- White Book of Sarnen
The "White Book of Sarnen" (German: "Weisses Buch von Sarnen") is a collection of medieval
manuscripts compiled in the late15th century byHans Schriber in the canton ofObwalden . This volume, 258 pages in length, was given its name because of the white parchment in which it is bound. TheWhite Book of Sarnen contains the earliest surviving reference to theSwiss national heroWilliam Tell .Composition and Structure
The "White Book of Sarnen" was composed in
1474 by a country scribe calledHans Schriber .Bergier, p 63.] Schriber’s book consists of two parts. The longer first part contains seventy-seven different documents that Schriber copied from original documents stored in the archives ofSarnen .Johnson, p 428.] To this documentary section, Schriber added a brief report on the early history of theSwiss Confederation .Bergier, p 63.] This second part, 25 pages in length, makes mention of theRütli oath (German: Rütlischwur), the Burgenbruch, and William Tell’s heroic deeds.Bergier, p 63.]Influence
Although the "White Book of Sarnen" contains the earliest of any surviving William Tell tales, it did not contribute much to the popularity of the William Tell legend, as only a small number of people, such as the two chroniclers
Petermann Etterlin andAegidius Tschudi , had access to this document.Bergier, p 63.]The only surviving copy of the "White Book of Sarnen", which was long believed to be lost, was only accidentally discovered in
1856 .Bergier, p 64.] However, researchers tend to disagree on whether or not the "White Book of Sarnen", which is preserved in the public record office of the canton of Obwalden, is merely a copy of an older manuscript written around1426 .Bergier, p 65-69.]Notes
References
*Bergier, Jean-François. "Wilhelm Tell: Realität und Mythos". München: Paul List Verlag, 1990.
*Johnson, Edgar N. "Reviews" "Speculum" 26.2 (1951): 428-430.
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