1315

1315 enters the play through a historical note rather than as a date for its main dramatic action: the note says that Berenger von Landenberg, governor of Unterwald and an enemy of the Swiss, was slain at the Battle of Morgarten in that year. It gives a precise historical endpoint to the account of his cruelties, particularly those inflicted on Henry of the Halden, while the play’s central scenes are not explicitly placed in 1315.

The Date in the Historical Note

The note identifies Berenger von Landenberg as a man of noble family in Thurgau and governor of Unterwald, and characterizes him as infamous for cruelty toward the Swiss. It singles out Henry of the Halden as a particular victim before recording Landenberg’s death at Morgarten in 1315. The date therefore attaches directly to the governor’s death and battle, not to the earlier abuses as a separately dated episode.

Political Context and Chronological Limits

The dialogue supplies a broader political setting for the conflict: the forest communities say they freely sought the Empire’s protection, while also maintaining their own laws and ancient usages. The emperor’s stated jurisdiction includes adjudicating the penalty of death and appointing a powerful noble as delegate. In response to the oppression they describe, the conspirators discuss preserving their rights, expelling the tyrants and their agents, and demolishing their strongholds. These passages explain the political struggle surrounding Landenberg’s story, but the text provided does not establish that these conversations or plans occur in 1315.

Dramatic Time and Historical Time

The play’s action also gives prominence to weather and terrain: thunder and rising water threaten travel on the lake; during the escape narrated by Wilhelm Tell, the men row toward a shelving crag; and a later report says that heavy rain has flooded streams and swept away bridges near the pass by Küssnacht. Such circumstances shape what characters can do in particular scenes, but they do not supply a calendar date. The distinction matters: 1315 is an explicit historical anchor in the note, whereas the storm, escape, and disrupted travel belong to dramatic episodes whose connection to that year is left unstated.

Significance

By placing Landenberg’s death at Morgarten after the account of his cruelty, the note links personal oppression to a later military reckoning and extends the play’s political conflict beyond the immediate stage action. Its specificity is limited but clear: it dates the governor’s death to 1315, while leaving the chronology of the main plot open.