Ludwig Pfyffer (1524, Lucerne – 17 March 1594) was a Swiss military leader, spokesman for

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

interests in the cantons, chief magistrate of Lucerne, and probably the most important Swiss political figure in the latter half of the 16th century.

Early career

For many years an active and intrepid warrior in the service of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Pfyffer won fame by safely leading the royal family of Charles IX from

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

while under

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

attack (1567).

Defender of Catholic Church

Elected chief

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

for Lucerne in 1571, Pfyffer ruled there until his death. He made the city the centre of Catholic Counter-Reformation activity in Switzerland. His Golden League (1586) (also called the Borromean League after Cardinal

Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

) nearly led to the destruction of the Swiss Confederation. The alliance of the seven Catholic cantons pledged itself to use armed force to expel heretics. Its elevation of religious interests severely strained the civil union. The canton of Appenzell divided along religious lines. Pfyffer established close relations with the Catholic League of Philip II of Spain and Henri I, Duc de Guise. He concluded a Swiss alliance with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(1587) against the accession of

Henry of Navarre Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

(Henry IV) to the French throne. Pfyffer also acquired a substantial fortune from foreign pensions and as a supplier of mercenaries to the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

References

Pfyffer von Altishofen, Ludwig
in ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'', Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, pp. 727–737 (in German) *Markus Lische

in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, p. 368
Pfyffer, Ludwig (von Altishofen)
in ''Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfyffer, Ludwig 1524 births 1594 deaths People from Lucerne Swiss Roman Catholics 16th-century Swiss people Swiss mercenaries 16th-century Swiss military personnel Swiss politicians