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Swiss Arms

Chapter 50

-VB-

Daniel Martinez

European History 313

Professor de Martrado

February 21, 2012

The Compact: The People

A genius hides among us but we would not know until they show themselves in one way or another. This obvious but sometimes forgotten fact exemplifies how the then Compact of the Nine of the Central Alps came to be. Though we may look and say that the Compact’s rise was foretold by the geographical placement and innovative people who founded it, we would do so with rose-tinted glasses. Yes, I am stating right off the bat that the Compact of the Nine did not so easily ascendance the political mayhem that was the court of the Holy Roman Empire because of its resource-rich mountains or the valuable trans-Alps trade route but because of the people who raised and protected.

The most unacknowledged leader of the Compact of the Nine is the Prince-Bishop Siegfried von Gelnhausen of Chur. Despite the fact that he was not the ruler of a prominent princely state or diocese, the bishop was a well-connected man whose reach extended as far west as London, England, and far south as Palmero, Sicily. He used this connection to send gifts to major and minor powerbrokers, who would become enthralled by the ever-evolving luxuries that trickled out of the desolate Alps. He then used this influence to back Louis XI, the future Holy Roman Emperor, against his brother when the two latter men were co-rulers of the Duchy of Upper Bavaria. This was very important, though underreported because the form of the bishop’s help was calling upon his favors from the neighboring city-state of Zurich. Getting Zurich in contact with the Compact of the Nine proved to be a decision that would outlive the bishop because the growing Compact and Zurich would Treaty of Friendship that would last right up to the Thirty Years War.

The Compact of the Nine consisted of eight small villages and the reduced Prince-Bishopric of Chur, a once regionally powerful but nearly ruined in the Unruly Year, but before it was the Nine, it was the Eight and the man who brought it to life was Alan Marris. Though we know him more for his contribution to science than any other field, he was an able commander, warrior, and leader. The people of the Alps were not a united people like we see them today. Each village could be more influenced by their German neighbors or their Italian counterpart or even be a wholly different ethnicity whose language was neither German nor Italian. This is even more so in the area that Marris set up the Compact. It is perfectly situated between the German-influenced areas and Italian-influenced region with a population who were neither German nor Italian. If we accept the geographic determinists, then this was the worst combination of territory, people, and era to give life to a new nation but Marris did because the alternative was each village dying alone during the Unruly Year. He, a mere peasant at the time, forged his own armor and weapon before taking the fight to the nobles and lords who tore at each other. He bested the Count of Zernez, the Count of Sax-Misox, the Count of Werdenberg, and then torched Toggenburg Castle. This is the equivalent of an African rural boy rising up to become a warlord of Namibia, beating back all of his neighbors one by one with an army weaker and smaller than any one of them. Oh and doing so while sneaking around the back and beheading each president of the invading countries except one.

If being a capable leader, unmatched warrior, and scientist wasn’t enough for Marris, he went and forged alliances that would last for generations … with the children of the lords he killed. One of the most prominent example of this was Lord John of Toggenburg, son of the Toggenburg lord Marris burned. As part of the peace treaty that ended the Unruly Year, Marris took in John von Toggenburg as his ward. Instead of treating the boy-count as a prisoner to be kept at arm’s length, he educated the boy as best as he could while emotionally connecting them. At the end of five years of fostering, John had become an ally of the Compact instead of an enemy, and would later petition and successfully join the Compact as its ***** member.

Another underrated leader of the Compact is Lady Isabella of …

-VB-

Duke Louis of Upper Bavaria stared at the letter in his hands before he set it down on his wooden table.

It was merely a month before the Christmas festival in Munich, so the letter could not have arrived at a better time; everyone thought him too busy with setting up the celebration to consider that someone would have sent such a vital letter to him.

And the contents…

When the new year came, his brother would have a lot to be shocked about.

However, how was he going to shock Rudolf? His overly serious and territorial brother would certainly hate how he learned about his work when he was obviously trying to keep it under wraps. After all, it would be a hit to both the image of the Duke of Upper Bavaria and his ego. On the other hand, overtly embarrassing his brother would mean that it wouldn’t be just Rudolf who would feel the damage but also himself. Louis knew that wouldn’t do, not when he was the co-ruler of the duchy.

No, no, no. He needed to make sure that Rudolf would lose his cool and do something … absurd. What kind of response would result in that?

… Something sly but not too subtle. Something Rudolf’s more discrete allies would hear about and thus Rudolf himself would. Something enraging but not bluntly actionable against him.

What could that be?

Oh.

Louis knew. He knew all about his brother.

Rudolf must be salivating about the potential profit from incorporating this Compact into his influence.

Why not preempt his brother and make a deal with the Compact first? If he did that while the two of them were vying for influence and favor of their uncle, then Rudolf will have to either sabotage his efforts or take out the Compact entirely? Of course, the latter will be ridiculous even for his short-tempered brother, so it would have to be a sabotage attempt.

Since Louis will be provoking this reaction, he already could guess how Rudolf might go about it with his current assets and friends. He already knew about his brother’s reach, so he would have prepared for the sabotage, capture the agents, and then report to his uncle, the emperor, about the “heinous acts unfitting

Louis will just sit back and let his less smart brother fumble along again while he reaped his brother’s attentiveness of the mountain folks.

It wasn’t like his brother would attack a new city-state. Not over something simple as not choosing his side, which happened all of the time.

-VB-

A/N: my name is not Daniel Martinez, so please don’t be that guy who looks up that name on facebook. Or twitter. Or instagram. You’ll find a dozen plus, hundred plus, people who might have that name.