1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: a show that charts the hits and misses of everyday history. 4 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Bluesier, and in this episode we're looking at 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: the potentially tall tale of William Tell, the Swiss marksman 6 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: who disrespected a hat, shot an apple, and founded a country, 7 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 1: all in the same day. The day was November seven. 8 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: According to legend, a Swiss farmer and skilled hunter named 9 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: William Tell shot an apple off his son's head with 10 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: a crossbow. The spectacle occurred after Tell offended the agent 11 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: of an Austrian duke and was ordered to prove his 12 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: marksmanship to save he and his son's lives. Tell became 13 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: a folk hero from that day forward after making the shot, 14 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: and he remains a symbol of political freedom in Switzerland 15 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: even today. In some ways, the legend serves as a 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,639 Speaker 1: kind of origin story for the country. It takes place 17 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,639 Speaker 1: at the turn of the fourteenth century, when the valley 18 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: communities of the Central Alps first formed an alliance known 19 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: as the Old Swiss Confederacy, the precursor to the modern 20 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:42,119 Speaker 1: state of Switzerland. By th oh seven, these communities had 21 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: fallen under the control of the Austrian Dukes of the 22 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: House of Habsburg, a powerful German dynasty that still exists today. 23 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: Among the most tyrannical of these foreign rulers was a 24 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: man named Albrecht Guessler. He was positioned as a represent 25 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: ative of the dukes in Altdorf, the largest town in 26 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: the Swiss Canton of Uri. In a petty show of strength, 27 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: Guessler placed a Hapsburg style hat on a pole in 28 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: the center of the town square and declared that all 29 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: passers by must take off their own hats as a 30 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: show of respect to their subjugators. One day, a local 31 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: farmer named William Tell strolled into town with his son, 32 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: and when they reached the market square, Tell didn't take 33 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,959 Speaker 1: off his hat. He was immediately seized and taken before 34 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: a guessler, who had heard that Tell was a crack 35 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: shot with a crossbow. Guessler decided to toy with the 36 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: man and put that claim to fame to the test. 37 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: He ordered an apple to be placed on the head 38 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: of Tell's son. Then he told the farmer to march 39 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty paces back and to shoot the 40 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: apple with a single arrow. If he failed or refused 41 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: both he and his son would be executed. Tell took 42 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: his position, loaded his crossbow, took aim, and fired an 43 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: arrow directly into the apple. When it was over, Guessler 44 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: asked why Tell had placed a second arrow inside his jacket, 45 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: since the contest only allowed him a single shot. Tell 46 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: replied that if the first arrow had pierced his son, 47 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: he would have shot the second at Guessler and he 48 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't have missed, as you might expect. Guessler didn't take 49 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: kindly to the threat. He ordered that William Tell be 50 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: tied up again and this time taken to a dungeon 51 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: on the other side of Lake Lucerne. Guessler was so 52 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: eager to witness Tell suffering that he accompanied him to 53 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: the dungeon himself, or at least that was the plan. 54 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: While making their way across Lake Lucerne, a violent wind 55 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: is said to have kicked up, and since Tell was 56 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: the only man aboard strong enough to steer through the storm, 57 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: he was released from his bonds. Tell steered the boat 58 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: to the safety of a flat rock along the lake's 59 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: south shore. Then he jumped ashore and kicked the boat, 60 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: along with Guessler and his crew, back out into the 61 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: choppy waters from there, Tell trekked through twenty miles of 62 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: dark forests and mountain passes until he arrived at the 63 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: main road leading to the castle where he was meant 64 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,479 Speaker 1: to be taken. Here, he lied in wait until Guessler 65 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: and his men finally made it to shore. When he 66 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: had the man in his sights, Tell appeared from behind 67 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: a tree and shot Guessler dead with that trusty second arrow. 68 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: After dispatching his foe, William Tell traveled to the nearby 69 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: meadow of Route Lely, where he met with leaders from 70 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: three neighboring cantons who longed to overthrow the Habsburgs who 71 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: sees the or land. The four men swore a legendary 72 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: oath that day, the most popular version of which comes 73 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: from the William Tell play by Friedrich Schiller. One English 74 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: translation reads as follows. We shall be a single people 75 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: of brethren, never to part in danger nor distress. We 76 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 1: shall be free just as our fathers were, and rather 77 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: die than live in slavery. We shall trust in the 78 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: one Highest God and never be afraid of human power. 79 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: Once the Rootly oath was taken, the representatives ordered bonfires 80 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: to be lit on the mountain tops, a signal that 81 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: the uprising against Austrian rule had officially begun. The story 82 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: of William Tell is a cherished part of Swiss culture, 83 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: and that remains the case whether or not it actually happened. 84 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: The revolt against the Hapsburgs and the birth of the 85 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: Swiss Confederacy that all happened for sure, though evidence now 86 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: points to it occurring in twelve ninety one, not thirteen 87 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: o seven. In case you're wondering, we're sticking with the 88 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: thirteen o seven date for tradition's sake. After all, that's 89 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: the date they still use an ury. But as for 90 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: William Tell, there's no proof he ever existed or that 91 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: anyone in the region actually made the two famous arrow 92 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: shots that made him a legend. In fact, the first 93 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: written account of Tell's feats didn't appear until the late 94 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, about two hundred and fifty years after the 95 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: events it describes. In reality, the story of William Tell 96 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: and the Apple Shot was probably borrowed from a similar 97 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: legend that got its start in Denmark. The story then 98 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: became intertwined with the true history of the founding of 99 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: the Swiss Federation. The apple Shot gets most of the attention, 100 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: but it's that meeting in Routely that was truly notable. 101 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: It was a risky prospect that a loose collection of 102 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: towns and villages could come together to rebel against a 103 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: common oppressor and establish their own form of government. The 104 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: people of the old Swiss Cantons were bold enough to 105 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: take that chance. Whether an Apple was involved or not, 106 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: no one knows for sure if William Tell really existed, 107 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: but his story has been a symbol of Swiss pride 108 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: for over seven hundred years in counting. The truth is 109 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: that his spirit of defiance has real meaning either way. 110 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: It's an inspiration not just to the Swiss, but to 111 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: anyone who stands against the bullies of the world, the 112 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: type who would rather see you dead than let you 113 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: disrespect their hat. I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now 114 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 115 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: If you liked what you heard, you can keep up 116 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: with the show on Twitter, Facebook, an Instagram at t 117 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: D i HC Show. You can also rate and review 118 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcasts. That's always appreciated. And lastly, 119 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: you can also write to us at this day at 120 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: I heeart media dot com. I'd love to hear what 121 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: you'd rather shoot with, an arrow, an apple, or a hat, 122 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: and in either case, which kind. Thanks to Chandler Mays 123 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 124 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 125 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: history class. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit 126 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 127 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.