Albrecht von Bonstetten (c. 1443-c. 1504) was a Swiss

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

of the later 15th century. A member of the

baronial Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

von Bonstetten Bonstetten was the name of a noble family originally from Bonstetten, Switzerland (now in the Swiss canton of Zürich). First mentioned in 1122 with one ''Henricus de Bonstadin'', the family held the office of reeves in Zürich in the 13th centur ...

'' family, he entered

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...

at a young age, and after studies in

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

he returned to Einsiedeln and was made

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1469. He studied canon law at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

and was ordained a priest in 1474, and he received the title of ''doctor utriusque iuris'' from Emperor Maximilian in 1498. He published a biography on

Nicholas of Flüe Nicholas of Flüe (german: Niklaus von Flüe; 1417 – 21 March 1487) was a Swiss hermit and ascetic who is the patron saint of Switzerland. He is sometimes invoked as Brother Klaus. A farmer, military leader, member of the assembly, councillo ...

called ''Historia fratris Nicholai'' in 1479. He is the author of a number of religious and historiographical works in Latin. His ''Superioris Germaniae Confoederationis descriptio'' (written in 1479) is the oldest geographic description of the

Old 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 ...

(called by von Bonstetten the "Upper German Confederacy"; the adoption of the name of ''Schwyz'' developed after his time). The work was presented to the

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

and the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

in 1479, and was combined with a description of Burgundy in a new edition for pope

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

in 1480. Also in 1480, the work appeared in German translation, as ''Obertütscheit

Eidgnosschaft ''Eidgenossenschaft'' () is a German word specific to the political history of Switzerland. It means "oath commonwealth" or "oath alliance" in reference to the "eternal pacts" formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of t ...

stett und lender gelägenheit''. It was edited by

Gall Morel Gall Morel, O.S.B., was a poet, scholar, aesthete, and educationist, born at St. Gallen, Switzerland, on 24 March 1803; died at the Abbey of Einsiedeln on 16 December 1872. His baptismal name was Benedict, but in the monastery he took the name of ...

in 1847.G. Morel, "Alberti de Bonstetten Descriptio Helvetiae = (Schilderung der Eidgenossenschaft von Albert von Bonstetten)", ''Mitteilungen der antiquarischen Gesellschaft in Zürich'' 3 (1845–1847), 94–105.

References

* *A. Erdös, 'Anfänge der Schweizer Landeskunde. Aus der Beschreibung der Eidgenossenschaft durch Albrecht von Bonstetten (1479)', in: ''Turicensia Latina. Lateinische Texte zur Geschichte Zürichs aus Altertum, Mittelalter und Neuzeit'', cur. P. Stotz – D. Vitali, Zürich 2003, 122–128. *Cl. Sieber-Lehmann, 'Albrecht von Bonstettens geographische Darstellung der Schweiz von 1479', ''Cartographica Helvetica'' 16, 1997, 39–46. *G. Morel, 'Albrecht von Bonstetten, Decan in Einsiedeln', ''Der Geschichtsfreund. Mitteilungen des historischen Vereins der fünf Orte Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden und Zug'' 3 (1846), 3–29. *A. Büchi, ''Albrecht von Bonstetten. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Humanismus in der Schweiz'', Frauenfeld (1889) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonstetten, Albert von 15th-century Swiss historians Swiss geographers 1443 births 1504 deaths 15th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests People from Einsiedeln