The Burgundian Wars, the Bishop of Basel and the Swiss Confederation
26 May 2026
The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were already described and illustrated at the time in numerous chronicles, songs, poems, pamphlets, and local archives. Various museums (including those in Grandson, Murten, and Bern) and publications are devoting considerable attention to this period this year.
Moreover, the museum in Saint-Imier is presenting an exhibition on an underexposed subject related to these far-reaching events for Europe and Switzerland: the role of the Bishop of Basel.
In addition, another subject has received little attention. This period made an important contribution to the formation of the Swiss Confederation. In most Swiss publications, this aspect is insufficiently highlighted. Attention is focused mainly on the limited territorial gains for the Eidgenossenschaft, the divisions and tensions after 1477, and the violence during 1474–1477.
The Duchy of Burgundy in 1476. Collection: Historisches Museum Basel
The major beneficiaries were indeed France and the Habsburgs, but after 1477, the Eidgenossenschaft not only enjoyed great military and political prestige in Europe; many towns sought association with it, whether as cantons, as allies or associated territories (zugewandte Orte), or, under compulsion, as conquered subject territories (Untertanengebiete).
Around 1536, the Eidgenossenschaft had, broadly speaking, reached its present external borders, apart from the “Italian and Habsburg” corrections imposed by Napoleon (1798–1813).
Image: Marco Zanoli/Wikipedia. Duchy of Burgundy, 1465-1477
Introduction
Charles the Bold (1433–1477) became Duke of Burgundy in 1467. He had great ambitions: the royal crown, in imitation of earlier Burgundian kingdoms. As a cadet branch of the French royal family (King Jean II of France (1319–1364) had appointed his youngest son Philippe (1342–1404) the first Duke of Burgundy in 1363), he also had royal blood.
Through war, inheritance, and purchase, Charles’s three predecessors had, over the course of a century, acquired a territory stretching from the original Duchy of Burgundy to the North Sea, including the rich regions of Flanders and Franche-Comté.
The Duchy Burgundy in 1467.
The duchy of Burgundy in 1467. Collection: Historisches Museum Bern
However, this was not a contiguous conglomerate. Territories in Alsace and the Duchy of Lorraine were not part of it. Most of Alsace fell within the Habsburg sphere of influence, including the Free Imperial Cities (the Decapolis) and Strasbourg. Smaller territories belonged to the bishops of Strasbourg and Basel. These areas were also part of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Eidgenossenschaft around 1474. Image: Marco Zanoli/Wikipedia
The Bishop of Basel
The Prince-Bishop of Basel was closely allied with the Habsburgs. The territory of the bishopric included the present-day canton of Jura, parts of the present-day canton of Basel-Landschaft, the Seeland in the canton of Bern, and areas in Alsace and Baden-Württemberg. The Prince-Bishop wielded considerable secular power and, through his vassals, had armies at his disposal.
Important towns in his bishopric were, besides Basel, La Neuveville, Porrentruy, Delémont, Biel/Bienne, and St. Ursanne. Although relations with the secular government in Basel were tense, he did not leave Basel until the Reformation in 1528. Meanwhile, Bern was steadily expanding its influence in the bishopric, particularly in the Jura.
Until 1470, however, nothing yet pointed to a conflict with the Duke of Burgundy. On the contrary, the (cultural and military) prestige of the duchy under Charles’s three predecessors was so great that the Habsburgs, the aristocracy of Bern, and the Bishop of Basel all held Burgundy in high esteem.
Moreover, the Eidgenossenschaft and the Habsburgs were at war, and the Habsburgs supported the duke until 1474. France, exhausted by the Hundred Years’ War with England (1337–1453), had not yet played a major military role, but it was already highly successful diplomatically.
Bishop Johann von Venningen inaugurates the University of Basel. Rector’s Register of the University of Basel, Volume 1 (1460–1567), AN II, V, fol. 2v. Reproduction. Collection: Musée de Saint-Imier
The Bishop of Basel and Alsace
As Bishop of Basel (1458–1478), Johann von Venningen (1409–1478) played an important role in this conflict. He came from a prominent German noble family. He was not only a famous theologian and one of the founders of the University of Basel in 1460, but also governed the prince-bishopric like a secular ruler.
In 1469, Charles the Bold obtained various territories in Alsace as pledged lands from Archduke Sigismund of Habsburg (1427–1496). This brought him closer to the gates of Habsburg territory and Basel.
Charles made no secret of his ambitions, and the Habsburgs, cities in Alsace (the Decapolis), the Bishop of Strasbourg, the Confederation, the County of Neuchâtel, the County of Aarberg and Valangin, and the Bishop of Basel formed an alliance, the League of Constance, with the aim of redeeming the pledge.
On 6 April 1474, Sigismund of Habsburg wanted to buy back the pledged territories, but Charles refused. On the contrary, he also wanted to confiscate the Bishop of Basel’s lands. His governor, Pierre von Hagenbach, paid for it with his life, marking the beginning of the Burgundian Wars. Burgundy then organised a punitive expedition into Alsace and the bishopric of Basel.
The Thierstein family coat of arms. Scheibler’sches Wappenbuch, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cod.icon. 312c (um 1450), reproduction. Collection: Musée de Saint-Imier. Photo: TES
The bishop realised that Charles the Bold had set his sights on his possessions in Alsace. The bishop’s power in the city of Basel was already declining, but a common enemy forged an alliance in this case as well. La Neuveville and Biel/Bienne also sought military rapprochement with Bern, as did the canonesses of Saint-Imier and Bellelay.
For many families, this was nevertheless a confusing period, because before the arrival of Charles the Bold, the power, magnificence, and splendour of the Burgundian court had been the place to see and to be seen. Nothing suggested an alliance between the Habsburgs and the Confederation, and Bern in particular.
La Fondation des Archives de l’ancien Évêché de Bâle, Porrentruy. The bishopric of Basel in the 15th century.
The Habsburgs, Upper Valais, and Savoy
Charles also sought military confrontation with Frederick III (1415–1493), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who had refused to grant him the royal crown in 1473. The emperor subsequently also joined the alliance against Charles. The Swiss Confederation, under the leadership of Bern, declared war on Charles the Bold on 25 October 1474. Other Swiss towns (Basel, Solothurn, Fribourg/Freiburg, and many towns) also took part in the campaigns.
George von Venningen, the bishop’s nephew, local militias, and the bishop’s vassals also participated in the wars during this period. Hermann von Eptingen and Oswald von Thierstein were the bishop’s most important military commanders.
Charles could formally count on the support of the Duchy of Savoy, the Count of Romont, vassals, and many mercenaries. Savoy, however, was militarily tied down in Valais. In 1474, the seven Tithings (Zenden or dizains) of Upper Valais had invaded Savoy’s Lower Valais. Moreover, Yolande of Savoy (1434–1478), regent of the duchy from 1472 to 1478, did not want to stand in the way of her brother, Louis XI (1423–1483), King of France and opponent of the duke.
The sacking of the Burgundian camp following the Battle of Grandson. Diebold Schilling, Band 3 der Amtlichen Berner Chronik (1483), Burgerbibliothek, Mss.h.h.I.3, fol. 654, Copy. Collection. Musée de Saint-Imier. Photo: TES
The Campaigns
Burgundy lost the battle of Héricourt and Franquemont (Franche-Comté) on 13 November 1474 to forces of the Confederation, the Bishop of Basel, and their allies. Troops of the Confederation and their allies then invaded the Pays de Vaud (a possession of Savoy) and, in May 1475, captured, among other places, Echallens, Grandson, Orbe, Morat, Yverdon-les-Bains, and Estavayer-le-Lac. Charles recaptured Grandson on 28 February 1476, but was defeated there again on 2 March 1476 and also lost the famous “Burgundian booty.”
Charles, however, did not give up and wanted to recapture Morat, which was defended by the Bernese Adrian von Bubenberg (until 1474 still a sympathiser of Burgundy). Although Charles had the most powerful and modern army of the time, he faced too many opponents, including, from 1475 onward, the Duke of Lorraine (Charles had conquered Lorraine and Nancy that year) and the Count of Gruyère.
On 22 June 1476, Charles also lost the battle of Morat and the remainder of the legendary “Burgundian booty,” before losing his life and his duchy at Nancy on 5 January 1477.
Twelve standard-bearers from the allied cantons and regions beneath the walls of Bern. Diebold Schilling, Band 3 der Amtlichen Berner Chronik (1483), Burgerbibliothek, Mss.h.h.I.3, fol.008, Reproduktion Musée de Saint-Imier
German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland
The German-speaking Bishop of Basel also ruled over a large French-speaking territory, although Alsace was still German-speaking (Alemannic). His role in creating the alliance in 1474 should not be underestimated.
As a result of these wars, the German-speaking cantons and towns occupied French-speaking territory for the first time, and the first alliances with French-speaking cantons were formed. During this period, the German-speaking Upper Valais conquered the French-speaking Lower Valais.
The city of Geneva, traditionally an opponent of Savoy and the Bishop of Geneva, allied with the Confederation, particularly after the Reformation in 1536. Bern and Fribourg/Freiburg governed various French-speaking towns (Orbe, Echallens, Estavayer-le-Lac and Morat) in Vaud from 1476 to 1798, and the rest of Vaud from 1536 to 1798.
Although Napoleon liberated Vaud from the rule of the government of Leurs Excellences de Berne in 1798, the creation of the canton of Vaud in 1803 and 1815, and its confirmation in 1848, were welcomed, despite the plundering during the Burgundian Wars.
Neuchâtel, from 1504 to 1706, a principality of the French Royal house of Orléans-Longueville, was governed by the Eidgenossenschaft from 1512 to 1529 and maintained close political, social, and commercial ties with the Eidgenossenschaft, especially after the Reformation in 1524.
The Eidgenossenschaft, zugewandter Orte, Untertanengebiete 1536. Image: Marco Zanoli/Wikipedia
Conclusion
Mentally, politically, and culturally, the Burgundian Wars and their aftermath brought German- and French-speaking Switzerland into close contact and forged strong ties between them.
Moreover, the bond between the 13 cantons of 1513 was apparently already so strong, due to these and other military, cultural, and political experiences and contacts, that the differing geographical, commercial, and, from the Reformation onward, also religious orientations and interests did not prevent the Confederation of 1648, 1815, and 1848 from coming into being.
Diebold Schilling, Chronique officielle de Berne, vol. 3. Collection: Burgerbibliothek Bern.
Swiss pragmatism, realism, and conflict management played an important role, as is shown, among other things, by the Stanser Verkommnis (1481), the relatively short religious wars (1529/1531 and 1656/1712) followed by religious peace, the religious referenda in Appenzell (1597), the Simultaneum, the Sonderbund War (1847), and above all the lesson learned after Marignano (1515): no more foreign adventures, after the conquest of Milan, Ticino, and three other Italian territories up to 1512.
The conquest of the Pays de Vaud in 1536 by Bern and Fribourg was a form of revanche for having returned this area to Savoy on 16 August 1476 for a large sum of money (50 000 florins).
The Confederation was also wise enough not to support the canton of Geneva in its claims to the Chablais and Faucigny in 1860, just as Vorarlberg was not admitted as a canton in 1919, although a large majority of the citizens of Vorarlberg wanted it, just as Ticino in 1798 chose Switzerland and not Napoleon’s Italian Republic.
The wars of 1474–1477 did not bring the Confederation much territorial gain, but it did bring all the more prestige and contacts with French-speaking cantons. Around 1536, the present-day Confoederatio Helvetica had reached not only its current linguistic boundaries but also its external borders. And this continuity is no coincidence, but is based on pragmatism, realism, wisdom, military, economic, and political strength, diplomacy, and sometimes by chance.
A small part of the ‘Burgundian spoils’
Collection: Historisches Museum Bern