The Castles of Bellinzona count among the most outstanding examples of heavy military architecture in the Alpine region. Because they safeguarded access to the Alpine passes, these late-medieval castles were of considerable value to the Duchy of Milan and coveted by the Old Swiss Confederation.
Ill-matched adversaries from the same corner of the country. In 1386, erstwhile ‘neighbours’ faced each other on the battlefield at Sempach. The age of knights and castles was coming to an end. The future belonged to the burgeoning cities and towns.
The plague epidemic in the Middle Ages, and its aftermath, readily invites comparison with the coronavirus pandemic. In his fascinating account of the ‘Great Plague’, however, historian Volker Reinhardt also warns of the limitations of such comparisons.
In the Middle Ages, pleas for divine assistance were often incorporated directly into and on the knights’ weapons. So the knights were fighting in the name of the Lord…
Carefully staged work of chivalric self-aggrandisement: The barons of Hohenklingen are depicted in front of the stable in Bethlehem, the same size as the Three Wise Men.
The legends of the saints are written without footnotes. They can’t be checked and verified. The significance of these legends lies in the moral ideal that lives on in elaborate portrayals as a gentle entreaty to follow their saintly example.
Before 1850, people in Switzerland used to pay with fat men, horses or cornutos. The Swiss franc has only been the single national currency since 1850. A peek into the wallets of days gone by.
