Federal Charter of 1291

About Federal Charter of 1291

Federal Charter of 1291

Citizens of Zürich on 1 May 1351 are read the Federal Charter as they swear allegiance to representatives of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne (Luzerner Schilling, 1513).

The 'Federal Charter' or 'Letter of Alliance' () documents the 'Eternal Alliance' or 'League Of The Three Forest Cantons' (), the union of three cantons in what is now central Switzerland, formed in early August, 1291.
This inaugural confederation grew through a long series of accessions to modern Switzerland. The Alliance was concluded between the people of the alpine areas of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden (''homines vallis Uranie universitasque vallis de Switz ac communitas hominum Intramontanorum Vallis Inferioris''). The participants are referred to as ''conspirati'' and (synonymously) ''coniurati'', traditionally translated in German as "Eidgenossen".
The league was set up as a league for defense purposes against any attacker, probably prompted by the death of Rudolf I of Habsburg on 15 July 1291. Before his death, Habsburg attempted to reinforce his claim over Schwyz and Unterwalden which meant a succession of military interventions.
The authenticity of the letter is disputed. Most historians agree that it is almost certainly a product of the 14th century. In 1991, the parchment was radiocarbon dated to between 1252 and 1312 (with a certainty of 85%). The document is thus certainly unrelated to the emergence of the modern federal state in 1848, as had sometimes been suggested before the carbon dating. It should rather be seen in the context of chapter 15 of the Golden Bull of 1356, where Charles IV outlawed any ''conjurationes, confederationes,'' and ''conspirationes'', meaning in particular the city alliances (''Städtebünde''), but also other communal leagues that had sprung up through the communal movement in medieval Europe.

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