- Chronicon Helveticum
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The Chronicon Helveticum (Latin: ‘Swiss Chronicle’) is one of the oldest accounts of the early history of the Swiss Confederation.
The rough draft of the Chronicon Helveticum was written by the historian Aegidius Tschudi from Glarus in 1550.[1] Although Tschudi seems to have made the last revisions to his Chronicon Helveticum between 1569 and 1570, his monumental work did not appear in printed form until Johann Rudolf Iselin published a two-volume edition of the chronicle in 1734.[2] To Iselin, we furthermore owe the title Chronicon Helveticum.[3]
Tschudi’s Chronicon Helveticum plays an important part in the historiography of Switzerland, since it contains copies of about 50 documents which have not survived in any other form.[4] In terms of content, Tschudi is particularly interested in representing the long-established independence of the Swiss population.[3] Furthermore, Tschudi makes mention of the struggle between empire and papacy, the crusades as well as of a large number of issues concerning Swiss cities, dioceses and monasteries.[3]
Furthermore, Tschudi’s Chronicon Helveticum contains much valuable material for the study of the William Tell legend.[5]
It is probably due to these circumstances that Tschudi’s Chronicon Helveticum became a model for later writers dealing with William Tell. Not only did Tschudi’s chronicle become the major source for Johannes von Müller’s History of the Swiss Confederation (German: Geschichten Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft), it also served as a model for Friedrich Schiller’s play William Tell.[1]
Notes
References
- Bergier, Jean-François. Wilhelm Tell: Realität und Mythos. München: Paul List Verlag, 1990.
- Potter, G. R. The English Historical Review' 85.335 (1970): 393.
- Stump, Philipp, H. Speculum 70.1 (1995): 215-217.
- Tell Museum. Führer durch das Tell-Museum in Bürglen am Klausenpass.
Categories:- Chronicles
- History of Switzerland
- 1550s books
- 16th-century history books
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