League of the Ten Jurisdictions
Encyclopedia
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. The League initially existed to resist the power of the House of Habsburg, and quickly allied with the Grey League
and the League of God's House
. In 1524 the three leagues joined together to become the Free State of the Three Leagues, which existed until the Napoleonic
dissolution of the Free State.
Friedrich VII, died without any male heirs and without a will. The Toggenburg lands included the valley of Prättigau
, the upper Albula
valley (Belfort), Churwalden
, Schanfigg and Maienfeld
. For the Toggenburg properties, the future was very uncertain. The communities would either be split among other nobles, or the entire County of Toggenburg would be inherited by the House of Habsburg. The leaders of the communities chose a third path, they reached an agreement with Friedrich's widow, Elisabeth von Matsch. In Davos
on June 8, 1436 the former Toggenburg lands formed a pact with the support of Elisabeth. Leaders of the communities of Klosters
, Davos
, Castels
, Schiers
, St. Peter (part of Schanfigg), Langwies
, Churwalden
, Belfort, Maienfeld
and Malans
(which was under the jurisdiction of Neu-Aspermont) met and agreed to protect their rights, to only collectively enter other pacts and treaties, to appoint judges from each community and to re-swear the pact every twelve years. It is significant that there were no nobles involved in creating the pact, instead it was the common people from the communities that swore the pact.
The first leader of the League was Ulrich Beeli from Davos, and all future Bundstage (Council Meetings) occurred in Davos. The League quickly tied itself to the other surrounding leagues. Within one year (1437) eight of the members of the League had already allied with the League of God's House. The entire League allied with the League of God's House by 1450. In 1471 the League allied with the Grey League, forming the Three Leagues.
Soon after the death of the Toggenburgs, the League was not able to prevent the Court and Judgement rights from being split up and given to local nobles. Although the members of the League had control over the local administration and local politics, they did not have control over High Justice and taxes or levies.
Most of the League was given to the Graf von Montfort, the lower Prättigau went to the Graf von Matsch and Maienfeld and Malans went to the Baron
von Brandis. Both Graf von Montfort and Graf von Matsch sold their rights to the Duke of Austria, Montfort in 1470 and Matsch in 1477 The duke combined the two territories (the eight jurisdictions) into a single Vogt
ei which was administered by an appointed Landvogt, who was generally a member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions. The Landvogt lived at Burg Castels near Luzein
.
The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was very active in the Three Leagues after 1471. After 1486 troops from the League participated in military action with the rest of the Three Leagues. In 1524, the League of the Ten Jurisdiction signed the Bundesbrief, which created the Three Leagues. However the some of the rights within the Ten Jurisdictions were still held by other noble families. For example, the Baron von Brandis held Maienfeld, which was a member of the League. In 1509 the Baron von Brandis separated the community of Maienfeld from his holdings, and transferred it to the emergent Three Leagues. Maienfeld became a Vogtei of the Leagues. This meant that Maienfeld was both a voting member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and under the control of the Three Leagues at the same time. Maienfeld indirectly administered itself as a controlled territory of the Three Leagues.
The rights to High Justice were held by the Dukes of Austria, until the League bought these rights from the duke in 1649-1652. It is only after this date that the League could fully participate in the Three Leagues.
. The Three Leagues were also unique in early modern Europe
in that it was the only territory were all decisions were made by communalism
, with the Leagues founded, governed and defended by cooperative decisions.
The Three Leagues were normally allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy
. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the Habsburgs. The Musso war
against the Duchy of Milan
in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League would remain an associate to the Swiss until the Napoleonic Wars
, when it was absorbed into the Helvetic Republic
. After the Napoleonic Act of Mediation
, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden
.
Three Leagues
The Three Leagues 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. Most of the lands of Graubünden were part of the Roman province Raetia in 15 BC...
founded during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in what is now Canton Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The League was created in the County of Toggenburg after the counts of Toggenburg
Toggenburg
Toggenburg is the name given to the upper valley of the Thur River, in the Swiss Canton of St. Gallen. Currently, it is one of the eight constituencies into which the canton is divided....
died out. The League initially existed to resist the power of the House of Habsburg, and quickly allied with the Grey League
Grey League
The Grey League , sometimes called Oberbund, formed in 1395 in the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein valleys, Raetia. 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...
and the League of God's House
League of God's House
The League of God's House was formed in what is now Switzerland on January 29, 1367 to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions in 1471 to form the Three Leagues...
. In 1524 the three leagues joined together to become the Free State of the Three Leagues, which existed until the Napoleonic
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
dissolution of the Free State.
History
The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was the last of the three leagues to be founded. On April 30, 1436 the last Count of Toggenburg, GrafGraf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
Friedrich VII, died without any male heirs and without a will. The Toggenburg lands included the valley of Prättigau
Prättigau
The Prättigau Valley, in the canton of Graubünden , Switzerland, is home to the world famous ski resorts of Klosters and neighbouring Davos in the Landwasser Valley....
, the upper Albula
Albula
The term albula can refer to:*Albula Range, a mountain range in Switzerland*Albula , in Switzerland*Albula , a district in canton Graubünden, Switzerland*Albula Pass*Albula Railway, which forms part of the Rhaetian Railway...
valley (Belfort), Churwalden
Churwalden
Churwalden is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Malix and Parpan merged into Churwalden.-History:...
, Schanfigg and Maienfeld
Maienfeld
Maienfeld is a municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story Heidi.- History :...
. For the Toggenburg properties, the future was very uncertain. The communities would either be split among other nobles, or the entire County of Toggenburg would be inherited by the House of Habsburg. The leaders of the communities chose a third path, they reached an agreement with Friedrich's widow, Elisabeth von Matsch. In Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
on June 8, 1436 the former Toggenburg lands formed a pact with the support of Elisabeth. Leaders of the communities of Klosters
Klosters
Klosters-Serneus is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.Its well-known ski resort lies from Zurich, the nearest international airport. Transfer time is about 1.5 hours. Klosters is from Davos...
, Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
, Castels
Castels
Castels is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:* *...
, Schiers
Schiers
-Heritage sites of national significance:The Salginatobel Bridge is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.The Salginatobel Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge designed by renowned Swiss civil engineer Robert Maillart. It was constructed across an alpine valley in Schiers...
, St. Peter (part of Schanfigg), Langwies
Langwies
Langwies is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Langwies has an area, , of . Of this area, 48.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.6% is forested...
, Churwalden
Churwalden
Churwalden is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Malix and Parpan merged into Churwalden.-History:...
, Belfort, Maienfeld
Maienfeld
Maienfeld is a municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story Heidi.- History :...
and Malans
Malans
Malans is the name of the following municipalities:* Malans, Doubs, a commune in the Doubs department in France* Malans, Haute-Saône, a commune in the Haute-Saône department in France* Malans, Switzerland, a municipality in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
(which was under the jurisdiction of Neu-Aspermont) met and agreed to protect their rights, to only collectively enter other pacts and treaties, to appoint judges from each community and to re-swear the pact every twelve years. It is significant that there were no nobles involved in creating the pact, instead it was the common people from the communities that swore the pact.
The first leader of the League was Ulrich Beeli from Davos, and all future Bundstage (Council Meetings) occurred in Davos. The League quickly tied itself to the other surrounding leagues. Within one year (1437) eight of the members of the League had already allied with the League of God's House. The entire League allied with the League of God's House by 1450. In 1471 the League allied with the Grey League, forming the Three Leagues.
Soon after the death of the Toggenburgs, the League was not able to prevent the Court and Judgement rights from being split up and given to local nobles. Although the members of the League had control over the local administration and local politics, they did not have control over High Justice and taxes or levies.
Most of the League was given to the Graf von Montfort, the lower Prättigau went to the Graf von Matsch and Maienfeld and Malans went to the Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
von Brandis. Both Graf von Montfort and Graf von Matsch sold their rights to the Duke of Austria, Montfort in 1470 and Matsch in 1477 The duke combined the two territories (the eight jurisdictions) into a single Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
ei which was administered by an appointed Landvogt, who was generally a member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions. The Landvogt lived at Burg Castels near Luzein
Luzein
Luzein is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Neighboring municipalities:-Geography:Luzein has an area, , of . Of this area, 41.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46.6% is forested...
.
The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was very active in the Three Leagues after 1471. After 1486 troops from the League participated in military action with the rest of the Three Leagues. In 1524, the League of the Ten Jurisdiction signed the Bundesbrief, which created the Three Leagues. However the some of the rights within the Ten Jurisdictions were still held by other noble families. For example, the Baron von Brandis held Maienfeld, which was a member of the League. In 1509 the Baron von Brandis separated the community of Maienfeld from his holdings, and transferred it to the emergent Three Leagues. Maienfeld became a Vogtei of the Leagues. This meant that Maienfeld was both a voting member of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and under the control of the Three Leagues at the same time. Maienfeld indirectly administered itself as a controlled territory of the Three Leagues.
The rights to High Justice were held by the Dukes of Austria, until the League bought these rights from the duke in 1649-1652. It is only after this date that the League could fully participate in the Three Leagues.
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 Napoleonic 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 referendumReferendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
. The Three Leagues were also unique in early modern Europe
Early modern Europe
Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century...
in that it was the only territory were all decisions were made by communalism
Communalism
Communalism is a term with three distinct meanings according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary'.'These include "a theory of government or a system of government in which independent communes participate in a federation". "the principles and practice of communal ownership"...
, with the Leagues founded, governed and defended by cooperative decisions.
The Three Leagues were normally allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the Habsburgs. The Musso war
Musso war
The Musso war was an armed conflict between the federation of the Three Leagues in the Grisons, an associate state of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and the Duchy of Milan early in the 16th century....
against the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League would remain an associate to the Swiss until the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, when it was absorbed into the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
. After the Napoleonic Act of Mediation
Act of Mediation
The Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
.