William Tell

William Tell (in the four languages of Switzerland: German: Wilhelm Tell; French: Guillaume Tell; Italian: Guglielmo Tell; Romansh: Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th-century Swiss illustrated chronicle. It is set in the time of the original foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century. According to the legend, Tell—an expert marksman with the crossbow—assassinated Gessler, a tyrannical reeve of Habsburg Austria positioned in Altdorf, Uri.

Along with Arnold von Winkelried, Tell is a central figure in Swiss patriotism as it was constructed during the Restoration of the Confederacy after the Napoleonic era.

The legend

Several accounts of the Tell legend exist. The earliest sources give an account of the apple shot, Tell's escape, and the ensuing rebellion. The assassination of Gessler is not mentioned in the Tellenlied but is already present in the White Book of Sarnen account.

The legend as told by Tschudi (ca. 1570) essentially follows the account in the White Book, but adds further detail, such as Tell's given name Wilhelm, his being from Bürglen, and the precise date of the apple-shot of 18 November 1307.

Rütlischwur

The Rütlischwur (German pronunciation: [ˈryːtliˌʃvuːr]) is a legendary oath of the Old Swiss Confederacy, taken on the Rütli, a meadow above Lake Lucerne near Seelisberg. The oath is notably featured in the play William Tell (Wilhelm Tell) by Friedrich Schiller.

Early accounts

William Tell is not mentioned in the earliest versions of the Rütlischwur legend. The Rütli oath is first mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen (1470). Its canonical form is that of the 16th century Chronicon Helveticum of Aegidius Tschudi. According to Tschudi, the three oath-takers (Eidgenossen) were Werner Stauffacher for Schwyz, Walter Fürst for Uri and Arnold of Melchtal for Unterwalden.

Early Modern period

The figures of the three oath takers or Eidgenossen during the 16th century merged with the legend of William Tell and became known as "the Three Tells". Impersonations of the Three Tells in historical costume played a role during the Swiss peasant war of 1653.

Historicity

Tschudi dates the event to 8 November 1307. Its historicity is uncorroborated, but also not implausible, the 1307 date falling in a period of a series of similar treaties such as the Federal Charter of 1291, the pact of Brunnen of 1315, the pact of Uri and Urseren of 1317, the pact with Lucerne in 1332, and the Zürich guild revolution of 1336. These were all part of a larger communal movement finally countered by the imperial Golden Bull of 1356 and culminating in the Battle of Sempach of 1386.

Henry Fuseli

Henry Fuseli (German: Johann Heinrich Füssli; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as The Nightmare, deal with supernatural subject-matter. He painted works for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, and created his own "Milton Gallery". He held the posts of Professor of Painting and Keeper at the Royal Academy. His style had a considerable influence on many younger British artists, including William Blake.

Biography

Fuseli was born in Zürich, Switzerland, the second of 18 children. His father was Johann Caspar Füssli, a painter of portraits and landscapes, and author of Lives of the Helvetic Painters. He intended Henry for the church, and sent him to the Caroline college of Zurich, where he received an excellent classical education. One of his schoolmates there was Johann Kaspar Lavater, with whom he became close friends.

After taking orders in 1761 Fuseli was forced to leave the country as a result of having helped Lavater to expose an unjust magistrate, whose powerful family sought revenge. He travelled through Germany, and then, in 1765, visited England, where he supported himself for some time by miscellaneous writing. Eventually, he became acquainted with Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom he showed his drawings. Following Reynolds' advice, he decided to devote himself entirely to art. In 1770 he made an art-pilgrimage to Italy, where he remained until 1778, changing his name from Füssli to the more Italian-sounding Fuseli.

Joannes-Henricus de Franckenberg

Johann Heinrich, Graf von Frankenberg (18 September 1726 – 11 June 1804) was Archbishop of Mechelen, Primate of the Low Countries, and a cardinal. He signed as de Franckenberg and as van Franckenberg.

Early life

Franckenberg was born in (Groß-Glogau, Silesia, into an ancient family devotedly attached to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, and which remained so after the conquest of Silesia by Frederick II of Prussia in 1740. Although he was the sole male heir of his family and assured of the protection of Empress Maria Theresa, he decided, when quite young, to become a priest. He attended the Jesuit college of his native city, went later to the University of Breslau, and thence to the German College at Rome, where he obtained the degrees of Doctor of Theology, and of Canon law, and was ordained priest on 10 August 1749.

On his return to Austria, he was made coadjutor to the Bishop of Görz in Carniola (1750–54), dean of the collegiate church of All Saints at Prague (1754), later of that of Saints Cosmas and Damian at Alt-Bunzlau in Bohemia (1756), and finally Archbishop of Mechelen and Primate of the Low Countries on 27 May 1759. In this exalted post, as in those he previously occupied, his life was an example of every private and public virtue.