The Basics

Want to know the facts about Bundesbrief 1291AD?

Federal Charter of 1291

The Federal Charter or Letter of Alliance (in German Bundesbrief) documents the Eternal Alliance or League Of The Three Forest Cantons (in German Ewiger Bund der Drei Waldstätten), the union of three cantons in what is now central Switzerland, formed in early August, 1291.

This inaugural confederation grew through a long series of accessions to modern Switzerland. The Alliance was concluded between areas Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden (homines vallis Uranie universitasque vallis de Switz ac communitas hominum Intramontanorum Vallis Inferioris). The participants are referred to as conspirati and (synonymously) coniurati, traditionally translated in German as "Eidgenossen".

The league was set up as a league for defense purposes against any attacker, probably prompted by the death of Rudolf I of Habsburg on 15 July 1291. Before his death, Habsburg attempted to reinforce his claim over Schwyz and Unterwalden which meant a succession of military interventions.

The Bundesbrief is often compared to the English Magna Carta for its similar dates and circumstances, yet differs in its content. The Magna Carta of 1215AD is often thought of as the corner-stone of liberty and the chief defense against arbitrary and unjust rule in England. It is a series of concessions wrung from the unwilling King John by his rebellious barons in 1215. However, Magna Carta established for the first time a very significant constitutional principle: that the power of the king could be limited by a written grant.

Three copies of the original Bundesbrief were created; two survive; one from Schwyz which resides in its cantonal museum.

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