Category: Switzerland
Why is “CH” the international symbol for Switzerland?
Wild Maa (green man) and “Leu” (lion)… are two of three heraldic figures who take part in the Vogel Gryff festival in Kleinbasel, the part of Basel on the right bank of the Rhine. © swissworld.org Since my Forest Knights novels have a character, Seraina, who is one of the last druid priestesses, I thought it would be fun to describe some modern-day Swiss festivals with Celtic ties. So that’s what I’ll be doing in the next few posts. A bunch of Celtic Pagans “CH” stands for “Confoederatio Helvetica” which is Latin and the official name for Switzerland. How did this come about? Well, it turns out “Helvetica” is more than just a cool font. It refers to the “Helvetians”, the main tribe of Celts that populated the area now known as Switzerland. When one mentions Celts, people tend to think of Ireland. But there were many, many, many (that’s how I say “I don’t know how many”) tribes of Celts living throughout Europe before the Romans got their mitts on them. The Celts in the British Isles were simply the last ones to be exposed to Roman occupation, so historically we know more about them than the others...
read moreAsterix and Obelix in Switzerland
“What’s a fondue Asterix?” “I expect it’s some kind of local orgy.” A quote from the most awesome historical research text series ever. I had a longer post in mind but I’ve been sucked into reading Asterix in Switzerland (No. 16) again. Gauls, Romans, Druids, magic potions, and menhir. Who could resist? Since my Forest Knights novels have a character, Seraina, who is one of the last druid priestesses, I thought it would be fun to describe some modern-day Swiss festivals with Celtic ties. So that’s what I’ll be doing in the next few...
read moreWhy does the Pope have Swiss guards?
You gotta be tough to dress like this. Why does the Pope have Swiss guards anyway? This question kept nipping away at the back of my mind and was really the instigating force behind me writing The Forest Knights books (ALTDORF & MORGARTEN). I mean look at this guy–he’s dressed like a Smurf. How did they ever become the Pope’s elite bodyguard? The answer you will most often hear is because they are “neutral”, peace-loving. They don’t take sides. Ahh, that’s nice. The friendly, peace-loving mountain people are neutral. They don’t want to hurt anyone. Unless you try to cross their border. …by 1912 the Swiss Army included 281,000 men and could call on an additional 200,000 auxiliary troops…Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany visited Switzerland that year. As the Kaiser observed Swiss army maneuvers, Swiss President Ludwig Forrer told his guest that “we have the resolute intention of protecting our independence against any attack on this [land], our dearest possession, and of upholding our neutrality against anyone who fails to respect it.” In a conversation depicted on a contemporary post-card, the Kaiser queried what the quarter of a million Swiss Army would do if faced with an invasion of...
read moreCheese, chocolates, watches and…stick fighting?
Ahh…modern day Switzerland. What comes to mind? Rolling, velvety-green hills surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Alps. Heidi, cheese, chocolates, watches, neutrality, democracy, banking, and cow-bells. (Had to throw that in–you can never have too much cow-bell). That’s what shows up on the surface. As we dig a little deeper we come up with the Pope’s Swiss Guards, the Geneva Convention, mandatory army service for all male adults, semi-automatic rifles in every home, and Pierre Vigny. Who? Pierre Vigny, a Parisian-born guy who ran a “stick-fighting” school in Geneva in the early 1900’s. He later moved to England for a time and became the head instructor of E.W. Barton-Wright’s Bartitsu school. Bartitsu, of course, being the martial art of Sherlock Holmes. (Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spelled it “Baritsu” in his novels–maybe he thought it best to keep the “tits” out for the censors of that era?) “London Women of the Upper Tendon Are Learning Protection Against Ruffians” Vigny’s wife even got into the mix, and taught women how to “poke men under the ear” with a parasol. Check out the article “The Parasol for Defense” at the bottom of this page. From Heidi to stick fighting. I’m...
read more“The Forest Knights” is born
Five years ago my girlfriend said “It’s time to meet my parents.” This was my response: She paused for a very long, uncomfortable moment before responding, “Uh, yeah. I think so.” Now what’s this got to do with “The Forest Knights” you ask? Well, my girlfriend immigrated to Canada about eight years ago from…(yep, you guessed it) Switzerland. And since her parents still live there, we would need to go on a trip. Now I’ve always been a history buff, and when I finally came to terms with the fact I was going to Heidi-Land, I began to read up on the little country. When I found out this is where William Tell came from (not England!) I got especially excited, and began to hum the overture while I made a long list of all the “Tell hotspots” to visit. I met a lot of great people and saw some beautiful country on that trip. and somewhere along the way, the seeds of a novel began festering in my subconscious. At that point, all I knew for sure was it would have nothing to do with chocolate or watches. Army knives were, of course, still a...
read moreWilliam Tell Swiss? Who Knew?
I sure didn’t. Five years ago I thought he was English. I mean all guys good with bows were English right? Who’s the kid you ask? That would be his son Walter. The story goes that after William Tell disrespected the local governor, Hermann Gessler, the evil man stood the young boy up in the town square and made Tell shoot an apple off his head. Later, our hero ambushes Gessler on a dark forest road and shoots him in the chest. Then I think everyone sings. At least that’s the version popularized by Friedrich Schiller in the early 1800’s. Here‘s the full play if you feel like some light...
read moreOnly Swiss people can climb
I’ve been to Switzerland twice and Austria once researching my new novel The Forest Knights, which I hope to self-publish in September 2011. So I’m going to do a series of posts on Switzerland. I took this picture while out hiking. It’s a storage shed for a farmer (maybe for hay or other food for livestock). Notice the legs made of rocks? On the top of each leg is a large, flat stone. I was told this keeps mice out of the storage shed because they can’t handle the overhang. Apparently Swiss mice have never seen Stallone in...
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