roll of victories that mark the prowess of the Swiss, is thus described
by an old writer: "The Swiss order of battle was angular, one soldier
followed by two, these by four, and so on. The Swiss were all on foot,
badly armed, having only their long swords and their halberds, and
boards on their left arms with which to parry the blows of their
adversaries, and they could at first make no impression on the close
ranks of the Austrians, all bristling with spears. But Anthony zer Pot,
of Uri, cried to his men to strike with their halberds on the shafts of
the spears, which he knew were made hollow to render them lighter, and,
at the same time, Arnold von Winkelried, a knight from Unterwalden,
devoting himself for his country, cried out: 'I'll open a way for you,
Confederates!' and, seizing as many spears as he could grasp in his
arms, dragged them down with his whole weight and strength upon his own
bosom, and thus made an opening for his countrymen to penetrate the
Austrian ranks.
"This act of heroism decided the victory. The Swiss rushed into the gap
made by Winkelried, and, having now come to close quarters with their
enemies, their bodily strength and the lightness of their equipment gave
them a great advantage over the heavily armed Austrians, who were
already fainting under the heat of a July sun. The very closeness of the
array of the Austrian men-at-arms rendered them incapable either of
advancing or falling back, and, the grooms who held their horses having
taken flight, panic seized them, they broke their ranks, and were hewed
down by the Swiss halberds in frightful numbers. Duke Leopold was urged
by those around him to save his life, but he scorned the advice, and,
seeing the banner of Austria in danger, rushed to save it, and was
killed in the attempt. The rout then became general, but the Swiss had
the humanity, or the policy, not to pursue their enemies, of whom
otherwise not one, perhaps, would have escaped. The loss of the
Austrians amounted to two thousand men, including six hundred and
seventy-six noblemen, three hundred and fifty of whom wore coroneted
helmets. Most of them were buried at Koenigsfelden, with their leader
Leopold. The Swiss lost two hundred men in this memorable battle, the
second in which they had defeated a duke of Austria at the head of his
chivalry."
After Sempach the men of Glarus set about making themselves a free
people. One of their first acts was the capture of Wesen and the
expulsion of its Austrian soldiers. This was followed by a truce, which
lasted till 1388, when Leopold's sons recommenced the war with fresh
fury. Wesen was recaptured by the admission of a number of soldiers in
disguise, who opened the gates to their comrades without and massacred
all the chief Swiss leaders. Some months later the men of Glarus
inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians at the little town of
Naefels, within their state. In this important combat three hundred and
fifty men of Glarus, together with fifty from Schwyz, posted themselves
on the heights above the town, and, as the Austrians advanced, suddenly
hurled down masses of stones that soon caused a panic. Then, following
the successful tactics employed at Morgarten, the Swiss rushed down on
the disordered mass--said to consist of fifteen thousand soldiers, but
probably about half that number--and dealt death on every side. A
precipitate flight of the invaders followed, but they were met near
Wesen by a fresh body of seven hundred Glarus peasants, who completed
the victory.
Though Bern took no part in the battle of Sempach, after that victory
she entered actively into the war, and overran the Austrian dependencies
in Freiburg and Valengrin. She drove the Duke's followers out of
Rapperschwyl, annexed Nidau and Bueren, and conquered the upper
Simmenthal.
At length, both sides being weary of war and carnage, a peace was signed
for seven years in 1389, with the condition that Bern should restore
Nidau and Bueren. This peace was in 1394 further prolonged for twenty
years. These treaties brought great benefits to Switzerland in many
ways. Glarus and Zug obtained their formal freedom from Austrian rule in
payment of a moderate sum of money; Schwyz received the town and abbey
of Einsiedeln (1397); Lucerne purchased Sempach and Entlibuch from the
Duke, as also other towns; but chief of all, the political power of the
Hapsburgs came to an end in Switzerland.
An important feature of this period was the lessened influence of the
Emperor of Germany in Swiss affairs, and the gradual withdrawal of the
Swiss from the position they so long occupied as subject-vassals of the
empire. This was especially seen toward the close of the fourteenth
century, when the Emperor, being pressed for money, sold his rights over
several important Swiss districts to their inhabitants, and thus
forfeited all authority over them.
But chief of all the memorable events of this time was the close it
brought to the long and bloody struggle between Austria and Switzerland.
At length the heroism and persevering patriotism of the Swiss effected
the liberation of their country from Austrian rule, and henceforth the
dukes ceased to attempt to enforce their claims, and tacitly
acknowledged their defeat. The Swiss states from this period, moreover,
began to be known, not as an unimportant portion of the German empire,
but as a separate country, Die Schweiz, from the prominent part taken by
Schwyz in initiating the freedom of the land.
UNION OF DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY
A.D. 1397
PAUL C. SINDING
Canute the Great, King of England and Denmark, by successful
wars added almost the whole of Norway to his dominions. At
his death in 1035 his kingdoms were divided, and fell into
anarchy and discord for two centuries, until the tyrant
Black Geert, who had driven out Christopher II, and been for
fourteen years the virtual sovereign of Denmark, was
assassinated by the Danish patriot Niels Ebbeson.
Christopher's third son, Waldemar, surnamed Atterdag,
because he used to say when a misfortune happened,
"To-morrow it is again day," was recalled from Bavaria and
crowned king as Waldemar IV. He commenced at once with vigor
and marked success the improvement of the internal
conditions of the country, and strove to encompass his chief
ambition, the reunion of the ancient Danish possessions.
By marrying his daughter Margaret to Hakon VI, King of
Norway and son of Magnus Smek, King of Sweden, Waldemar laid
a basis for a junction of the three great Scandinavian
kingdoms. The union was realized under the administration of
his illustrious and sagacious daughter, Margaret, known as
the "Semiramis of the North."
Waldemar Atterdag left no direct male issue. But his two grandsons,
Albert the Younger, of Mecklenburg, a son of Ingeborg, Waldemar's eldest
daughter, and of Henry of Mecklenburg; and Olaf, a son of Margaret, his
younger daughter, and of Hakon VI of Norway, were now claiming the
hereditary succession to the throne. One party declared for Olaf, but,
as he was the son of the younger daughter, his claim was very doubtful.
But because the house of Mecklenburg had acted with hostility toward
Denmark, and Olaf had expectation of Norway and claims to the crown of
Sweden, as a grandson of Magnus Smek, Denmark was, by his election, in
hopes of one day seeing the three crowns united on the same head. It was
therefore not long before this important affair was determined. The
preference was given Olaf, who, although only six years of age, was,
under the name of Olaf V, elected king of Denmark, under the
guardianship of Margaret his mother; and after the death of his father
Hakon VI, he became also king of Norway, the two kingdoms thus being
united. This union, till the expiration of four hundred and thirty-four
years, was not dissolved. When Olaf V, seven years after, died in
Falsterbo, both kingdoms elected Margaret their queen, though custom had
not yet authorized the election of a female.
During the reign of this great Princess, who deservedly has been called
the "Semiramis of the North," Denmark and Norway exercised in Europe an
influence the effects of which were long felt throughout the
Scandinavian countries with their vast extent and rival races. She
united wisdom and policy with courage and determination, had strength of
mind to preserve her rectitude without deviation, and her efforts were
crowned by divine Providence with success. She is justly considered one
of the most illustrious female rulers in history. Her renown even
reached the Byzantine emperor Emanuel Palæologus, who called her _Regina
sine exemplo maxima_. But under her successors--destitute of her high
sense of duty, great ability, and consistent virtue--her triumphs proved
a snare instead of a blessing. The great union she created dissolved in
a short time, and its downfall was as sudden as its elevation had been
extraordinary. She was born in 1353. Her father was, as we have seen,
Waldemar Atterdag, her mother Queen Hedevig, and she became queen of
Denmark and Norway in 1387. She was no sooner elected queen of Denmark,
and homaged on the hill of Sliparehog, near Lund, in Ringsted, Odensee,
and Wiborg, than she sailed to Norway to receive their homage. But a
remarkable occurrence is mentioned by historians as occurring about this
time. A report prevailed that King Olaf, the Queen's son, was not dead;
it was propagated by the nobility, and very likely set on foot by them,
in order to punish Margaret for her liberality to the clergy. An
impostor claimed the crown of Denmark and Norway, and gained credit
every day by making discoveries which could only be known to Olaf and
his mother. Margaret, however, proved him to be a son of Olaf's nurse.
Olaf had a large wart between his shoulders--a mark which did not appear
on the impostor. The false Olaf was seized, broken on the wheel, and
publicly burned at a place between Falsterbo and Skanor, in Sweden, and
Margaret continued uninterruptedly her regency.
But the Queen, not wishing to contract a new marriage, and comprehending
the importance of having a successor elected to the throne, proposed her
nephew, Eric, Duke of Pomerania. This proposal the clergy and nobility
approved, and they elected him to be king of Denmark and Norway after
Margaret's death. Meanwhile Albert, King of Sweden, having, on account
of his preference given to German favorites, incurred the hatred of his
people, the Swedes requested Margaret to assist them against him, which
she promised to do if they in return would make her queen of Sweden.
Moreover, Albert had highly offended the Danish Queen; had, though
hardly able to govern his own kingdom, assumed the title "king of
Denmark," and laid claim to Norway, too; and when she blamed him for it
he had answered her disdainfully. In a letter he had used foul and
abusive language, calling her "a king without breeches," and the
"abbot's concubine" (_abbedfrillen_), on account of her particular
attachment to a certain abbot of Soro, who was her spiritual director.
It is, however, true, that her intimacy with this monk gave room for
some suspicion that her privacies with him were not all employed about
the care of her soul. Afterward, to ridicule her yet more, King Albert
sent her a hone to sharpen her needles, and swore not to put on his
nightcap until she had yielded to him. But under perilous circumstances
Margaret was never at a loss how to act. She acted here with the utmost
prudence, trying first to gain the favor of the peers of the state, and
solemnly promising to rule according to the Swedish laws. War now broke
out between Albert and Margaret, whose army was commanded by Jvar Lykke.
The encounter of the two armies--about twelve thousand men on each
side--took place at Falkoping, September 21, 1388. A furious battle was
fought, in which the victory for a long while hung in suspense. But
Margaret's good fortune prevailed; Albert was routed and his army cut to
pieces, and Margaret was now mistress of Sweden.
While this was passing, the Queen tarried in Wordingborg Sjelland,
ardently desiring to learn the result. But no sooner did she hear that
the victory was gained, and the Swedish King and his son Eric taken
prisoners, than she hastened to Bahus, in Sweden, where the King and his
son were brought before her. Lost in joy and amazement at having her
enemy in her power, the Queen now retorted upon King Albert with
revilings, and she made him wear a large nightcap of paper--a
retaliation proportioned to his offensive words. He and his son were
thereupon brought to Lindholm, a castle in Skane, where they were kept
prisoners for seven years. When they entered the castle, a dark, square
room was assigned them, and when the King said, "I hope that this
torture against a crowned head will only last a few days," the jailer
replied: "I grieve to say that the Queen's orders are to the contrary;
anger not the Queen by any bravado, else you will be placed in the
irons, and if these fail we can have recourse to sharper means." To the
excessive self-love, intemperance, conceitedness, and want of foresight
which had characterized all his actions, the unhappy Albert had to
ascribe his present situation.
The year following, the Queen stormed the important city of Calmar, yet
siding with the imprisoned King. She made several wise alliances with
Richard II of England, and other potentates, and concluded a truce for
two years with the princes of Mecklenburg, and the cities of Rostock and
Wismar, which had begun to raise fresh levies in favor of the
unfortunate Albert. This period expired, she laid siege to Stockholm and
other fortified places, of which John, Duke of Mecklenburg, and other
friends of the imprisoned King had become masters. But the cause of
Albert was little forwarded, and Margaret gained ground every day. She
compelled the capital to surrender to her and do homage to her as its
sovereign; whereafter a peremptory peace was concluded on Good Friday,
which restored tranquillity to the three kingdoms. The imprisoned King
and his son were delivered up to the Hanseatic towns, and they obtained
their liberty for sixty thousand ounces of silver, upon condition that
they should resign all claims to Sweden if the amount were not paid
within three years. As soon as the King and his son were delivered to
the deputies, they solemnly swore to a strict observance of this
article, the Hanse towns engaging themselves to guarantee the treaty.
The money, however, not being paid by the stipulated time, Margaret
became undisputed sovereign of Sweden, the third Scandinavian kingdom.
About this time the "Victuals Brethren," so called because they brought
victuals from the Hanse towns to Stockholm while besieged, began to
imperil Denmark, plundering the Danish and Norwegian coasts, and
destroying all commercial business along the Baltic. But Margaret
ordered the harbors of the maritime towns to be blockaded, thus putting
a quick stop to their cruelties and piracies. The Queen's principal care
was now to visit the different provinces, to administer justice and
redress grievances of every kind. Among other salutary regulations, the
affairs of commerce were not forgotten. It was, for instance, decreed
that all manner of assistance should be given to foreign merchants and
sailors, particularly in case of misfortune and shipwreck, without
expectation of reward; and that all pirates should be treated with the
greatest rigor.
Eric of Pomerania was, as we have said, elected to be king of Denmark
and Norway after Margaret's death. But wishing to have him also elected
her successor to the Swedish throne, Margaret brought him to Sweden, and
introduced him to the deputies, one by one, whom she requested to
confirm his election to the succession. The majesty of the Queen's
person, the strength of her arguments, and the sweetness of her
eloquence gained over the deputies, who, on July 22, 1396, elected him
at Morastone by Upsala, to succeed her also in Sweden. But Margaret,
soon discovering his inability and impetuousness, took pains to remedy
these defects, as much as possible, by procuring for him as a wife the
intelligent and virtuous princess Philippa, a daughter of Henry V of
England, and shortly after had got Catharine, her niece and Eric's
sister, married to Prince John, a son of the German emperor Ruprecht;
John being promised the Scandinavian crowns if Eric of Pomerania should
die childless. Thus having strengthened and consolidated her power by
influential connections and relationships, the Queen, upon whose head
the three northern crowns were actually united, now proceeded to realize
the great plan she had long cherished--to get a fundamental law
established for a perpetual union of the three large Scandinavian
kingdoms. The realization of this purpose immortalized her, securing for
her the admiration of the world, whose most eminent historians do not
hesitate to surname her the "Great," and to compare her with the
loftiest Greek and Roman heroes and statesmen.
On June 17, 1397, Margaret summoned to an assembly at Calmar, in the
province of Smaland, Sweden, the clergy and the nobility of Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden, and established, by their aid and consent, a
fundamental law. This was the law so celebrated in the North under the
name of the "Union of Calmar," and which afterward gave birth to wars
between Sweden and Denmark that lasted a whole century. It consisted of
three articles. The first provided that the three kingdoms should
thenceforward have but one and the same king, who was to be chosen
successively by each of the kingdoms. The second article imposed upon
the sovereign the obligation of dividing his time equally between the
three kingdoms. The third, and most important, decreed that each kingdom
should retain its own laws, customs, senate, and privileges of every
kind; that the highest officers should be natives; that any alliance
concluded with foreign potentates should be obligatory upon all three
kingdoms when approved by the council of one kingdom; and that, after
the death of the King, his eldest son, or, if the King died childless,
then another wise, intelligent, and able prince, should be chosen common
monarch; and if anyone, because of high treason, was banished from one
kingdom, then he should be banished from them all. A month after, on the
Queen's birthday, July 13th, a legitimate charter was drawn up, to which
the Queen subscribed and put her seal; on which occasion Eric of
Pomerania was anointed and crowned by the archbishops of Upsala and Lund
as king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The _Te Deum_ was sung in the
churches of Calmar, the assembly crying out: "_Hæcce unio esto perpetua!
Longe, longe, longe, vivat Margarethe, regina Daniæ, Norvegiæ et
Sveciæ!_"
This strict union of the three large states became a potent bulwark for
their security, and made them, in more than one century, the arbiter of
the European system; the three nations of the northern peninsula
presenting a compact and united front, that could bid defiance to any
foreign aggression.
Although Eric of Pomerania was elected king, and in 1407 passed his
minority, Margaret continued governing until the day of her death. "You
have done all well," wrote the people to her, "and we value your
services so highly that we would gladly grant you everything." The union
of the three Scandinavian kingdoms having been established in Calmar,
all her efforts were now aimed at regaining the duchy of Schleswig,
which circumstances had compelled her to resign to Gerhard IV, Count of
Holstein. For such a reunion with Schleswig a favorable opportunity
appeared, when Gerhard was killed in an expedition against the
Ditmarshers, leaving behind three sons in minority. Elizabeth, Gerhard's
widow, fled to Margaret for succor against her violent brother-in-law,
Bishop Henry of Osnabrueck. Margaret, fond of fishing in foul water, was
very willing to help her, but availed herself of the opportunity to
annex successively different parts of Schleswig.
The dethroned Swedish King, Albert, never able to forget his anger
toward Margaret or her severity against him, and continually cherishing
a hope of reascending the Swedish throne, and considering the Union of
Calmar a breach of peace, contrived to make the Swedish people
displeased with her, and thought it a suitable time to revolt from her
dominion. He established a strong camp before Visby, the capital of the
island of Gulland, having six thousand foot and, at some distance, nine
thousand horse. Determined to engage before their junction could take
place, the Queen's commander-in-chief, Abraham Broder, immediately
advanced until in sight of the enemy, and then endeavored to gain
possession of Visby and the ground near by. In this he was so far
successful that Albert and his army had to leave the camp and conclude a
truce. But nevertheless he did not till after a lapse of seven years
give up his hope of remounting the throne of Sweden, making a final
peace with Margaret, and henceforward living in Gadebush, Mecklenburg,
where in 1412 he closed his inglorious life.
Soon after, October 27th, Queen Margaret died on board a ship in the
harbor of Flensburg, at the age of fifty-nine, after an active and
notable reign of thirty-seven years. Her funeral was attended with the
greatest solemnity, and her corpse was brought to the Cathedral of
Roeskilde, where Eric of Pomerania, her successor, in 1423, caused her
likeness to be carved in alabaster. Her acts show her character. She
displayed judiciousness united with circumspection; wisdom in devising
plans, and perseverance in executing them; skill in gaining the
confidence of the clergy and peasantry, and thereby counterbalancing the
imperious nobility. On the whole she applied herself to the civilization
of her three kingdoms, and to their improvement by excellent laws, the
great aim of which was to undermine the nobility. She pursued the plan
of her great father to recall all rights to the crown lands, which
during the reign of her weak and inefficient predecessors had been
granted to the nobility. The prosecution of this plan for the perfect
subversion of the feudal aristocracy was unfortunately interrupted by
her death; her imprudent and weak successor having no power to restrain
the turbulent spirit of a factious nobility.
DEPOSITION OF RICHARD II
HENRY IV BEGINS THE LINE OF LANCASTER
A.D. 1399
JOHN LINGARD
Richard II, son of Edward the Black Prince, succeeded his
grandfather, Edward III, on the throne of England in 1377,
when Richard was but ten years old. During his minority the
government was intrusted to a council of twelve, but for
some years it was mainly controlled by Richard's uncles,
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Thomas of Woodstock,
Duke of Gloucester. War with France, then in progress,
entailed great expenditures, which were increased by court
extravagance, and at length burdensome taxes led to popular
uprisings. These became most serious in the great revolt of
the peasants led by Wat Tyler, in 1381. Richard appeared
among the insurgents and granted them concessions.
From this time the King became more active in his
government, and in 1386 John of Gaunt withdrew to the
Continent. About the same time the Duke of Gloucester headed
a coalition of the baronial party in opposition to the
sovereign; but in 1389 Richard suddenly declared himself of
age and gave a check to their designs. For eight years he
ruled with moderation as a constitutional monarch.
But in 1396 Richard married Isabella, daughter of Charles VI
of France, and henceforth seems to have adopted French
ideas, and to have made pretensions in the direction of
absolutism. He proceeded to arbitrary prosecutions which led
to the violent death of several leading nobles. Richard also
quarrelled with Henry, son of John of Gaunt, whom as Duke of
Lancaster he succeeded in 1399. The year before, Richard had
banished Henry for ten years--fearing him as a possible
rival. The history of the remaining months of Richard's
reign is crowded with the events which rapidly led to the
ending of the direct line of the Plantagenets and the
beginning of the line of Lancaster.
In Shakespeare's _Richard II_--the first of his historical
plays--the poet, following Holinshed's chronicle, presents
not only a skilful dramatic construction of the recorded
incidents of the reign, but also a finely discriminated
portrait of Richard's much debated character as man and
monarch.