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' (, "forested sites/settlements;" ) is a term which has been used since the early thirteenth century to refer to the (singular: , "site" "settlement"), or later ''Ort(schaft)'' (plural: , "locality" "place" "lieu") or (plural: , "estate") of the early confederate allies of Uri,
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 ...
and
Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas'' ("between the forests"), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', now tw ...
in today's
Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 s ...
. From the 13th to 19th centuries, the term also synoptically referred to the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden; later, the term was gradually replaced by the term . The term ("forest; woods") is to be understood in contrast to , the former in
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...
terminology referring to cultivated land of alternating pastures, fields and woods, while the latter referred to deep, uncultivated forests ().


History

The Middle High German terms or (in the sense of "forested site/settlement") are also used alongside (modern , or "town, city", in the sense of a powerful, possibly protected settlement with special rights) and (modern , in the sense of rural countrysides) in reference to the individual confederate allies into the first half of 15th century and became gradually replaced by the term ("point; lieu") or ("state"), which stayed prominent in German-speaking Switzerland until the Helvetic Republic; the term ''canton'' (in German: ), in origin a Romance translation of German , was unknown for the German-speaking allies until around 1650. The first recorded use of the term specifically as referring to the wooded valleys of Central Switzerland is in a document dated 1289, mentioning (i.e. "in Schwyz, in the wooded site"). In 1323,
Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
dates to 1309. In 1310, Duke
Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...
complains about the king impeding his rights to the . With the establishment of the Confederacy in the 1310s, the term is adopted as an exonym, and in the pacts which expanded the Confederacy, with Lucerne in 1332 and with Berne in 1353. The inclusion of
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 ...
as a "fourth" is first mentioned in an addition dated to the 1450s in the ''Silver Book'' of Egloff Etterlin. In the protocols of the
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, ...
in the second half of the 15th century, under the presidency of Lucerne, the term ''vier waltstette'' sees frequent use. Albrecht von Bonstetten in his (1479) suggests that the term (Latinized ) was in common use.
Lake Lucerne Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. Geography The lake has a compli ...
is given the new name of (aka Lake of Four Forested Sites) in the 16th century.


See also

* Formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy * Federal Charter of 1291 * * * * Canton of Waldstätten


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldstatte Old Swiss Confederacy