | 109 | 107,000
8. Glarus |Glaris | 267 | 33,000
9. Graubuenden |Grisons | 2,774 | 96,000
10. Luzern |Lucerne | 579 | 135,000
11. Neuenburg |Neuchatel | 312 | 109,000
12. Schaffhausen |Schaffhouse | 116 | 37,000
13. Schwyz |Schwyz (Schwytz) | 351 | 50,000
14. Solothurn |Soleure | 303 | 85,000
15. Tessin |Tessin (Italian, Ticino)| 1,095 | 127,000
16. Thurgau |Thurgovie | 381 | 105,000
17. Unterwalden {Obdem Wald |Unterwalden {Le Haut | 183 | 15,000
{Mid dem " | {Le Bas | 112 | 12,000
18. Uri |Uri | 415 | 17,000
19. Wallis |Valais | 2,026 | 102,000
20. Waadt |Vaud | 1,244 | 251,000
21. Zug |Zoug | 92 | 23,000
22. Zuerich |Zurich | 665 | 332,000
----------------------------+------------------------+---------+-------------
Total | 15,987 |2,920,723[1]
+---------+-------------
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This grand total of the population, on Dec. 1, 1888, is taken from
the provisional Census Tables issued by the Swiss Government in 1889.
THE STORY OF SWITZERLAND.
I.
THE LAKE DWELLERS.
Who first lived in this country of ours? What and what manner of men
were they who first settled on its virgin soil and made it "home"? These
questions naturally present themselves every now and then to most
thoughtful people. And the man with any pretensions to culture feels an
interest in the history of other countries besides his own.
But however interesting these questions as to primary colonizations may
be, they are usually exactly the most difficult of answer that the
history of a country presents. Now and then indeed we may know tolerably
well the story of some early Greek immigration, or we may possess full
accounts of the modern settlement of a Pitcairn Island; but in far the
greater number of instances we can but dimly surmise or rashly guess who
and what were the earliest inhabitants of any given region.
MAP SHOWING THE CHIEF LAKE SETTLEMENTS IN OR NEAR LAKE ZURICH, By Prof.
T. Heierli, Zurich.
In the case of Switzerland, however, we are particularly fortunate.
"Every schoolboy" has heard of the wonderful discoveries made on the
shores of the beautiful Swiss lakes during the last few years, and the
same schoolboy even understands, if somewhat hazily, the importance
attaching to these discoveries. Nevertheless, some short account of the
earliest inhabitants of the rugged Helvetia must occupy this first
chapter. And to the general reader some little information as to what
was found, and how it was found, on the lake shores, may not come amiss.
In the winter of 1853, the waters of Zurich lake sank so low that a wide
stretch of mud was laid bare along the shores. The people of Meilen, a
large village some twelve miles from the town of Zurich, took advantage
of this unusual state of things to effect certain improvements, and
during the operations the workmen's tools struck against some obstacles,
which proved to be great wooden props, or piles. These piles, the tops
of which were but a few inches below the surface of the mud, were found
to be planted in rows and squares, and the number of them seemed to be
enormous. And then there were picked out of the mud large numbers of
bones, antlers, weapons, implements of various kinds, and what not. Dr.
Ferdinand Keller, a great authority on Helvetian antiquities, was sent
from Zurich to examine the spot, and he pronounced it to be a lake
settlement, probably of some very ancient Celtic tribe. Many marks of a
prehistoric occupation had previously been found, but hitherto no traces
of dwellings. Naturally the news of this important discovery of lake
habitations caused a great sensation, and gave a great impulse to
archaeological studies. Dr. Keller called these early settlers
_Pfahl-bauer_, or pile-builders, from their peculiar mode of building
their houses.
[Illustration: (1) DECORATION ON SWORD HILT; (2 AND 3) STONE CELTS,
FOUND IN SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS.
(_Copied by permission from "Harper's Magazine."_)]
During the course of the last thirty years, over two hundred of these
aquatic villages have been discovered--on the shores of the lakes of
Constance, Geneva, Zurich, Neuchatel, Bienne, Morat, and other smaller
lakes, and on certain rivers and swampy spots which had once been lakes
or quasi-lakes. The Alpine lakes, however, with their steep and often
inaccessible banks, show no trace of lake settlements.
The lake dwellings are mostly[2] placed on piles driven some 10 feet
into the bed of the lake, and as many as thirty or forty thousand of
these piles have been found in a single settlement. The houses
themselves were made of hurdlework, and thatched with straw or rushes.
Layers of wattles and clay alternating formed the floors, and the walls
seem to have been rendered more weather-proof by a covering of clay, or
else of bulrushes or straw. A railing of wickerwork ran round each hut,
partly no doubt to keep off the wash of the lake, and partly as a
protection to the children. Light bridges, or gangways easily moved,
connected the huts with each other and with the shore. Each house
contained two rooms at least, and some of the dwellings measured as much
as 27 feet by 22 feet. Hearthstones blackened by fire often remain to
show where the kitchens had been. Mats of bast, straw, and reeds abound
in the settlements, and show that the lakemen had their notions of
cosiness and comfort. Large crescent-shaped talismans, carved on one
side, were hung over the entrances to the huts, showing pretty clearly
that the moon-goddess was worshipped. The prehistoric collections in the
public museums at Zurich, Berne, Bienne, Neuchatel, and Geneva, not to
speak of private collections, are very extensive and very fine,
containing tools, handsome weapons, knives of most exquisite shape and
carving, women's ornaments, some of them of the most elegant kind. A
"lady of the lake" in full dress would seem to have made an imposing
show. An undergarment of fine linen was girded at the waist by a broad
belt of inlaid or embossed bronze work. Over the shoulders was thrown a
woollen cloak fastened with bronze clasps, or pins, whilst neck, arms,
and ankles were decked with a great store of trinkets--necklaces,
anklets, bracelets, rings, spangles, and so forth. The whole was set off
by a diadem of long pins with large heads beautifully chiselled, and
inlaid with beads of metal or glass, these pins being stuck through a
sort of leathern fillet which bound up the hair. So beautiful are some
of the trinkets, that imitations of them in gold are in request by the
ladies of to-day.
[Illustration: (1) VESSEL; (2) SPECIMENS OF WOVEN FABRICS FOUND IN SWISS
LAKE DWELLINGS.
(_Copied by permission from "Harper's Magazine."_)]
It is curious to find that one of the most extensive lake colonies in
Switzerland is situated in and spread over the vast marshes of
Robenhausen (Zurich) which once formed part of Lake Pfaeffikon. The
visitor who is not deterred by the inconvenience of a descent into a
damp and muddy pit some 11 feet deep, where excavations are still being
carried on, finds himself facing three successive settlements, one above
another, and all belonging to the remote stone age. Between the
successive settlements are layers of turf, some 3 feet thick, the growth
of many centuries. The turf itself is covered by a stratum of sticky
matter, 4 inches thick. In this are numbers of relics embedded, both
destructible and indestructible objects being perfectly well preserved,
the former kept from decay through having been charred by fire. The late
Professor Heer discovered and analysed remains of more than a hundred
different kinds of plants. Grains, and even whole ears of wheat and
barley, seeds of strawberries and raspberries, dried apples, textile
fabrics, implements, hatchets of nephrite--this mineral and the Oriental
cereals show clearly enough that the lakemen traded with the East,
though no doubt through the Mediterranean peoples--spinning-wheels,
corn-squeezers, floorings, fragmentary walls--all these are found in
plenty, in each of the three layers. The topmost settlement, however,
contains no destructible matters, such as corn, fruits, &c. This is to
be accounted for by the fact that the two lower settlements were
destroyed by fire, and the uppermost one by the growth of the turf, or
by the rising marshes. In the latter case there was no friendly action
of fire to preserve the various objects.
The scholar's mind is at once carried back to the account given by
Herodotus of Thrakian lake-dwellers.[3] The people of this tribe, he
tells us, built their houses over water, so as to gain facilities for
fishing. They used to let down baskets through trapdoors in the floors
of their huts, and these baskets rapidly filled with all kinds of fish
that had gathered around, tempted by the droppings of food.
Though the lakemen depended chiefly on the water for their supply of
food, yet they were hunters, and great tillers of the ground as well as
fishermen. They grew wheat and barley, and kept horses, cattle, sheep,
and goats. The women spun flax and wool, and wove them into fabrics for
clothing. Their crockery was at first of a very primitive description,
being made of black clay, and showing but little finish or artistic
design. But the children were not forgotten, for they were supplied with
tiny mugs and cups.[4]
[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF POTTERY FOUND IN SWISS LAKE DWELLINGS.
(_Copied by permission from "Harper's Magazine."_)]
With regard to the date when the immigration of lakemen began the
savants are hopelessly at variance. Nor do they agree any better as to
the dates of the stone and bronze epochs into which the history of the
lake settlements divides itself. But as in some of the marshy stations
these two epochs reach on to the age of iron, it is assumed by many
authorities that the lake dwellers lived on to historical times. This is
particularly shown in the alluvial soil and marshes between the lakes of
Neuchatel and Bienne, Prefargier being one of the chief stations, where
settlements belonging to the stone, bronze, and iron ages are found
ranged one above another in chronological order. In the topmost stratum
or colony, the lakemen's wares are found mingling pell-mell with iron
and bronze objects of Helvetian and Roman make, a fact sufficient,
probably, to show that the lake dwellers associated with historical
peoples. It would be useless as well as tedious to set forth at length
all the theories prevailing as to the origin and age of the lake
dwellings. Suffice it to say that, by some authorities, the commencement
of the stone period is placed at six thousand, and by others at three
thousand years before the Christian era, the latter being probably
nearest the truth. As to the age of bronze, we may safely assign it to
1100-1000 B.C., for Professor Heer proves conclusively that the time of
Homer--the Greek age of bronze--was contemporary with the bronze epoch
of the lakemen.[5]
The Lake period would seem to have drawn to a close about 600-700 B.C.,
when the age of bronze was superseded by that of iron. According to the
most painstaking investigations made by Mr. Heierli, of Zurich, now the
greatest authority on the subject in Switzerland, the lakemen left their
watery settlements about the date just given, and began to fix their
habitations on _terra firma_. Various tombs already found on land would
bear witness to this change. When these peculiar people had once come on
shore to live they would be gradually absorbed into neighbouring and
succeeding races, no doubt into some of the Celtic tribes, and most
likely into the Helvetian peoples. Thus they have their part, however
small it may be, in the history of the Swiss nation. It must be added
that the Pfahl-bauer are no longer held to have been a Celtic people,
but are thought to have belonged to some previous race, though which has
not as yet been ascertained.
But enough has been written on the subject, perhaps. Yet, on the other
hand, it would have been impossible to pass over the lakemen in silence,
especially now when the important discoveries of similar lake
settlements in East Yorkshire have drawn to the subject the attention of
all intelligent English-speaking people.[6]
FOOTNOTES:
[2] There are two distinct kinds of settlement, but we are here dealing
with the first or earlier kind.
[3] Herod, v. 16.
[4] The lake tribes of the bronze age, however, not only understood the
use of copper and bronze, but were far more proficient in the arts than
their predecessors. Some of the textile fabrics found are of the most
complicated weaving, and some of the bronze articles are of most
exquisite chiselling, though these were probably imported from Italy,
with which country the lake dwellers would seem to have had considerable
traffic. The earliest specimens of pottery are usually ornamented by
mere rude nail scratchings, but those of the bronze period have had
their straight lines and curves made by a graving tool. In fact, the
later tribes had become lovers of art for its own sake, and even the
smallest articles of manufacture were decorated with designs of more or
less elaboration and finish.
[5] The products of the soil seem to have been the same amongst the
lakemen as amongst Homer's people. Both knew barley and wheat, and
neither of them knew rye. In their mode of dressing and preparing barley
for food the two peoples concurred. It was not made into bread, but
roasted to bring off the husk. And roasted barley is still a favourite
article of diet in the Lower Engadine. The Greeks ate it at their
sacrifices, and always took supplies of it when starting on a journey.
So Telemachus asks his old nurse Eurykleia to fill his goat skin with
roasted barley when he sets out in search of his father. And young Greek
brides were required to complete the stock of household belongings by
providing on their marriage day a roasting vessel for barley.
[6] Those who wish to see pretty well all that can be said on the matter
should read the valuable article in _The Westminster Review_, for June,
1887.
II.
THE HELVETIANS.
The history of a country often includes the history of many peoples, for
history is a stage on which nations and peoples figure like individual
characters, playing their parts and making their exits, others stepping
into their places. And so the Swiss soil has been trodden by many
possessors--Celts, Rhaetians, Alamanni, Burgundians, Franks. These have
all made their mark upon and contributed to the history of the Swiss
nation, and must all figure in the earlier portions of our story.
Dim are the glimpses we catch of the early condition of the Helvetians,
but the mist that enshrouds this people clears, though slowly, at the
end of the second century before Christ, when they came into close
contact with the Romans who chronicled their deeds. The Helvetians
themselves, indeed, though not ignorant of the art of writing, were far
too much occupied in warfare to be painstaking annalists. At the
Celto-Roman period of which we are treating, Helvetia comprised all the
territory lying between Mount Jura, Lake Geneva, and Lake Constance,
with the exception of Basle, which included Graubuenden, and reached into
St. Gall and Glarus. It was parcelled out amongst many tribes, even as
it is in our own day. The Helvetians, who had previously occupied all
the land between the Rhine and the Main, had been driven south by the
advancing Germans, and had colonized the fertile plains and the lower
hill grounds of Switzerland, leaving to others the more difficult Alpine
regions. They split into four tribes, of which we know the names of
three--the Tigurini, Toygeni, and Verbigeni. The first named seem to
have settled about Lake Morat, with Aventicum (Avenches) as their
capital. Basle was the seat of the Rauraci; to the west of Neuchatel was
that of the Sequani; whilst Geneva belonged to the wild Allobroges. The
Valais[7] district was inhabited by four different clans, and was known
as the "Poenine valley," on account of the worship of Poeninus on
the Great St. Bernard, where was a temple to the deity. In the Ticino
were the Lepontines, a Ligurian tribe whose name still lingers in
"Lepontine Alps." The mountain fastnesses of the Grisons (Graubuenden)
were held by the hardy Rhaetians, a Tuscan tribe, who, once overcome by
the Romans, speedily adopted their speech and customs. Romansh, a
corrupt Latin, holds its own to this day in the higher and remoter
valleys of that canton.
All these tribes, except the two last mentioned, belonged to the great
and martial family of the Celts, and of them all the wealthiest, the
most valiant, and the most conspicuous were the Helvetians.[8] Of the
life and disposition of these Helvetians we know but little, but no
doubt they bore the general stamp of the Celts. They managed the javelin
more skilfully than the plough, and to their personal courage it is
rather than to their skill in tactics that they owe their reputation as
great warriors. But in course of time their character was greatly
modified, and, owing probably to their secluded position, they settled
down into more peaceful habits, and rose to wealth and honour, combining
with their great powers a certain amount of culture. They practised the
art of writing, having adopted the Greek alphabet, and gold, which was
possibly found in their rivers, circulated freely amongst them. To judge
from the relics found in Helvetian tumuli the Helvetians were fond of
luxuries in the way of ornaments and fine armour, and they excelled in
the art of working metals, especially bronze. They had made some
progress in agriculture, and in the construction of their houses, and
more especially of the walls that guarded their towns, which struck the
Romans by their neatness and practicalness. Nor would this be to be
wondered at if the old legends could be trusted, which tell us that
Hercules himself taught the Helvetians to build, and likewise gave them
their laws; an allusion, no doubt, to the fact that culture came to them
from the east, from the peoples around the Mediterranean. Besides many
hamlets, they had founded no fewer than four hundred villages and twelve
towns, and seem to have been well able to select for their settlements
the most picturesque and convenient spots. For many of their place-names
have come down to us, in some cases but little changed. Thus of colonies
we have Zuricum (Zurich), Salodurum (Soleure), Vindonissa (Windisch),
Lousonium (Lausanne), and Geneva; of rivers navigable or otherwise
useful, Rhine, Rhone, Aar, Reuss, Thur; of mountains, Jura and perhaps
Camor. Disliking the hardships of Alpine life the Helvetians left the
giant mountains to a sturdier race.
[Illustration: JOHANNISSTEIN, WITH RUINS OF CASTLE OF "HOHENRHAETIA,"
NEAR THUSIS, GRAUBUeNDEN.
(_From a Photograph._)]
The nature of their political code was republican, yet it was largely
tinctured with elements of an aristocratic kind. Their nobles were
wealthy landed proprietors, with numerous vassals, attendants, and
slaves. In case their lord was impeached these retainers would take his
part before the popular tribunal. The case of Orgetorix may be cited. He
was a dynastic leader, and head over one hundred valley settlements; his
name appears on Helvetian silver coins as Orcitrix. He was brought to
trial on a charge of aspiring to the kingship, and no fewer than a
thousand followers appeared at the court to clear him, but _vox populi
vox dei_, and the popular vote prevailed. Orgetorix was sentenced to die
by fire, a punishment awarded to all who encroached upon the popular
rights.
Their form of religion was most probably that common to all the Celts,
Druidical worship. Invested with power, civil and spiritual, the Druids
held absolute sway over the superstitious Celtic tribes. Proud as the
Celts were of their independence, they yet were incapable of governing
themselves because of the perpetual dissensions amongst the tribes; and
they were overawed by the intellectual superiority of a priesthood that
professed all the sciences of the age--medicine, astrology, soothsaying,
necromancy--and had taken into its hands the education of the young. The
common people were mere blind devotees, and rendered unquestioning
obedience to the decrees of the Druids. Druidism was, in fact, the only
power which could move the whole Celtic race, and could knit together
the Celts of the Thames and those of the Garonne and Rhone, when they
met at the great yearly convocation at Chartres, then the "Metropolis of
the Earth." Human sacrifice was one of the most cruel and revolting
features of the Druidical religion.
The Celts were a peculiarly gifted people, though differing greatly from
the contemporary Greeks and Romans. They had been a governing race
before the Romans appeared on the stage, and wrested from them the
leading part. They had overrun the whole world, so to speak, casting
about for a fixed home, and spread as far as the British Isles, making
Gaul their religious and political centre, and settled down into more
peaceful habits. Driven by excess of population, or their unquenchable
thirst for war, or simply their nomadic habits--one cannot otherwise
account for their retrogression--they migrated eastwards whence they
came--to Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor--demanding territory, and
striking terror into every nation they approached by their warlike
habits. They knocked at the gates of Rome, and the Galatians were
conspicuous by their atrocities.[9] Brilliant qualities and great
national faults had been their peculiar characteristics. Quick-witted
they were, highly intelligent, ingenious, frank, versatile; attaching
much value to _gloire_, and _esprit_; susceptible of and accessible to
every impression, skilled handicraftsmen; but inclined to be vain,
boastful, and fickle-minded, averse to order and discipline, and lacking
in perseverance and moral energy. This, according to both ancient and
modern writers, was their character. They failed to create a united
empire, and to resist their deadly enemy, Rome.
What they did excel in was fighting. Dressed in gaudy costume--wide
tunic, bright plaid, and toga embroidered with silver and gold--the
Celtic noble would fight by preference in single combat, to show off to
personal advantage, but in the brunt of battle he threw away his
clothing to fight unimpeded. Bituitus, king of the Arverni, attired in
magnificent style, mounts his silver chariot, and, preceded by a harper
and a pack of hounds, goes to meet Caesar in battle, and win his respect
and admiration.
The Helvetians were peaceful neighbours to Italy so long as they did not
come into direct contact with the Romans, but on the Rhine they were
engaged in daily feuds with the German tribes, who had driven them from
their settlements in the Black Forest, and had continued their raids
beyond the river. For the sake of plunder, or from mere restless habits,
the Germans had left their northern homes on the Baltic and North Seas,
the Cimbri, and their brethren, the Teutons and others, and were slowly
moving southward, repelling or being in turn repelled. The most daring
crossed the Rhine, and made their way straight through the lands of the
Belgians and Helvetians towards the South, thereby anticipating the
great dislocation of peoples which was to take place but five hundred
years later, when the Roman Empire, sapped at the root, crumbled to
pieces, unable longer to resist the tide of barbarian invasion.
On one of these expeditions the Cimbri, giving a glowing account of
sunny Gaul, and the booty to be obtained there, were joined by the
Helvetian Tigurini, whose leader was the young and fiery Divico (B.C.
107). They started with the intention of founding a new home in the
province of the Nitiobroges in Southern Gaul; but when they had reached
that territory they were suddenly stopped on the banks of the Garonne by
a Roman army under the consul Cassius and his lieutenant Piso. But,
little impressed by the military fame of the Romans, the Tigurini, lying
in ambush, gave battle to the forces of great Rome, and utterly routed
them at Agen, on the Garonne, between Bordeaux and Toulouse. It was a
brilliant victory; both the Roman leaders and the greater part of their
men were slain, and the rest begged for their lives. The proud Romans
were under the humiliating necessity of giving hostages and passing
under the yoke--a stain on the Roman honour not to be forgotten; but the
victors, being anything but diplomats, knew no better use to make of
their splendid victory than to wander about for a time and then go home
again.
A few years later (102 and 101 B.C.) the Tigurini, Toygeni, Cimbri, and
Teutons joined their forces on a last expedition southwards. The
expedition ended in the destruction of these German tribes. The Toygeni
perished in the fearful carnage at Aquae Sextiae, and the Cimbri later on
at Vercellae. When the Tigurini heard of this last-mentioned disaster
they returned home.
Caesar had been appointed governor of the Province (Provence) which
extended to Geneva, the very door of Helvetia; on the Rhine the Germans
continued to make their terrible inroads. Thus there was but little
scope for the stirring Helvetians, and the soil afforded but a scanty
supply of food; so they turned their eyes wistfully in the direction of
fair Gaul. Meeting in council they decided on a general migration,
leaving their country to whoever might like to take it. Then rose up
Orgetorix, one of their wealthiest nobles, and supported the plan,
volunteering to secure a free passage through the neighbouring provinces
of the Allobroges and AEdui. The 28th of March, B.C. 58, was the day
fixed for the departure, and Geneva was to be the meeting-place; thence
they were to proceed through the territory of the Allobroges. For two
years previously they were to get ready their provisions, and to collect
carts, horses, and oxen, but before the period had expired Orgetorix was
accused of treason, and being unable to clear himself, put an end to his
own life to escape public obloquy. This episode made no difference in
the general plan. The Helvetians, indeed, insisted on its being carried
out. Setting fire to their towns and villages to prevent men from
returning, they started on their adventurous journey on that spring morn
of 58 B.C. Caesar's figures seem very large, but, if he is to be
trusted, the tribes numbered some 368,000 men, of which 263,000 were
Helvetians, the rest being neighbours of theirs. But 93,000 were capable
of bearing arms.
A curious yet thrilling sight must have been that motley caravan of
prodigious proportions--ten thousand carts drawn by forty thousand oxen,
carrying women, children, and the old men; riders and armour-bearers
alongside, toiling painfully through woods and fords, and up and down
rugged hills; behind the emigrants the smoking and smouldering ruins of
the homes they were leaving with but little regret. Yet they were no
mere adventurers, but looked forward with swelling hearts to a brighter
time and a more prosperous home. Arriving at Geneva they found the
bridge over the Rhone broken up by Caesar's order. Caesar was, in truth, a
factor they had not reckoned upon, and, after useless attempts to make
headway, they turned their steps towards Mount Jura, and whilst they
were toiling over the steep and rugged Pas de l'Ecluse, Caesar returned
to Italy to gather together his legions. Returning to Gaul he arrived
just in time to see the Helvetians cross the Arar (Saone) with the
utmost difficulty. The Tigurini were the last to cross. And on them
Caesar fell and cut them down, thus avenging the death of Piso--the
great-grandfather of Caesar's wife--and wiping out the stain on the
honour of the Roman arms. His legions crossed the Saone in twenty-four
hours, and this performance so excited the admiration of the Helvetians,
who had themselves taken twenty days to cross, that they condescended
to send legates to treat with Caesar for a free passage. They promised
him that they would do no harm to any one if he would comply with the
request, but threatened that if he should intercept them he might have
to see something of their ancient bravery. No threats or entreaties were
of avail, however, with such a man as Caesar, who, smiling at their naive
simplicity, asked them to gives hostages as a sign of confirmation of
their promise. "Hostages!" cried Divico, the hero of of Agen, in a rage,
"the Helvetians are not accustomed to give hostages; they have been
taught by their fathers to receive hostages, and this the Romans must
well remember." So saying he walked away.