League of God's House: Difference between revisions

League of God's House Gotteshausbund (de) Italian: Lega Caddea Romansh: Lia da la Chadé)
1367–1799
Coat of arms of the League of God's House
The League of the Ten Jurisdictions is shown in orange within the Three Leagues. The Grey League in shades of brown, the League of God's House in green and subject territories, subsequently lost, in grey.
Status	Associate of the Old Swiss Confederacy
Capital	Chur
Government	Republic
Historical era	Middle Ages
• League of God's House founded	1367 1367
• Standing council formed	1409
• Closer ties to Three     Leagues and de facto     independence (HRE)	late 15th century
• Ilanzer Article removes Bishops     political power	1524 to 1526
• Annexed to the     Helvetic Republic	April 21 1799 1799
Preceded by Succeeded by Chur Domleschg Schams Oberhalbstein Oberengadin Unterengadin Bergell Poschiavo Fünf Dörfer Canton of Raetia

The League of God's House (German: Gotteshausbund, Italian: Lega Caddea, Romansh: Lia da la Chadé) was formed in what is now Switzerland on January 29, 1367 to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions in 1471 to form the Three Leagues. The League of God's House, together with the two other Leagues, was allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy throughout the 15^th and 16^th Centuries. After the Napoleonic wars the League of God's House became a part of the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

Before the League

The region that would become the League of God's house has always been heavily influenced by the Diocese of Chur. The Bishop of Chur is first mentioned in 451 when its Bishop St. Asimo attended the Synod of Milan (Mansi, IV, 141), but probably existed a century earlier. During the 5^th and 6^th Centuries there is evidence of an extensive Romanisation and conversion to Christianity in the region around Chur^[1]. In 536 the region was conquered by the Merovingian Kingdom, but due to distance and isolation it quickly fell back into De facto independence. During this time the region was known as Churrätien or Churwalchen and occupied politically virtually the same territory that the Bishopric of Chur spiritually led. In 773 the political and spiritual power in the region was consolidated into a single family. However this situation only lasted until 806 when Charlemagne split the political and spiritual power into two. This split and the resulting conflicts let to the collapse of Churrätien and the creation of numerous small independent communities, with the power center of Chur in the middle. For centuries after the split, the Bishops of Chur wished to expand their power both politically and spiritually^[2].

Foundation of the League

By the 14^th Century the core communities of the Bishopric of Chur lay along the north-south road on the Septimer-Julier route. The Bishop ruled the region around Chur and had the right of high judgement in the Fünf Dörfer, Chur, Oberhalbstein, Oberengadin, Bergell, Schams, Rheinwald, Unterengadin and Vinschgau.

After 1363 relationships between the Bishop of Chur and his subjects worsened. The Austrian Dukes from the House of Habsburg had aquired the county of Tyrol which included Münstertal and Unterengadin and were trying to expand into the Bishopric of Chur. The foreign and frequently absend Bishop Peter Gelyto von Böhmen, who had driven the Bishopric deep into debt, was willing to sell the political leadership of the area in exchange for a yearly salary. As a first step, in 1366 he rented out the fortress Fürstenburg at Burgeis in the Vinschgau. In response to this development representatives from the cathedral church of St. Luzius, the valley communities and the city of Chur met in 1365 in Zernez. On January 29, 1367 they met again in Chur, with revolution in mind.

The meeting represented the three sources of power in the area. First, the spiritual, represented by the Bishop's cathedral. Second the large valley communities Domleschg and Schams (6 Representatives), Oberhalbstein (4), Bergell (6), Oberengadin (3) und Unterengadin (2). Third, the citizens of Chur. The group met without the Bishop and voted against him, by limiting his power sharply and demanding power over financial matters.

The decision of 1367 was not a formal federation or alliance, but represented a desire to stick together in a crisis. However the decision included a desire to hold future Bundestag or assemblies and to closely monitor the power of the Bishop. These future meetings set the stage for closer alliances between the individual communities. In 1409 they established a standing council and appointed a Vogt or bailiff over the Bishop. Between 1524 and 1526 the Ilanzer Article removed the last political power that the Bishop held.

Three Leagues

After about 1471 the three separate Leagues were allied together as the Three Leagues. The Bundesbrief of September 23, 1524 created a constitution for the Three Leagues that would remain until the Napoleonic dissolution of the League. However the League was not a unified state in the modern sense. The Three Leagues worked together as a federation of three states and virtually all affairs of the League were settled by referendum. The Three Leagues were also unique in early modern Europe in that it was the only territory were all decisions were made by communalism, with the Leagues founded, governed and defended by cooperative decisions.

The Three Leagues were normally allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the Hapsburgs. The Musso war against the Duchy of Milan in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League would remain an associate to the Swiss until the Napoleonic Wars, when it was absorbed into the Helvetic Republic. After the Napoleonic Act of Mediation, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden.

See also

• Battle of Calven
• Three Leagues

External links

• League of God's House in Romansh, German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Churrätien in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Chur (Diocese, Prince-Bishopric) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.Error in template * invalid parameter (Template:HDS): "1"

References