History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, &c., Volume 4Merle d'Aubigné, J. H. (Jean Henri)
History
History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, &c., Volume 4
Merle d'Aubigné, J. H. (Jean Henri)
Reformation
At Wesen, where Schwytz exercised sovereignty conjointly with Glaris,
the deputies of the former canton threatened the people. Upon this the
young men took the images out of the churches, carried them to an open
place near the banks of the picturesque lake of Wallenstadt, above
which soar the mountains of the Ammon and of the Seven Electors, and
cried: "Look! this road (that by the lake) leads to Coire and to Rome;
that (to the south) to Glaris; this other (to the west) to Schwytz;
and the fourth (by the Ammon) to St. Gall. Take which you please! But
if you do not move off, you shall be burnt!" After waiting a few
moments, these young people flung the motionless images into the fire,
and the Schwytz deputies, eye-witnesses of this execution, withdrew
in consternation, and filled the whole canton with projects of
vengeance that were but too soon realized.
In the canton of Appenzell, where a conference had been opened, there
suddenly appeared a band of Roman-catholics, armed with whips and
clubs, and crying out: "Where are these preachers? we are resolved to
put them out of the village!" These strange doctors wounded the
ministers and dispersed the assembly with their whips. Out of the
eight parishes of the canton, six embraced the Reform, and Appenzell
became finally divided into little sections, the one Romanist and the
other Reformed.
In the Grisons religious liberty was proclaimed; the parishes had the
election of their pastors, several castles were rased to the ground to
render all return to arbitrary government impossible, and the
affrighted bishop went and hid in the Tyrol his anger and his desire
for vengeance. "The Grisons," said Zwingle, "advance daily. It is a
nation that by its courage reminds us of the ancient Tuscans, and by
its candour of the ancient Swiss."[943]
[943] Gens animo veteres Tuscos referens, candore veteres Helvetios.
(Zw. Epp.)
[Sidenote: OBSTACLES IN BASLE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account