LIBRARY N VKSITYo CALIFORNIA ^ ft. e listaqr uf THE HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND, I'or BY HEINRICH ZSCHOKKE. WITH A CONTINUATION TO THE YEAR 1848, BY EMIL ZSCHOKKE. TRANSLATED BY FRANCIS GEORGE SHAW. NEW YORK: C. S. FRANCIS & CO., 252 BROADWAY. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON & CO., 47 LUDGATE HILL, M.DCCC.LV. r-itered according to Act of CongreM, in the year 1855. BY C. 8. FR*NCIS & Co., U tho Clcrk'i Offio.) of the District Court of the United Suites for the Southern district of New York. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE WHILE studying the history of Switzerland on Swiss soil, I was charmed by the simple beauty, the conciseness and im- partiality of Zschokke's popular work, which is used as a text- book in many, if not in all, of the Confederate Cantons ; and, with the assent of pastor Emil Zschokke of Aarau, the worthy S continuer of his late celebrated father's labors, I made the fol- lowing translation from the ninth enlarged edition. Having myself felt a want of information on the subject, I now present this translation to my fellow-citizens of these United States, in the hope that a more extended acquaintance with the history of our sister republic may teach us to shun the perils through which the Swiss people have passed at the cost of so much suffering, and may aid us to appreciate our own more favorable position as a nation. STATEN ISLAND, New York, January 1, 1855. NOTB. As the Swiss, in different parts of their country, speak different languages (German, French, Italian, and several distinct idioms), there is necessarily a great diver- sity also in their nomenclature. I have followed that of the author, which is German, or employed that locally prevalent, except in cases where a person or place is better known to us by some other name. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAO I. How it was in the beginning 1 II. The first exploits of the ancient Helvetians, and how the Cymbri came to them. [B. C. 100.] 3 III. All the country becomes Roman. [B. G 50.] 5 IV. Of the Roman dominion in the land. [A. D. 1 to 300.] 10 V. How the whole country became a prey to foreign nations. [A. D. 300 to 550.] 1 13 VI. Dominion and rule of the Franks. [A. D. 550 to 900.] 16 VII. The Christian religion penetrates the land 18 VIII. How the country becomes part of the German empire, and cities are built. [A. D. 900 to 1200.] 21 IX. More about the cities and the great signiors in the country. [A.D. 1200 to 1290.] 26 X. Of the communities in the mountains of Schwyz, Appenzell, Rhetia and Valais. [A. D. 1200 to 1290.] 30 XL About the good emperor, Rudolf' of Habsburg, and the evil designs of his son Albert. [A. D. 1291 to 1307.] 34 XII. Of William Tell and the three men in Rutli. [A. D. 1307.] 38 XIII. The New-Year's morning of 1308. Battle for freedom at Morgarten. Lucerne joins the Confederates. [A. D.I 308 to 1334.] 41 XIV. Berne vanquishes the power of the nobility near Laupen ; and knight Brun changes the constitution of Zurich. [AD. 1335 to 1340.] 46 XV. Origin of the perpetual bond of the eight ancient cantons of the Confederacy. [A. D. 1341 to 1360.] 50 XVL How the Swiss increase, and the Guglers and the counts of Kyburg are ruined. [A. D. 1360 to 1385.] 65 yiii CONTENTS. CHAPTER PjISB XVII. The battle for freedom near Sempach. [A. D. 1385 to 1387.] 59 XVIIL The battle for freedom near Nafels, and its consequences. [A. D. 1388 to 1402.] 62 XIX. The heroic days of the Appenzellers. [A.D. 1403 to 141 1.] 67 XX. The Confederates conquer Aargau and establish common bailiwicks. [A. D. 1412 to 1418.] 73 XXI. The Mazza of Valais against Raron. The battle of Arbedo, and the cunning of lord Zoppo. [A. D. 1419 to 1426.]. 78 XXIL In the Highlands of Rhetia, the Upper-league, the God's- house-league and the League of the Ten-jurisdictions are formed in behalf of liberty. [A, D. 1426 to 1436.] 83 XXIIL Quarrel respecting the Toggenburg-inheritance. [A. D. 1436 to 1443.] 88 XXIV. War of all the Confederates against Zurich. The Heroes- death near St. Jacques. Peace. [A.D. 1443 to 1450.]. 93 XXV. Rhe^ufelden is devastated. Freiburg falls into the power of Savoy. Thurgau becomes a common bailiwick of *he Confederacy. [A. D. 1450 to 1468.] 99 XXVL Union of the three Leagues in Rhetia. Discord in Berne. Commencement of the Burgundian war. [A. D. 1469 to 1476.] 104 XXVH. Result of the Burgundian war. Freiburg becomes free. [A. D. 1476 to 1477.] ^ 08 XXVIH. The glorious day of Giornico. Nicholas von der Flue. Freiburg and Solothurn in the Swiss Confederacy. Death of John Waldmann at Zurich. [A. D. 1478 to 1489.] 114 XXIX. The Suabian War. Formation of the Confederacy of the thirteen cantons. [A. D. 1490 to 1500.] ^20 1CXX. The savage manners and mercenary wars of the Swiss ; they conquer Valtelina and the Italian bailiwicks. [A. D. 1500 to 1525.] 126 XXXI. Beginning of the religious schism in Switzerland. [A. D. 1519 to 1527.] 131 XXXII. Progress of the discord in church-matters. [A. D. 1527 to 1530.] 136 XXXHL The war of Kappel. Death of Zwingli. Avoyer Wengi of Solothurn. [A. D. 1531 to 1533.] 140 XXXIV. Geneva separates from Savoy. Berne subdues ~V 7 au< [A. D. 1533 to 1558.] 143 CONTENTS. IX CHiPTOS fiGM XXXV. Religious hatred in the Italian bailiwicks, in Orisons and everywhere. Dispute about the calendar. The Borro- mean-league. [A. D. 1558 to 1586.] 148 XXXVL Insurrection at Muhlhausen. The Rhodes of Appenzell separate. The duke of Savoy tries to surprise Geneva. [A. D. 1587 to 1603.] 153 XXXVII. Troubles in Bienne. Conspiracy against Geneva. The black death. Commencement of civil war in Grisons. [A. D. 1603 to 1618.] 158 XXXVIIL Terrible destruction of Plurs. Massacre in Valtelina. Civil war among the Grisons. [A. D. 1618 to 1621.]. . 162 XXXIX. The Grisons are brought under the Austrian yoke. [A. D. 1621 to 1630.] 16t XL. The Grisons recover their liberty. [A. D. 1630 to 1640.] 171 XLI. Of the troubles among the Confederates during the Thirty years' religious war in Germany, and how Switzerland's independence of the German empire was established. [A. D. 1618 to 1648.] 175 XLIL How the peasants in the cantons of Lucerne, Berne, Solo- thurn and Bale undertake to revolt, and lose thereby. [A. D. 1648 to 1655.] 180 XLIIL Another religious war. The battle near Villmergen. Commotion in Bale. The pestilence. [A. D. 1656 to 1699.] 189 XLIV. How the Toggenburgers were deprived of their ancient liberties by the abbot of St. Gallen, and what happened in consequence. [A. D. 1700" to 1712.] 194 XLV. The 1 oggenburger war. Second battle near Villmergen. Peace concluded at Aarau. [A. D. 1712 to 1718.] 199 XLVL Condition of the Swiss at the commencement of the Eighteenth century. Thomas Massner's quarrel. [A. D. 1701 to 1714.] 204 XLVIL Disturbances in Zurich, SchafFhausen and the bishopric of Bale. [A. D. 1714 to 1740.] 208 XLVllI. Insurrection of the Werdenbergers against Glarus. [A. D. 1714 to 1740.] 213 , Party-rage and disturbances in Zug. Power and misfor- tunes of landammann Schumacher. [A. D. 1714 to 1740.] 216 L. Quarrel of the Harten and Linden in the Outer-rhodes of Appenzell. [A, D. 1714 to 1740.] 221 : CONTENTS. CHiPTSB LI. Henzi's conspiracy at Berne. [A. D. 1740 to 1749.] 225 LIL Of the rebellion in the valley of Leventina. [A. D. 1750 to 1755.] 229 LIII. How the ancient Confederacy fell into still greater decay. The Helvetian society. [A. D. 1755 to 1761.] 233 LIV. King Frederick the Great, as prince of Neuchatel, behaves nobly towards his subjects. [A. D. 1762 to 1770.] 238 LV. Party-quarrels in the city of Lucerne. Histor}' of land- ammann Suter of the Outer-rhodes of Appenzell. [A. D. 1770 to 1784.] 241 LVI. Disturbances and insurrections in the canton of Freiburg. [A. D. 1781 to 1790.] 247 LVTI. Disturbances in the bishopric of Bale, in Vaud and Grisons. [A. D. 1790 to 1794.] 251 LVIH. History of parties and excesses in Geneva. [A. D. 1707 to 1797.] . . .- 256 LIX. Of the ancient district of St. Gallen and the wise abbot Beda ; how disturbances also broke forth on the lake of Zurich. [A. D. 1794 to 1797.] 262 LX. Destruction of the old Confederacy. Entrance of the French into the land. [A. D. 1797 and 1798.] 268 LXL How the Swiss suffered great calamities, until a new Con- federacy was formed. [A. D. 1798 to 1803.] 274 LXII. Napoleon Buonaparte gives to the Swiss an "Act of media- tion." [A. D. 1803 to 1813.] 279 LXIIL The Swiss annul Napoleon's "Act of mediation," and divide, until foreign powers once more put an end to their division by founding a new Confederacy of twenty- two cantons. [A. D. 1814 and 1815.] 284 LXIV. Renewed loss of liberty, and weakness of the Swiss. [A. D. 1815 to 1829.] 289 LXV. Thirteen cantons recover their liberty. Troubles in Schwyz, Neuchatel and Bale. [A. D. 1830 to 1832.]. . . 293 LXVI. The league of Sarnen. Five hundred Poles eriteHSwitzer- land from France. [A. D. 1832 to 1833.] 3no LXVII. Breach of the peace. Peace restored by the Diet. [A. D. 1833.] ^. . 304 LXVIII. Conclusion 307 CONTENTS. XI CONTINUATION. CHAPTKB "OB LXIX. Expedition against Savoy. Occurrences at Steinholzlein. [A. D. 1834] 311 LXX. Dispute with France. [A. D. 1835 and 1836.] 315 LXXI. Protocol of the Baden-conference ; its occasion and conse- quences. [A. D. 1834 to 1836.] 320 LXXII. Constitutional quarrel in Glarus. Contest between the Homers and Klauens in Schwyz. Louis Napoleon. [A. D. 1837 and 1838.] 326 LXXIII. Explosion at Zurich. [A. D. 1839.] 331 LXXIV. Bitter consequences. Convent-rebellion at Aargau. [A. D. 1840 and 1841.] 336 LXXV. Revolution in Lucerne, in Ticino and Geneva. [A. D. 1840 to 1 841.] 343 LXXVI. Termination of the convent-question. Formation of the Sonderbund. [A. D. 1842 to 1843.] ' 348 LXXVII. Party-hatred in Valais and fratricide on the Trient. [A. D. 1844.] 352 LXXVIII. The Jesuits invited to Lucerne. First free-corps expedi- tion. [A. D. 1844.] 357 LXXIX. Revolution in Vaud. Second free-corps expedition. [A. D. 1845.] 362 LXXX. Painful consequences. [A. D. 1845 and 1846.] 368 LXXXI. The crisis approaches. [A. D. 1846 to 1847.] 372 LXXXII. The Sonderbund-war. [A. D. 1847.] 376 LXXXIII. The new Swiss Confederate-bond. [A. D. 1848.] 387 ( 1 ) HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND. CHAPTER I. HOW IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING. THE wonderful deeds of the heroes, our fathers, their good and evil fortunes, have been frequently told and as frequently recorded ; but I wish to freshen those ancient traditions in the minds of the whole nation ; and I relate them to the free men of the mountains and of the valleys, that their hearts may be inflamed with new love for their noble fatherland. Attend, therefore, to my tale, old men and young. The history of past ages is a tree of the knowledge of good and of evil. Where the Rhone, which rises from under the glaciers of Valais, at last rushes into the Mediterranean, begins a chain of lowly mountains. As they stretch further to the east, they raise their summits higher in the air, and, approaching Italy, lift them still higher, veiling their rocky tops in clouds and everlasting snows. They are three hundred leagues in length from their beginning until they reach Hungary. There the mountains sink by degrees and become hills. These mountains are the Alps,* and * Alp means an elevated pasture : hence the name of the mountains on which such pastures exist. 1 f 2 CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. Helvetia was the ancient name of the country where their snowy summits, their bared cliffs and inaccessible peaks rise highest, far above the fields of men and above the clouds of heaven. Beyond the high Alps, furrowed by narrow gorges and covered with glaciers, the sources of innumerable rivers, the country extends to the north, in progressively enlarg- ing valleys, as far as the calcareous mountains of the Jura. These curve in the form of an immense half-moon, from lake Leman (lake of Geneva) to the lake of Constance (Boden-see). And from Schaffhausen to Bale, the Rhine rolls its waves along the base of the Jura, as in a moat at the base of a rampart. Thus has God begirt our fatherland, like an immense citadel, with steep mountains and deep waters. But a citadel is strong only when men are in it. In ages of which no man knows, all this country was an ocean. The water stood fifteen hundred fathoms above the fields and meadows which we now cultivate. At that period, the summits of the mountains were separate islands. The high rocks still bear the marks of the mighty flood. Plants and shell-fish, which once lived at the bottom of the sea, now lie petrified in the mud which has become rock. The finger of God has written in the veins of the mountains, and the voice of Nature cries to us from the depths of their caverns, that this earth, before being the abode of man, underwent more than one overwhelming convulsion. After the waters had subsided, and the dried bottom of the sea had become covered by moss, grass, shrubs and forests, ages passed ere a human voice resounded through the silence of this wilderness. No one. knows who first wandered with his herd along the woody shores of our lakes and rivers. The earliest families must have estab- lished themselves in the broad and temperate valleys ; long afterwards, they ascended into the wilder regions, and, at last, discovered the solitudes enclosed among the high Alps. Six hundred years before the birth of Christ, the valleys above which the Rhine has its source were still uniu- THE RHETIANS. 3 habited. Then, according to tradition, some fugitives from Italy first peopled them. The Gauls, a warlike and power- ful nation, had penetrated into Italy, and, conquering the inhabitants, had slain them, or driven them from the abodes of their fathers. Trembling before the sword of their enemy, many fled from the maritime country of the Rasen- nes, where now flourish the cities of Genoa and Florence. With their wives, their children and their household gods, they found an asylum in the recesses and wildernesses of the high Alps. There they fixed their abodes in secluded val- leys, among dense forests and lofty mountains, safe from the fury of the Gauls. They were called Rhetians, from the name of their god or hero, Rhetus. Hence the country about the sources of the Rhine and of the Inn, the strong home of the* free Grisons, is, even in our day, called Rhetia. CHAPTER II. THE FIRST EXPLOITS OF THE ANCIENT HELVETIANS, AND HOW THE CYMBRI CAME TO THEM. [One hundred years before the birth of Christ.] FOR several centuries, the people increased slowly in the valleys between the Alps and the Jura, between lake Lernan and the lake of Constance. Surrounded by rocks, woods and rivers, they lived on the products of the chase, of the soil, of their herds, unknown to the world, in savage freedom. They formed as many independent communities as there were separate valleys. Their valiant young men pursued the game through gloomy forests, fought with ser- pents in caverns and morasses, with wild beasts in the mountains, or, from time to time, made predatory excur- sions into the neighborhood. Skins formed their clothing; lances, clubs, bows and arrows were their arms. For offence and defence, several communes united into a Gau (district or province). That of the Tigurins, upon the banks 4 DEFEAT OF THE ROMANS. [B. 0. of the Ehine and Thur, was the first of which the name is known (Thurgau). Then it happened that a terrible people, coming from distant countries, crossed the forests of Germany. They were three hundred thousand warlike men, called Cymbri, that is : Confederates from various nations. Many of them are said to have come from Friesland and Sweden, and from Norway, where the inhabited world lies chilled in snow and ice. The tradition is that they had been driven out by hunger, when the sluices of heaven were opened upon their homes, and valleys and heights became lakes and swamps. Now they came, fighting and conquering, to the Rhine, and over the Rhine, to the cities of the Gauls, in the country which is now France. There they obtained an enormous booty. When the young men in the district of the Tigurins heard of this, they were desirous to share in the glory and booty of the Cymbri. All who could bear arms went and joined those powerful conquerors. Much plunder was taken, much blood was shed. The people of Gaul uttered cries of terror, and implored help from Rome. Rome immediately sent a strong army. It marched over the snowy Alps towards lake Leman. This frightened the Tigurins who were with the Cymbri ; they thought that their homes in the mountains were threatened. They at once hastened against the Romans near lake Leman. A young hero, named Divikon, was their leader. As soon as he saw the enemy's camp, he drew the sword. A fright- ful carnage ensued ; the bodies of the Romans covered the field ; at last, they asked for quarter. Then Divikon raised two posts, over which he placed a beam. Beneath this gallows-yoke he compelled the disarmed enemies to crawl, to the eternal glory of his own people, and to the shame of Rome. Then he sent them home over the mountains. Elated by this victory, Divikon rejoined the Cymbri, his companions in arms, and with them ravaged Gaul. After- wards, they crossed the high Alps, entered Italy, and threatened Rome. Then the Romans rose in their strength, and many bloody battles were fought. But fortune deserted the Cymbri. Most of them fell by the edge of the 100.] ANCIENT TRADITIONS. 6 sword. Those who escaped sought safety with Divikon in the security of the Helvetian mountains. Thus, men driven from the cold North by flood and famine, came to establish themselves in Helvetia. They fixed their abode on the shores of the lake of the Wald- statten,* at the foot of the Haken and the Mythen, near to Bruch-land, which means marshy land, and cleared the forests. Hence they were called Bruchen-buren (peasants of the marsh). Schwyz is thought to have been founded by the brothers Switer and Swen. Family names, com- mon in Sweden, are even now heard in those valleys. Thence the people, as they became numerous, spread into the uninhabited woody valleys on the lake, into the country about Kernwald, over the black mountain Brunig, and thence through Hasli in Weissland, at the foot of the white ice mountains, from valley to valley, as far as Fruti- gen, Obersibnen, Sunen, Afflentsch, and Jaun. So say the most ancient, uncertain traditions. CHAPTER III. ALL THE COUNTRY BECOMES ROMAN. [Fifty years before the birth of Christ] FOR a long while after the exploits of Divikon and the Cymbri, tales were told of the fat pastures and rich coun- try which had been seen in Gaul. There, was a more tem- perate sky, under which flourished the olive and the vine, and the snows of winter were seldom known. These tales excited the longings of the people in rugged Helvetia, especially when they heard them confirmed by travellers, or by their neighbors beyond the Rhine, with whom a friendly intercourse was maintained. * Lake of the forext-nantons ; usually called Vier Waldstatter See, Lake of the four forest-cantons, because enclosed by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden. and Lucerne. A* 6 ORGETORIX. [B. C. At this time, there lived in the country a man of note, named Hordrich. (The Romans called him Orgetorix, and he is now known only by this altered name.) Ten thou- sand men and women servants cultivated his fields and herded his cattle ; he enjoyed much consideration among the neighboring Gauls, and associated with their small princes. This man aspired to great things. He spoke first to the chief persons of his own district, then to those of the others, and, lastly, to the people in the communes. " Why should we exhaust our strength on a rough and rocky soil, to obtain a bare subsistence for ourselves and our animals ? We must migrate into Gaul, here are plenty of fruitful fields open to a valiant people." These speeches inflamed all minds, and, soon, every one thought of going. The com- munes assembled and unanimously decided to prepare for a general emigration. During three years they were to cultivate their fields and make provision for the long jour- ney ; while, in the interval, they engaged allies and assist- ants, and did whatever was necessary to give security to their hazardous enterprise. Orgetorix, delighted with the success of his appeal, exerted himself to ensure a prosperous result. He dis- played great activity, constantly traversed the different dis- tricts, passed the Rhine to communicate with the bordering people and their chiefs; he asked a free passage for his nation, made great promises, talked more and louder than was prudent. He even gave his daughter in marriage to one of the neighboring princes, and acted as if he were himself already lord and king of the Helvetians. This made his fellow-countrymen suspicious, and they began to think that he intended to betray the people and to destroy their ancient liberties, in order to become abso- lute master. But there was a law in the Helvetian districts that whoever attempted to infringe the rights and liberties of the people should be burnt to death ; and Orgetorix was summoned to appear and reply to his accusers. He refused, and tried to arm his servants in his defence. Then the communes rose against him. Seeing that all was lost, he killed himself. When the three years of preparation had elapsed, the 50] GENERAL EMIGRATION. 7 people in the four districts began their emigration. The men bearing arms opened the march. Old Divikon, who had defeated the Eomans at lake Leman fifty years before, was their leader. Then followed the women and children, the wagons and carts laden with provisions and articles of value. They burned all their dwellings behind them, twelve cities and four hundred villages, that no one might long to return to his old home. Many thousands of allies came from lake Constance, and the Rauraques from the Rhine country, which now constitutes the Frickthal and the territory of Bale. All joined the Helvetians. Thus the long, interminable train of warlike emigrants crossed mountains and valleys. The Helvetians were 260,000 in all. They directed their march towards Geneva, then a city of the Allobroges, a small but courageous peo- ple, and allied to Rome. At this time, about sixty years before the advent of Jesus Christ, Rome was the most powerful city in the whole world. She had become such through the liberty, the heroism and the wisdom of her citizens. Her arms and laws ruled over Italy and from. Gaul to Judea. The great- est of her generals, Julius Cesar, was at Geneva to protect the Allobroges. When Cesar heard of the approach of the Helvetians, and of their intention to cross the Rhone at Geneva, he immediately built, along the stream, in front of the city, a wall 9000 paces long and 16 feet high, with numerous towers, and opposed the passage of the emigrants. But they turned towards the gorge of the Jura, through which the Rhone precipitates its waters into Gaul. They clambered along steep rocks, by narrow footpaths. Be- neath them were abysses and the roaring flood. They were hardly across the mountains, on the plains of Gaul, when Cesar was there also. He attacked the rear- guard of Tigurins. Grey-haired Divikon approached Cesar and said : " What have I to do with thee ana thy Romans ? Let me go on my way in peace, or remember the conflict of lake Leman, and beware lest I make this place, also, celebrated by a Roman defeat!" Cesar answered: "The Gods formerly granted good fortune to thee by lake Leman, 8 JULIUS CESAR [B.C. in order that thy present bad fortune might be doubly bit- ter. Nevertheless, I will let thee go thy way, provided thou respect my allies, restore to them what thy soldiers have plundered on their passage, and give me hostages for thy truth." " Not so, Roman," replied Divikon, " we have learnt from our ancestors to take, instead of giving hostages." Thereat, the Helvetians journeyed on, slowly and with difficulty, followed closely, during fourteen days, by the Roman host. Suddenly the Helvetians turned, full of anger and in arms. A general battle took place in the fields of the Gallic city of Bibracte (Autun) ; it lasted from morning until sunset. Valiantly, but without skill, fought the Helvetians ; not less valiantly, but with more experi- ence in war, the Romans. This gave the victory to the latter. The Helvetians fled in disorder to the hill where their wives, children and property were enclosed by a rampart of wagons. The enemy followed and broke through the wagons; old men and warriors, women and children, fell by the swords of the victors ; many by their own, that they might not survive freedom and honor ; others fled shrieking, wandered in every direction, and were given up by the Gauls to Cesar. He said to the vanquished, prostrate at his feet and imploring his mercy : " Lay down your arms ; return home whence you came ; rebuild your nuts; live as before, contented in your mountains, under your own laws. Every country is good for man, when man is good for the country. You shall not be the slaves of Rome, but shall share her alliance and protection." Full of shame and sorrow, numbering hardly 110.000, they returned to the valleys whence they had come, and rebuilt their hu's upon the ashes. But Cesar erected, near Geneva, on the lake, a new fortress, called Novio- dunum, now Nyon. This he did to watch the Helvetians. Other garrisons were also placed here and there in the land. Roman troops were also stationed at Octodurum (perhaps Martigny), at the foot of the Alps, in what is now Lower Valais, to guard the road over the mountains into Italy. The inhabitants of this broad valley, through which the 60.] EXTINCTION OF LIBERTY. 9 Khone finds its way to the lake, then lived a free and savage life ; they had no connection with either the Helve- tians or the Romans ; they enforced a toll on all merchan- dise that crossed their Alps, and committed depradations upon it. When they saw foreign soldiers thus -established and entrenched on their territory, they became furious. Rushing from their mountains and their valleys, they attacked the Roman garrisons in their entrenchments, and harassed them until they drove them from the country. But the Romans soon returned into the valley with such increased forces as made all resistance vain. Nearly ten thousand of the inhabitants, fighting for the freedom of their homes, were slain, and, on every side, villages sank in flames. From this time, Yalais, also, was Roman. The Rhetians alone, behind their ice-mountains and their lakes, deemed themselves invincible. Along the Inn, in the valleys of what is now Tyrol, and in the Vindelecian plains (now Suabia), were their allies and confederates, as advanced guards. They lived a wild life, pillaged travel- lers, or, suddenly issuing in numerous hordes from the gorges of their mountains, surprised and plundered the neighboring Italian cities. From among their prisoners they sacrificed victims on the altars of their Gods. Irritated by this, the emperor Augustus, in whose reign the Savior of the world was born, sent two armies at once to penetrate that fearful and elevated region. One passed the Alps and descended towards the Inn; the other crossed the Vindelecian lake (lake of Constance) ; and the whole country was subj ugated after bloody conflicts. It is related that the wives of the Rhetians rushed into the ranks of the combatants, and dashed their nursing infants upon the faces of the enemy, as if in their mountains all life must become extinct with liberty. 1* 10 THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS. [A. D. 1- CHAPTER IV. ^OF THE ROMAN DOMINION IN THE LAND. [A. D. 1 to 800.] LIBERTY did indeed become extinct in the mountains, but life remained, subject thenceforth to the Roman em- peror Augustus, who ruled, all-powerful, from the rising to the setting of the sun. He sent his' prefects, governors and soldiers into the inhabited valleys of Helvetia, and caused strong fortresses to be erected, to keep the people in subjection and obedience. He saw that the snowy Alps and the Jura were an insurmountable bulwark for Italy, where he sat on the throne in the rich city of Rome. Still the emperor treated the conquered Helvetians with humanity, and respected their manners and customs, that they might thus become more easily habituated to his rule, and forget their disgrace. He even permitted them to live according to their ancient laws, and under magistrates of their own choice. All matters relating to the interests of a district were discussed in an assembly of deputies from each commune. But the emperor reserved to himself the right to enact general laws, to decree taxes and contribu- tions, and to make war and peace. All this took place at the time when Jesus Christ was born in Judea. After the death of the emperor Augustus, his successors long showed themselves favorable to the Helvetians. They founded many new colonial cities, and connected them with each other by broad highways. The Roman prefects, governors and military men, accustomed to a more comfortable life than were the poor, rude Helve- tians, built everywhere magnificent dwellings and pleasure- houses, introduced fruit-trees from Italy, and instructed the people in all kinds of trades and manufactures, in com- merce, and in the arts and sciences ; thus, by degrees, the country acquired riches and comforts, previously unknown. Many places became populous, and grew into magnifi- cent cities, with immense palaces, baths, temples and thea- -300.] AULUS CECINA. 11 tres. The great city Aventicum was ten times more exten- sive than now is Wiflisburg (Avenche) on the same spot. The boats of the lake of Morat then landed uader the walls. At the place where we now see two little villages (Augst in Bale, and Augst in Aargau) at the confluence of the Ergolz and the Rhine, was a flourishing city, Augusta Rauracorum, the ruins of which still attest its former mag- nificence. But greatest and most magnificent of all was the city of Vindonissa (Windisch, in Aargau). In the vast space covered by its fortresses, its palaces and its suburbs, we now see three villages and a city (Brugg). These things pleased the Helvetians. They were de- lighted at the clemency of their masters, willingly paid taxes and contributions, and sent their sons to serve in the Roman armies. In their new comforts, they forgot the ancient liberty for which their fathers had fought and bled. But comfort without liberty is an uncertain good. Let not the bird rejoice in his golden cage, for his master can kill him at his will ! About seventy years after the birth of Jesus Christ, an emperor, named Galba. was assassinated at Rome, and an- other elected in his stead : Yitellius, who was not satisfac- tory to all. The Helvetians were ignorant of the death of the old emperor, but the chiefs of the Roman garrisons in the country, being early informed, leagued together in behalf of Vitellius, and sent messengers in every direction. This astonished the Helvetians, who thought that the leaders meditated a revolt against the emperor Galba. The soldiers of the garrisons, especially those of Vindo- nissa, were moreover insolent and undisciplined, and had even seized the pay belonging to the garrison of Baden, composed entirely of young Helvetians. These, therefore, intercepted the messengers and letters of Aulus Cecina, governor-general of Yindonissa. When Cecina received news of this in Vindonissa, he was greatly exasperated, and marched out with his troops, who were called, and were, " terrible." He stormed and destroyed the fortress and city of Baden, which had be- come flourishing in consequence of its warm healing springs 12 JULIA ALPIISTULA. [A. D. 1- on the Limmat, plundered the country and vanquished the resisting Helvetians in a bloody combat. He pursued the conquered beyond the Boetzberg, one of the Jura moun- tains. In their flight down the mountain, the fugitives were met by a numerous body of Thracian cavalry. Thousands of the Helvetians were slain in this encounter, or dispersed among the woods and cliifs ; others were taken and sold as slaves. This massacre did not appease the wrath of Cecina, but he swept over and ravaged the whole country, as far as Aventicum. Here lived a rich and respected Helvetian, Julius Alpinus. The cruel Eoman ordered him to be seized, as the originator of the revolt, to be loaded with bonds and chains, and led forth to an ignominious death. In vain did many persons testify to the old man's inno- cence; in vain did his daughter, Julia Alpinula, a priest- ess, throw herself at Cecina's feet. Her beauty, her youth and her tears could not touch the heart of the ferocious warrior. The grey-haired old man was put to death. The whole land was rilled with sorrow and complaints. The people now learned, too late, that the emperor to whom they wished to remain faithful, had been killed, and that Vitellius was lord of the world. Embassadors were sent in haste to the new emperor, to implore his mercy. Pros- trate in the dust at the foot of his throne, the Helvetians begged for pardon with tears and sobs. That which they solicited with contemptible submission as trembling sub- jects, was contemptuously granted to them as vile slaves. Such is the lot of vassalage, which prefers the comforts of life to freedom from foreign bondage. But neither the carnage of Bcetzberg, nor the desolation of Aventicum, nor the disgrace before the imperial throne, could restore to the Helvetians their pristine vigor. It had been extinguished and destroyed by long effeminacy. ! They forgot past sufferings, and lived as before, in enervat- ing pleasures ; sought for riches, sensual delights, and the refinements of luxury, and cared not for that heroism which lives only in free hearts. Their Roman rulers were pleased to see that the people, thoughtless of better things, remained effeminate and tribu- -300.] HELVETIAN EFFEMINACY. 1& tary ; that, unaccustomed to fighting, they unlearned the art of war, and that, instead of strengthening the union between their districts, they awaited their weal or woe, in slavish silence, from the hand of their masters. Woe to the country in whose tribunals foreigners sit, and whose gates are guarded by foreigners ! Woe to the people who are proud of the support of a foreign power, and divided among themselves by hatred ! Woe to the nations who amass gold and know not the use of steel, by which life is protected ! The Helvetians, thoughtless of defence, were exposed to constant peril. As they had forgotten the past, they fore- saw not the future. Thus they were ripe for destruction. Thus the day of their terrible and total ruin found them entirely unprepared. CHAPTER V. HOW THE WHOLE COUNTRY BECOMES A PREY TO FOREIGN NATIONS. [A. D. 800 to 550.] AT this period, great and wonderful things took place upon the earth. Rome, for so many ages queen of the world, in losing her virtues had lost the pillars of her power. Paganism, despised, had no longer any hold upon men, and they forsook the altars of idols for the unknown God. From the bosom of the East, the light of Christian- ity blazed forth as a newly risen sun, and enkindled with its rays the hearts of multitudes in three quarters of the worm. It seemed as if a voice from heaven had said : "I will mingle together the nations of the earth, like chaff in a whirlwind, that the sparks of holy faith may be scattered over the world, and all the countries of men be set on fire thereby. The false gods shall become dust and ashes. Old things shall be destroyed, and all shall become new." And now, from the depths of unknown regions, issued nations upon natiopp, driving all before them at the point 14 THE ALLEMANNI, HUNS, [300- of the sword. They came from the rising of the sun, and from the unconquered countries of the North. First came the Allemanni, savage warriors of Germanic race. During two centuries and a half of continued war- fare, they penetrated deeper and deeper into the Roman territory, aud drew nearer and nearer to the Helvetian mountains. At last they broke, like an overwhelming torrent, through the passes of the Jura, and spread them- selves over the land. From the Black Forest to the foot of the Alps, all was desolation. The magnificence of Aventicum and of Vindonissa lay heaped in ruins. Ro- mans, as well as Helvetians, if spared by the sword of the enemy, became slaves. The Allemanni divided among themselves the whole country, with its riches and its in- habitants, from the Rhine and the lake of Constance to the lake of the Waldstatten and the Aar. They loved war, liberty and herds. They despised cities, as the pris- ons of free men. The memories of Rome and of ancient Helvetia were sunk in shameful oblivion. Shortly after these, the Huns swarmed forth from the wildernesses of Asia in numberless hordes. They pillaged the world. Their faces were so hideous that they could hardly be called human ; their deeds were still less human. These destroyers traversed Germany, Gaul and Italy. Some of their bands passed through the Helvetian terri- tory, penetrated into Rhetia, into the districts on the Aar, and spread over the neighborhood of Augusta Rauraco- rum and of Basilia (Bale), formerly a Roman city. They stopped nowhere ; but everywhere flames, blood and tears marked their passage. Then came the Burgundians, a vigorous race. They established themselves in Gaul, on both sides of the Jura, in Savoy, on lake Leman, in Lower Valais, and as far as the Aar, where the French language is now spoken. They built strong fortresses, raised Geneva from its ruins, and, probably, Avenche on the ashes of Aventicum. On the heights near lake Leman, where Roman Lausonium for- merly stood, they founded Lausanne anew, and several other places. Then, from the South, over the highest Alps, came the -550.] GOTHS AND BURGUNDIANS. 15 powerful Goths. Italy was already their prey ; all Rhetia, with her valleys and mountain pastures, shared the same fate. The power of the Goths extended far beyond the lake of Wallenstatt even to the Sitters (the small rivers of Appenzell), over the St. Gotthard into the valleys of Uri and not less into Glarus. Fear was in all places. These successive invasions effaced the arts and industry of olden time ; the laws, customs and languages formerly in use. Even the name of Helvetia was lost. Men heard only of the Allemanni, the Goths and the Burgundians. Wherever the Allemanni came, they destroyed the cities. They dwelt in isolated farm-houses or in hamlets. Their bondsmen, with their wives and children, served them as shepherds, husbandmen and mechanics. Whenever they wished to favor one of these, they gave him inalienable lands, at ground-rent and man-service. Their herds sup- plied them with meat, milk and cheese. The whole coun- try was pasturage and undivided common. The soil for- merly cultivated became a wilderness. Bushes grew where once the Roman plough had been. Around the lake of Constance were immense forests, full of bears and wolves. In Upper Rhetia, the Goths preserved their warlike spirit, but their manners were more gentle. They made the people serfs, it is true, but left to them their ancient customs. They did not destroy the Roman fortresses they found, but built new ones. Living in their high towers, the signiors and counts governed their tributary valleys in the name of their king, who dwelt in Italy. The Burgundians showed themselves the most humane of all. They appropriated only a third part of the land and serfs. They did not exterminate the ancient inhabit- ants, but made them subjects, and inferior in rights. They established themselves among them, mingled their own language and customs with theirs, so that at last the two became one people. Even in our day this people is dis- tinguished from the rest of the Confederates by the hered- itary but disfigured idiom called Remain, of the districts of Vaud, Freiburg, and Neuchatel. The dominion of all these foreign nations was of short 16 THE FRANKS. [550- duration. Another people made their appearance, more powerful, more daring, more shrewd than those who had preceded them. These were the Franks. They came from afar, across the Low Countries, and with fire and sword quickly made themselves masters of all Gaul. They established themselves in the conquered cities, and the country, from them, was called France. When they en- countered the power of the Allemanni on the Rhine, a long struggle took place between the two people. At last the Allemanni were completely and irretrievably vanquished in a terrible conflict, and those who dwelt along the Khine, in Suabia and in Helvetia, fell under the dominion of the victors. A short time afterwards, the- Burgundians also perished by discord and the vices of their princes. The (roths took possession of the Burgundian Alps and of Geneva; the Franks, of the rest of the Burgundian territory. But the latter, only, kept what they won ; not so the Goths. When their dominion came to an end in Italy, their power over the Alpine region perished also. The Frank king, Dietbert [Dagobert?], did not hesitate. He marched with his troops, and conquered Bhetia and the rest of the country. . Thus, at last, after more than five centuries of vicissi- tudes and changes, all Helvetia was again united under the sceptre of a single sovereign, as it had been under the Romans. CHAPTER VI. DOMINION AND RULE OF THE FRANKS. [A. D. 550 to 900.] THE new masters divided the country into two parts, because they had acquired possession of them at different times, and because the inhabitants themselves spoke dif- ferent languages. The country occupied by the Allemanni, and where German was spoken, that is, Ehetia and Thuri- -#00.] FEUDAL ORGANIZATION. 17 gau,* was united to Suabia. The other districts, in which Remain was spoken, or which had been taken from the Burgundians, as Geneva, Valais, Neuchatel, and what now belongs to Berne, Solothurn, Freiburg, and Yaud, were united with Savoy, and called Little Burgundy. The mighty kings of France, chiefs of a warlike people, organized the governments of countries as they did their armies. They placed a general-in-chief, or duke, over a broad territory ; commandants, or counts, governed sepa- rate portions of this territory, or districts ; and other va- liant captains received large domains in these districts, in. fee or fief. In those times money was rare. Kings therefore recompensed the services of their warriors with lands and their revenue. Among the property which they gave away in conquered countries, all the inhabitants, witn. their houses, farms and cattle were included ; then the inhabitants became serfs. The serf could own no prop- erty, as he was himself the property of his signior, and must account to the latter for all he held. Thurigau and Rhetia were under the duke of Suabia or Allemannia, and the rest under the duke of Little Burgundy. Thus the whole country was divided, with its inhabit- ants and cattle ; what the king had not given or enfeoffed to his counts, nobles, or officers, remained his own prop- erty, and was managed for his" profit. The free Franks only, however few in number, constituted the nation ; the multitude of subjugated inhabitants were counted for noth- ing, had no civil rights, were serfs, infamous and defence- less. The lot of these serfs was lamentable, indeed, in the early times ; their master could, at his will, punish them, give them away, sell them, even put them to death, with- out being called to account. They were hardly looked upon as human, but rather as a kind of cattle ; thus they were united without any marriage ceremony, and the new- born children became the property of the mother's master, when the father belonged to another lord. So barbarous and savage were those times. * All the region enclosed between the lake of Constance and the Rhine on one side, the Aar and the St. Gotthard on the other, was then called Thurit'au. B* 18 ANCIENT BISHOPRICS. CHAPTER VII. THS CHRISTIAN RELIGION PENETRATES THE LAND. THROUGH the midst of the darkness of the times carne messengers of (rod, pious men, to preach to the heathen the kingdom of heaven, and to announce the crucified one. They were military men who had heard the word of eter- nal salvation in other countries; men of elevated rank, often kings' sons, who, like the holy apostles, renounced the pleasures of the world to confess Jesus among the heathen. It is said that, even in the time of the Romans, hardly two centuries after the birth of the Savior, such a king's son, named Lucius, had sown the seed of the faith among the Rhetian mountains, under danger of death. Somewhat later, others came among the Burgundians, and others also among the Allemanni in Thurgau. They gathered around them pious families, baptized young and old in the name of God, established small Christian com- munities, built churches and chapels. They also founded convents for the promotion of education, prayer and faith, and instituted bishops, who were called superintendants, over the other Christian teachers and communities. Even before the country became Frank, there was a bishop at Coire (Chur) in Rhetia, a city which first became import- ant towards the close of the Roman dominion ; also at Augusta Rauracorum, at Vindonissa and at Aventicum, as well as at Geneva and at Octodurum in Valais.* But when the Franks, already Christians, became mas- ters of our country, then the work of conversion was for the first time carried forward with zeal ; priests were pro- tected, bishops revered, churches and convents endowed. A tithe was imposed on the products of the soil for the * The seats of the Christian bishoprics have not remained in all these cities, but in a long course of disasters have been removed to undestroyed places. Thus the bishop's see was transferred from the ruins of ancient Augusta Rauracorum to Bale, that of Aventicum to Lausanne, that of Vindonissa to Constance on the lake of this name, that of Octodurum to Sion (Sitten) in Upper Valais. EARLY CHRISTIAN TEACHERS. 19 support of ecclesiastics ; voluntary contributions increased the magnificence of God's service. As money was rare, contributions were more easily made in products of the soil and in real estate. That which was conferred on re- ligious institutions was looked upon as given, not to mor- tal men, but to God, and to the saints of God, who were revered, and as a loan to be repaid by endless enjoyments after death. Thus, by degrees, churches and convents be- came wealthy, rich in lands and rents. From foreign countries came an always increasing num- ber of preachers of the Cross, to extirpate the last remains of paganism. For, in the thick forests which bordered the lake of Zurich, and in the remote valleys among the moun- tains, long dwelt half-savage men without any knowledge of the living God. Upon the heights of the hills and in the depths of the woods they sacrificed cattle and horses as victims to their idols ; at the beginning of each new year they made a horrible uproar with cries and shouts, and by beating on noisy instruments, to drive away wicked spirits, sorcerers and witches ; but welcomed the opening of spring with huge bonfires on all the mountains, as thank-offerings to the good gods. Many superstitious fears about ghosts and spirits tormented these poor blinded heathen ; they believed in all kinds of presages and pre- dictions, in the influence of good and evil days, and in similar self-deceptions. Therefore the pious men who brought the tidings of salvation to these heathen are to be held in high esteem. Sigebert came from the country of the Franks, and preached in the wildernesses of Rhetia. He built his cell in the rough angle of the mountains, where the convent of Dis- entis now stands. Columban and Mangold long taught upon the Aar, the Beuss and the lake of Zurich, as did the zealous Gallus. The latter finally established his her- mitage in the solitude of the high mountain- valley, near the lake of Constance, where, in memory of him, stands the convent of St. Gallen. Among the mountains which border the lake of the Waldstatten, the word of God was announced by pious Meinrad, who built his cell in the dark forest (Finsterwald) near the Sihl, where in our days 20 . BENEFICIAL EFFECTS flourishes the convent of Einsiedeln (Our Lady of the Her- mits). A duke founded the chapter of canons upon the hill near Zurich, and endowed it with much property on the Albis ; his brother built another monastery on the lake of the Waldstatteu, where once, probably in the Ro- man time, there had been a simple light tower for vessels, and where the city of Lucerne now shines. Shortly after- wards, the rich count Bero erected near the same place another convent or monastery, even now called Beromun- ster. But I should be long in coming to an end, if I tried to name all the pious works of that period. The poor pa- gans in the districts saw the consecrated walls of churches and convents rising on every side ; all day long they heard the words of salvation and of the Cross, and all the night long the hymns and prayers of the monks in their cells. Their hearts were moved, and they went to baptism. It must be acknowledged that the Christianity of those early days was very poor and feeble ; conversions were too numerous and too sudden ; the teachers were often as rude and ignorant as the hearers of the word. Whoever was baptized, had learnt a prayer, attended church, and could make the sign of the cross, was called a Christian, even though he had not given up his savage customs and heathen superstitions. Saints were frequently placed upon the seats of idols, and pagan feasts changed by name to Christian festivals. The fear of the devil was more pow- erful than the love of God. Sinners thought they could easily purchase their everlasting salvation, and redeem themselves from hell by ceremonies, and gifts to convents and churches. Nevertheless, the new religion did not remain entirely inefficacious. Dawn always precedes the brightness of broad daylight. The belief in the one living God, in the compensations of eternity, and that we men here below are all children of the Father in Heaven, became general. Many pious priests and bishops, with their wives, shone as bright examples among the rest of the households ; for, in those days, marriage was not forbidden to priests and bishops. Many Christian lords bettered the condition of OF CHRISTIANITY. , 21 their subjects, and many serfs received privileges which rendered their lot more endurable. In many convents schools were established, and the writings of ancient sages collected and copied ; for the art of printing was not dis- covered until several centuries later. The light of science especially shone forth from the cells of the abbey of St. Gallen upon the darkness of the land. The people were instructed in agriculture and rural economy by the her- mits and monks, who, in their wildernesses, extirpated the forests and cleared the soil ; fallow lands were broken up. The people were taught to burn lime and to build with stone ; until then they had only miserable wooden huts ; they learned to weave wool and to use woollen clothes, in- stead of the linen and skins they had previously worn. They even began to plant vines upon the heights of lake Leman and of the lake of Zurich. All this was not, indeed, the work of the monks alone, but more especially of the Franks, when they established themselves in the country ; they brought with them do- mestic economy, the ox and the plough, wherever their king had granted to them, in fee or in fief, lands with men and women slaves thereon. CHAPTER VIII. HOW THE COUNTRY BECOMES PART OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE, AND CITIES ARE BUILT. [A. D. 900 to 1200.] THE kings of powerful France were for a long time more mighty than all the others, and the most mighty was king Charlemagne. He caused himself to be crowned at Rome, as emperor of the ancient Roman empire, which he proposed to reestablish, and by the name of emperor he wished to show that he was a king of kings. But his sons and grandsons were always quarrelling among themselves, and, often, men of weak minds. Each wished 22 THE HUNGARIANS. [900- to have a portion of the sovereignty, and they divided that vast empire. One took France, another Italy, a third Germany, and they carried on great wars against each other without cessation. In consequence of this division, that portion of the Helvetian territory which had, until then, been attached to the duchy of Suabia, became part of the German empire. As there were so many kings, and they were continually at war with each other, great confusion prevailed every where. This pleased the principal officers and governors of the kings, that is, the dukes and counts. They ruled thenceforward without fear of responsibility, and, at their deaths, gave their offices to their sons, considering the duchies and counties as hereditary fiefs, or even as their own properties. The duke of Suabia would obey no one; the duke of Burgundy assumed the title of king. As the dukes revolted against the kings, so the counts revolted against the dukes, hired troops and acted as sovereigns. Even the bishops did not remain idle. Eminent and powerful in their dioceses and domains, they imitated the counts and dukes, made themselves independent of the secular arm, donned casque and cuirass, and rode at the head of their troops. As did the bishops towards dukes and counts, so did the pope of Rome towards emperors and kings ; assumed authority over them, over all the bishops and churches in their dominions, and, finally, over their people. At last, as a consequence of this general confusion, the signiors and counts established in Helvetia, no longer paid respect to the dukes of Suabia, but, ruling by their own authority, they feared only the kings or German emperors, or flattered them for ambitious purposes. Usually at variance with each other, only a common danger could unite them. Such a danger threatened them all at the time when Henry, surnamed the Fowler, ruled the German empire. From the regions of the East, from the Black Sea and along the Danube, once more appeared a warlike and savage people, all on horseback, numerous as the sands of the sea. They were called Hungarians. With sword and -1200.] PEOPLE'S FORTRESSES. 23 fire they quickly swept over Germany, quickly over Italy. Nothing stopped them, neither rivers nor mountains. But they did not attack strong fortresses and castles, be- cause they did not understand the art of besieging. This was nine hundred years after the birth of Christ. Then the emperor ordered that all large villages in the country should be surrounded with walls, ramparts and ditches, against these terrible enemies. Thus St. Gallen and Bale were encircled by walls, because they were on the frontiers, as well as Zurich on the lake. These were like fortresses for the people, to which they could flee with their property in case of need. One-ninth of the free and noble men, those who had but little landed estate being selected, were obliged to dwell in these national fortresses, to defend them in war, and govern them in peace. Thus were founded the cities and their councils. The free nobles, charged with the city government, assumed the name of patricians. The example once given, many people's fortresses or cities were soon built, as Lucerne and Solothurn ; and, later, Schaft'hausen, at the landing-place of the Ehine, where this stream makes its mighty rush over the rocks, took the place of the cluster of boat-houses (Schiffhausern). As in German Helvetia, so also in Burgundian Helvetia, when the emperors at last added this also to the German empire, and made the dukes of Zahringen imperial bailiffs over it. Here were already the very ancient cities of Geneva and Lausanne. To these the imperial bailiff, Berthold, duke of Zahringen, added the city of Freiburg, which he built in Uechtland* (in 1179), as a means of offence and defence against the power of the refractory lords and counts of the neighborhood. His son did the same, and built the city of Berne on a peninsula formed by the river Aar, in 1191. All these, and other cities, which rose up here and there, as open villages were walled and fortified, received the political organization, the franchises and privileges enjoyed * Uechtland: waste or pasture land; applied to what was probably the ancient Pagus Aventicensis of the Romans, embracing much of the present territory of Berne, Neuchatel, Freiburg,