Johannes Fründ (''Hans Fründ'', c. 1400–1468) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

clerk and chronicler. Born and educated in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, he was employed as a scribe in that city in 1429, working under Egloff Etterlin. Around the year 1430, he wrote about the ongoing witch-trials in Valais. From 1437 to 1453, he was state secretary (''Landschreiber'') of

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

. In this function, he participated in several

Swiss Diet The Federal Diet of Switzerland (, ; ; ) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independence until the formation of the Switzerland as a federal state, ...

s and also served as scribe on campaign during the

Old Zürich War The Old Zurich War (; 1440–1446) was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg died, leaving nei ...

(1440–46). His chronicle on the Zürich War is essentially a contemporary eyewitness account. Fründ appears to have contracted a serious illness in 1447 which prevented him from completing the chronicle, so the text does not cover the peace negotiations and final treaty of 1450.Kind (1875)
p. III-IV
Fründ remained in Schwyz until 1457. In that year, he was again employed by Lucerne in the office of court secretary (''Gerichtsschreiber'') after an unsuccessful application for the position of state secretary (''Stadtschreiber''). Fründ was married three times, to Elli Bumbel, then Adelheid von Tengen, and finally to Margaretha Giessmann. He died probably in 1468, and certainly before 10 March 1469. He appears to have had acquired some wealth, as there are records of a dispute over his inheritance between his third wife and his daughter from his second marriage. Fründ's chronicle is one of the main sources (alongside Conrad Justingers '' Bernese Chronicle'' of c. 1430) used in the ''

Tschachtlanchronik The Tschachtlanchronik of 1470 is the oldest of the still existing Swiss illustrated chronicles, compiled by Bendicht Tschachtlan and Heinrich Dittlinger of Bern. The chronicle is now kept in Zentralbibliothek Zürich ''Zentralbibliothek Zü ...

'' of 1470. Similarly,

Diebold Schilling the Elder Diebold Schilling the Elder (–1439 – 1486) was the author of several of the Swiss illustrated chronicles, the '' Berner Schilling'' of 1483, the '' Zürcher Schilling'' of 1484, and the '' Spiezer Schilling'' (1480s). Biography Schilling wa ...

used substantial portions of Fründ's text in his 1483 chronicle. Although Fründ's text was widely received by way of the works of these later writers, his own authorship was mostly forgotten, and his own works misattributed. Fründ's chronicle was considered lost, and

Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...

misattributed his text to one Ulrich Wagner. He was only remembered as a chronicler by

Aegidius Tschudi Aegidius Tschudi (Glarus, 5 February 1505Glarus, 28 February 1572) was a Swiss historian, statesman and soldier, an eminent member of the Tschudi family of Glarus, Switzerland. His best-known work is the '' Chronicon Helveticum'', a history of ...

( c. 1550), who is otherwise not known as a very reliable witness. Fründ's identity and authorship was eventually recovered in

Swiss historiography The historiography of Switzerland is the study of the history of Switzerland. Early accounts of the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy are found in the numerous Swiss chronicles of the 14th to 16th centuries. As elsewhere in Europe, these l ...

in the 1870s, first by Hungerbühler (1871), who however misattributed an early text on the

Swiss Swedish origin legend In legend and in the early historiography of Switzerland there is an account of a migration of a population of Swedes and Frisians settling in the Swiss Alps, specifically in Schwyz and in Hasli (''Schwedensage''). Medieval legend The legend is di ...

to Fründ, the text of his chronicle being edited by Kind (1875).see Kind (1875
p. VII
on the authorship question.

References

* *Hugo Hungerbühler, ''Vom Herkommen der Schwyzer'' (1871)
51–70
*G. P. Marchal, ''

Verfasserlexikon The Verfasserlexikon (full title: ''Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon'') is a Medieval German literature reference book. Currently in its second fully revised edition, it comprises various encyclopaedic articles and acco ...

'' II, 2nd ed. 1980, 992f. *Christian Sieber, "'Unfreundliche' Briefe, Kriegserklärungen und Friedensverträge. Der Alte Zürichkrieg (1436–1450) im Spiegel der Biographie von Landschreiber Hans Fründ", ''Mitteilungen des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Schwyz'' 98 (2006), 11–37. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frund, Johannes 15th-century Swiss writers 1400s births 1468 deaths Swiss chronicles Year of birth uncertain