The White Paper of Sarnen (German: Weisse Buch von Sarnen ) is a manuscript collection of historical chronicles and documents of medieval Switzerland , compiled by the chronicler Hans Schrieber in 1470-1472, having his own additions until 1474 and continued by five other authors from 1481 to 1607. It is stored in the state archive of the Witches Tower of the city of Zarnen .
Contents
Zarnen's white paper consists of two parts. In its first part, approximately 350 pages set out the contents of various documents related to the history, economy and property relations of the canton of Obwalden , including those relating to relations between members of the emerging Confederation. These are texts containing data on various cities and regions of central Switzerland, princes and rulers, bishops and clergy, French and German kings, decisions on fishing rights, streamlining of navigation between Lucerne and Alpnach from 1424, border issues and more, starting from 1315 of the year.
The second part, with 22 pages, describes the history of the cantons of Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden . Here, for the first time, we are informed, based on earlier sources of the mid-14th century, the main points of the subsequently legendary story of the Swiss gaining their freedom from foreign rulers and those images of history appear that later became textbook: an evil vogt that grossly violated its competence and scoffed at the weak and the poor; the path leading to the “Rutli's oath” and the creation of the Confederation, etc. It also reports about a certain “Thall” ( Wilhelm Tell ), and his adversary “Gijssler”, Landogt Uri and Schwitz German Gessler , who hung the Archduke’s hat on the linden of the central Square in Altdorf .
History
In 1507, chronicler Petermann Etterlin transferred part of the texts from the White Paper, primarily the story of William Tell , to his Chronicle of the Swiss Confederation. Also, the historian from Glarus Egidius the Wonders in the middle of the XVI century combined information from the White Book and a number of other sources familiar to him. As a result, the “History of Switzerland” ( Chronicon Helveticum ), quite popular for several centuries, appeared. Science does not have comprehensive evidence about the historical reliability of the events described in it. However, after Friedrich Schiller wrote his drama “ William Tell, ” the story from the White Paper gained worldwide fame, while its first “creator,” G. Schriber, was completely forgotten.
Secondly, the White Paper of Zarnen was discovered by chance in 1854 , in an abandoned attic, among old papers. Arriving on a call to Zarnen, the Zurich State Archivist Gerold Meyer von Knonau immediately recognized in the find one of the largest written national monuments of the country. Later, the Zurich professor of history, Georg von Wiss, also learned about the White Paper, and a fight broke out between him and von Knonau for the right to publish the source for the first time. Only in 1928, the state archivist Robert Durrer of Nidwalden managed to scientifically prove that it was Hans Schriber who authored the White Paper and, accordingly, the story of William Tell. As the Germanist Peter von Matt wrote about the White Paper and Hans Schriber, not a single Swiss author created works of greater significance (“Kein Schweizer Autor hat je ein Werk von grösserer Wirkung verfasst.”) .
Since 2012, you can see the facsimile of Sarnen's white paper also online.
Literature
- Gerold Meyer von Knonau: Die Chronik im weissen Buche zu Sarnen . Zürich, 1857.
Add-ons
- Eintrag im handschriftencensus
- Veröffentlichungen zum Weissen Buch im Opac der Regesta Imperii
- Das Weisse Buch von Sarnen , Vollständiges Digitalisat in der Virtuellen Handschriftenbibliothek der Schweiz
- Beschreibung von Regula Schmid Keeling, 2012 in der Virtuellen Handschriftenbibliothek der Schweiz e-codices