''Sempacherlied'' is the title of a number of patriotic songs celebrating the Swiss victory at the
Battle of Sempach
The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the lo ...
(1386).
The oldest versions are recorded in the late 15th to early 16th century, e.g. by
Melchior Russ (1488), by
Wernher Schodeler
Werner Schodoler (also Wernher Schodoler (1490 in Bremgarten, Aargau – 15 October 1541, in Bremgarten, Aargau) was a Swiss chronicler. He was the author of ''Swiss History'', the earliest of the Swiss illustrated chronicles.
Literature
*W ...
(1515) and by
Aegidius Tschudi
Aegidius (or Giles or Glig) Tschudi (5 February 150528 February 1572) was a Swiss statesman and historian, an eminent member of the Tschudi family of Glarus, Switzerland. His best known work is the Chronicon Helveticum, a history of the early S ...
(1536). A version composed by one Hensli Halbsuter in the late 15th century, comprising a total of 63 verses, was printed in 1599 (incipit ''Im 1386 iar'').
The modern song (incipit ''Lasst hören aus alter Zeit'') was written ca. 1836 by
Heinrich Bosshard (1811-1877), set to music by
Ulrich Wehrli (1794-1839), in the context of the period of
Regeneration
Regeneration may refer to:
Science and technology
* Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs
* Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis
...
, formative of the
Swiss national identity which resulted in the foundation of
Switzerland as a federal state
The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United Stat ...
in 1848.
See also
*
Beresinalied
*
Winkelried
Winkelried was a family of Unterwalden, recorded as members of the lower nobility during the second half of the 13th century and as commoners during the 14th to early 16th centuries.
The name is mostly associated with Arnold von Winkelried, the her ...
References
*Kreis, K. ''Das Sempacherlied mit den Lebensbildern des Componisten I.U. Wehrli und des Dichters H. Bosshard''. Zürich, Zürcherische Liederbuchanstalt, 1886.
*Alois Lütolf,'' Luzerner Schlachtliederdichter im 15. Jahrh., bes. Hans Halbsuter und das Sempacherlied'', Geschichtsfreund, 1862.
*Ludwig Tobler, ''Schweizerische Volkslieder; mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen'' 1882.
*Halbsuter, Hans, ''Lied von der Schlacht beschehen vor Sempach, in Lucerner Biet gelegen'', Zürich, Rudolff Wyssenbach, 1599.
External links
Text of the ''Halbsuterlied''
Swiss patriotic songs
Sempach