Arnold von Winkelried
Winkelried cried: "I will open a passage into the line; protect, dear countrymen and confederates, my wife and children..." He then threw himself upon the Austrian pikes, taking some of them down with his body.As phrased in the Halbsuterlied printed in the 1530s by Aegidius Tschudi and Wernher Steiner: Des adels her was veste, ir ordnung dik und breit, Das verdross die frommen gäste, ein Winkelriet der seit wend Irs gniesen lon, min fromme kind und frowen, so will ich ein frevel bston.Trüwen lieben eydgnossen, min leben verlur ich mit, sie hand ir ordnung bschlossen, wir mogänds in brechen nit.von schuhen huwents dschnäbel, man hätt gefüllt ein wagen; der adel wolt vornen dran, die andern gmeinen knechte, müstend dahinden stan.They fastened their helmets and pushed forward They cut the tips off their shoes, as many as would have filled a cart The nobility wanted to take the front, while the common men-at-arms must stand back.This is given by means of explanation as to how the breaking of the first rank of pikes by Winkelried could lead to immediate disaster for the Austrian side, as the leaders of the army were fighting in the van.In the chronicle of Diebold Schilling of Berne (c. 1480), in the picture of the battle of Sempach there is a warrior pierced with spears falling to the ground, which may possibly be meant to be Winkelried.Liebenau supposes that because this Erni signed as the last of five witnesses, after one Hans Winkelried, he was presumably still a young man at this time, which would make him of mature age at the date of the battle.Juliusz Słowacki created this way of thinking in his dramatic poem "Kordian", where the titular character decides to kill the Tsar of Russia to take Poland's suffering on himself, easing a breakthrough to freedom for his nation.
Konrad GrobSwiss historiographyOld Swiss ConfederacyBattle of SempachHabsburgLeopold III of AustriapikemenHalbsuterliedAegidius TschudiWernher Steinershoe-tipsWinkelried MemorialFerdinand SchlöthZürcher ChronikEidgenossenDiebold Schilling of BerneDiebold Schilling of LucerneLucerneUnterwaldenSempacherliedBurgundian WarsSwiss ReformationWinkelriedHermann von Liebenauforeign servicelandammanRegensburgpike squareWilliam TellSwiss federal stateduring World War IINapoleonRalph Waldo EmersonHenry David ThoreauRestorationJorge Luis BorgesJuliusz Słowackidramatic poemKordianRussiaPolandAllgemeine Deutsche Biographiepublic domainCoolidge, William Augustus BrevoortChisholm, HughEncyclopædia BritannicaBorges, Jorge LuisGerman folkloreGerman-speaking countriesAlberichAlp (folklore)AskafroaAufhockerBahkauvBeerwolfBelsnickelBergmönchBiereselBogeymanBuschgroßmutterChangelingChristkindCompanions of Saint NicholasDoppelgängerDrak (mythology)Dwarf (folklore)Easter BunnyEkke NekkepennElwetritschErdhenneErlkingEwiger JägerFänggenFasoltFeuermann (ghost)FeldgeisterFrau HolleGütelHeimchenHeinzelmännchenHemannHinzelmannHödekinIrrwurzJack o' the bowlKlabautermannKlagmuhmeKing GoldemarKing LaurinKnecht RuprechtKoboldKrampusLindwormLoreleiLutzelfrauMare (folklore)MephistophelesMoss peopleNachtkrappNachzehrerNis PukNixie (folklore)Ork (folklore)PerchtaPetermännchenPoltergeistRasselbockRhinemaidensRübezahlSanta ClausSchratTatzelwurmTürstWeiße FrauenWiedergängerWild HuntWild manWill-o'-the-wispWitte WiwerWolpertingerAlbrecht GesslerAttilaBaron MunchausenBrunhildChristman GenipperteingaDietrich von Bern