Rütlischwur
The Rütlischwur is an element of a historical narrative of the late 15th century, which was expanded in the wake of the emergence of modern nation-states to a Swiss national myth. According to this story included representatives of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden on the Rütli, a meadow on Lake Lucerne, by oath an anti-Habsburg " evil reeves » directed waistband. From the second half of the 16th century, this story mingled a first conspiracy with the notion that the federal government had been captured and sealed in writing. Late 19th century to early August 1291, a dated certificate as " Federal letter " to the rank of " founding document " of the Confederation was raised; the three confederates swearing as personifications of the " first covenant " were henceforth be presented with a certificate in hand.
Since Aegidius Tschudi ( Chronicon Helveticum ) the leaders of these envoys (the three confederates ) equated with Werner Stauffacher of Schwyz, Uri and Walter Fürst, Arnold von MELCHTAL of Unterwalden. Other variants replaced by Prince Wilhelm Tell.
- 2.1 symbolism
- 2.2 iconography
History
The Rütlischwur is first mentioned in the White Paper of Sarnen 1470/1474, though still without dating. The historian Aegidius Tschudi sat firmly in his mid-16th century Swiss chronicle incurred the date of the Rütli oath on the " Wednesday before Martini " in 1307, so on November 8, 1307.
Founding myth
Towards the end of the 19th century not assignable founding myth was replaced by the Rütlischwur by a new foundation myth. The idea to set it as the founding year of the Confederation and the beginning of August as National Day 1291, goes back to the initiative of the Bernese. In Bern wanted to celebrate in 1891 the 700th anniversary of the city. The connection to a 600 - year celebration of the Confederation came in handy there. The report, which the Department of the Interior wrote on November 21, 1889, the Federal Council, for a two-day celebration in Bern is actually provided, not in central Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of the beginning of August 1291, a Latin written document by which the leadership groups of the three -sealable valleys mutually sought to protect the room against claims from the bottom and political rivals, had chosen a document that was not without controversy. Historian counted in the 19th century for the period 1251-1386 82 documents that similar frets were sealed. In particular, the Confederation of wells ( 1315) was considered by many as the true founding of the Swiss Confederation, because if you do not ever emanated from a stepwise formation of the Confederation. Be held until the 20th century, Tschudi date of Riitli oath as the founding year of Confederation. 1907 was celebrated in Altdorf in the presence of a delegation from the Federal 600 - year anniversary of the Swiss Confederation. Since then, the memory of 1307 has lost the date of the Rütli oath and thus as the founding year of Confederation. In the new national myth, which in the time of World War II - including the Riitli repeat of General Henri Guisan, or with the 650 - year celebration of 1941 - was coined, the Rütlischwur myth linked more and more with the August 1, be decided by the Federal Council in 1889 Swiss National Day (actually " federal holiday ").
Holiday
The federal holiday was until very recently, no public holiday in Switzerland. An in Switzerland officially non-working federal holiday was only by means of a revision of the Federal Constitution. This revision was launched by the popular initiative " for a non-working federal holiday ( 1st August ) initiative ," which had been accepted by the people and cantons on 26 September 1993. Since 1994, August 1 thus is free of work in Switzerland. Article 110 of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation is: " The August 1st federal holiday. He is working legally assimilated and paid for Sundays. "
The actual celebration that is celebrated in the villages and towns with traditional ceremonial address and bonfires, can - depending on local custom - however already held the evening of July 31, such as in Basel and Biel / Bienne.
The Rütlischwur in the drama William Tell
Closely associated with the Rütlischwur is Friedrich Schiller's design of the legend of William Tell:
The Three Confederates
Symbolism
The three confederates among the founding myths of Switzerland and by them conveyed idea of equality in diversity is an in Swiss state ideology recurring motif.
The strongest motive of the three confederates is the much-touted diversity in unity. Three men of different backgrounds, of different ages and with different motivations can be found equally in a common goal again. The three confederates stand for a cooperating community that creates it with the help of this cooperation, to replace an existing, perceived as unjust law invoked by a social contract. The symbolism of numbers is also very meaningful and is here for three nations, three generations and three estates ( peasants, bourgeoisie and artisan class ).
While the lone William Tell was recovered towards the end of the 19th century, especially from nationalist movements, the labor movement claimed the three- Confederates motif for itself as a symbol of a classless society in which the workers, peasants and workers to stand together in solidarity.
Iconography
While in early representations of the three confederates these stand alone, they are later accompanied by their respective followers, which represents " the only nation of brothers ."
From the middle of the 16th century pictorial representations of the three confederates motif became popular. The best known is probably The three Swiss swearing on the Rütli the painter Johann Heinrich Füssli of 1780 the painting. The often pictured, fed from three sources and also mythological fountain on the Riitli was inaugurated in 1865. Imposing monumental group created by James Vibert The three confederates in the domed hall of the Federal Palace in Bern.
At a presentation from 1908 one of the three confederates is depicted as a woman, so that the " only nation of brothers ' first time, the " sisters " that involved.