The Grey League (german: Grauer Bund, it, Lega Grigia, rm, Ligia Grischa or ), sometimes called ''Oberbund'', formed in 1395 in the ''

Vorderrhein The Vorderrhein (German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area ...

'' and '' Hinterrhein'' valleys,

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with T ...

. The name Grey League is derived from the homespun grey clothes worn by the people. The league became part of the canton of Graubünden. The Grey League allied itself to the two other powers of Raetia in 1471, forming the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) ...

. It was also an associate and ally of the Swiss Confederation and played a role in the buildup to the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

Foundation

In the late twelfth century, the communities in the valleys in Raetia were generally small and independent. There were very few large landholders and no central authority. For years

blood feuds Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

and battles had raged between the Lords of Belmont, Werdenberg,

Rhäzüns Rhäzüns is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. History Rhäzüns is first mentioned about 840 as ''Raezunne''. It formed a single parish with Bonaduz until the Reformation. It was part of the Grey League f ...

and the

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. On February 14, 1395, the three main nobles (the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Disentis Disentis (German) or Mustér (, Romansh), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is th ...

Johannes von Ilanz Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

Baron 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 knig ...

Ulrich II von Rhäzüns and Baron

Albert von Sax-Misox The noble family von Sax (originally ''de Sacco'') were a medieval noble family in eastern Switzerland. They owned estates and castles on both sides of the Alps in the modern cantons of St. Gallen, Graubünden and Ticino. The origin of the famil ...

) of the ''Vorderrhein'' together with delegates from the Court Municipalities in

Ilanz Ilanz ( rm, Glion) is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The former municipality of Ilanz was congruent with the town of Ilanz. On 1 January 1978, the former municipality of Strada merged into ...

created an "eternal alliance". Since the alliance was predominantly located in the high country, it was also known as ''Part Sura'' (german: Ober Bund or High Alliance). Five days later,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Johann von Werdenberg-Sargans joined the League at Flimserwald. The League was more than just a military alliance. It included increasing security on the roads, and required free trade within the League. Laws were standardized and even commoners were granted protection and the right to a court trial. Severe punishments were put in place for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. A catalog of crimes, punishments and rights, known as the ''Landfrieden'' or Peaceful Land, was established. The ''Landfrieden'' standardized laws and punishments, which increased the rule of law. Under the ''Landfrieden'' conflicts had to be resolved through the courts and not through open conflict. ''Landfrieden'' was the first step from arbitrary punishments handed out by the injured party to a modern

penal system A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

Expansion

On April 4, 1399, the ruler of Hohentrins (who was sworn to the

of Werdenberg-Heiligenburg) and the people of

Trin Trin is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Imboden Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. Crestasee is located in Trin. History Trin is first mentioned in the 12th Century as ''Turunnio' ...

Tamins Tamins ( rm, Tumein) is a village and a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Tamins is first mentioned in 1224 as ''Tuminne''. In 1225 it was mentioned as ''Tvminnis'' and in 1399 as ''Tumins''. Geogra ...

and the

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

to Reichenau joined the League. The entire ''Vorderrhein'' valley was now part of the League. On May 25, 1400, the League formed another alliance with

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in S ...

which opened up the southern passes to Glarus' cattle dealers and other traders. On March 16, 1424, the League met under a legendary

maple tree ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

in Trun to reaffirm and expand the League. From this time on, the name Grey League was exclusively used. Grey refers to the grey homespun woolen clothing that was abundant in the region. Trun was set aside as the seat of the impartial League Court, which would be the highest civilian appeals court. Initially twelve judges were appointed, which was later expanded to fifteen. In 1424 the communities of the ''Hinterrhein'' valley, Heinzenberg-Thusis,

Schams thumb , The Schams north of Cagliatscha_Castle.html"_;"title="Andeer.__In_the_top_left,_the_ruins_of_Cagliatscha_Castle">Andeer.__In_the_top_left,_the_ruins_of_Cagliatscha_Castle_ The_Schams_(_rm.html" ;"title="Cagliatscha_Castle_.html" ;"tit ...

and

Rheinwald The Rheinwald (from Latin ''Rheni vallis'' meaning "Rhine Valley"; Romansh: ''Valrain'') is a valley in the Canton of Grisons in Switzerland, the first section of the Hinterrhein valley. The river Hinterrhein flows through three valleys in the G ...

, fully joined the League. With this expansion the League now controlled the strategic Spluegen and

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

passes in addition to the Lukmanier Pass in the ''Vorderrhein'' valley. On April 23, 1480, the upper

Mesolcina The ''Valle Mesolcina'', also known as the ''Val Mesolcina'' or ''Misox'' (German), is an alpine valley of the Grisons, Switzerland, stretching from the San Bernardino Pass to Grono where it joins the Calanca Valley. It is the valley formed ...

(german: Misox) valley joined the League. Then, in 1496 the rest of the valley joined the League. In both 1406 and 1525 a portion of the

League of God's House The League of God's House (German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', rm, ) was formed in what is now Switzerland on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied wi ...

joined the League, and in 1440

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

(the leader of the League of God's House) joined. In 1471 the

League of the Ten Jurisdictions The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was the last of the Three Leagues founded during the Middle Ages in what is now Canton Graubünden of Switzerland. The League was created in the County of Toggenburg after the counts of Toggenburg died out. ...

joined the League. The combination of the Grey League, the League of God's House and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions became known as the

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

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic 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 A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. The Three Leagues were also unique in

early modern Europe Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...

in that it was the only territory in which all decisions were made cooperatively. The Three Leagues were normally allied with 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 ...

. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. The

Musso war The Musso War (or War of Musso) was an armed conflict between the federation of the Three Leagues (german: Drei Bünde), which functioned as an associate state of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and the Duchy of Milan early in the 16th century. The co ...

against the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League would remain an associate to the Swiss until the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, when it was absorbed into the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

. After the Napoleonic

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden.

References

External links

* {{Coord missing, Switzerland 18th-century disestablishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1799 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1395 Grisons Associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy History of Graubünden 14th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1390s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1395 establishments in Europe Former confederations de:Drei Bünde#Oberer oder Grauer Bund

Foundation

Expansion

Three Leagues

See also

References

External links