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''Eidgenossenschaft'' () is a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
word specific to the political history of Switzerland. It means "
oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...
commonwealth" or "oath alliance" in reference to the "eternal pacts" formed between the Eight Cantons of the
Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
of the late medieval period, most notably in
Swiss historiography The historiography of Switzerland is the study of the history of Switzerland. Early accounts of the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy are found in the numerous Swiss chronicles of the 14th to 16th centuries. As elsewhere in Europe, these l ...
being the Rütlischwur between the three founding cantons
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Isla ...
,
Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ...
and
Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or ''Talschaften'', now t ...
, traditionally dated to 1307. In modern usage, it is the German term used as equivalent with "
Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
" in the official name of Switzerland, ''Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft'', rendered ''Confédération'' and ''Confederazione'' in French and Italian, respectively. The related adjective, ''eidgenössisch'', officially translated as ''Swiss federal'', is used in the name of organisations, for example the '' Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'', ''Swiss Federal Institute of Technology''. The term ''Eidgenosse'' (literally: ''comrade by oath'') refers to the individual members of the ''Eidgenossenschaft''. It is attested as early as 1315, in the Pact of Brunnen (as ''Eitgenoze''), referring to the cantons of
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Isla ...
,
Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ...
and
Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or ''Talschaften'', now t ...
. The abstract noun ''Eidgenossenschaft'' (mostly contracted to ''eidgnoszschaft'' or ''eidgnoschaft'') is attested in the 15th century. In modern usage, ''Eidgenosse'' is sometimes used (in archaic or ironic usage) for "
Swiss citizen Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be obtained by birth or naturalisation. The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles: * Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, canton, and mu ...
", especially for those citizens of purely Swiss origin, not immigrated.NZZ: Schweizer – aber niemals Eidgenosse
/ref> In a historical context, ''Eidgenossenschaft'' refers to the medieval
Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...
, which grew from the 13th to the 16th century in central Europe, persisted until 1798 and then evolved into a
federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
in the 19th century. When used in this sense, the eternal nature of the pact is necessary—the members of the ''Dreizehn Orte'' (
Thirteen Cantons The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy ('' Eidgenossenschaft'', also known as the "Swiss Republic" or ''Republica Helvetiorum'') and its constituent Thirteen Cantons encompasses the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648 ...
), frequently made time-limited alliances sworn by oath with other partners, but such pacts were not considered an ''Eidgenossenschaft''. The members of an ''Eidgenossenschaft'' are called ''Eidgenossen'' (singular ''Eidgenosse''). This term is documented in an alliance from 1351 between the communal, countrified lieus of
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Isla ...
,
Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ...
and
Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or ''Talschaften'', now t ...
and the civic city lieus of
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...
and
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...
, which referred to themselves as such. In the evolution of the Swiss Confederacy, the members initially were not united by one single pact, but rather by a whole set of overlapping pacts and separate bilateral treaties between various members. The abstraction to the singular use of ''Eidgenossenschaft'', which implies a stronger sense of community and the perception of a strong common cause, did not occur until some forty years later, after the
Battle of Sempach The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loo ...
, although it began already in the ''
Pfaffenbrief The Pfaffenbrief is a contract dated to October 7, 1370, between six states of the Old Swiss Confederacy, Zürich, Lucerne, Zug, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden (with Bern and Glarus missing). In the Pfaffenbrief they for the first time expresse ...
'' of 1370, a treaty among some of the then eight members of the Swiss Confederacy. The
communal movement in medieval Europe Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. ...
often led to similar alliances or leagues, called ''conjurationes'' in the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
of the official documents of the time. The city alliances (german: Städtebünde) in the medieval
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, in which the member cities also were equal, can be regarded as ''Eidgenossenschaften'', too, although they generally proved less stable, partly due to their fragmented territories. The best known of these city alliances was the Hanseatic League, but many others existed in the 13th and 14th century. An early example is the Lombard League at the time of Frederick I "Barbarossa"; an example from Switzerland would be the " Burgundian Confederacy" of Bern. In the Holy Roman Empire, emperor Charles IV outlawed any such ''conjurationes, confederationes,'' and ''conspirationes'' in his
Golden Bull of 1356 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the co ...
. Most ''Städtebünde'' were subsequently dissolved, sometimes forcibly, and where refounded, their political influence was much reduced. On the Swiss ''Eidgenossenschaft'', however, the
edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Pr ...
had no such effect as Charles IV, who was of the
House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as ki ...
, regarded the Swiss as potential useful allies against his rivals, the Habsburgs.


References

* {{HDS, 26413, Eidgenossenschaft German words and phrases Old Swiss Confederacy Society of Switzerland