Henry of the Halden

Henry of the Halden is an upright old man living in Melchthal whose punishment exposes the reach of Landenberg’s violence beyond its intended target. When Henry’s son escapes, the authorities seize his father instead, blind him, and leave him impoverished and dependent on a staff as he goes from door to door.

Identity and Introduction

Henry is introduced by Werner Stauffacher as an upright man who lives in Melchthal, on the road entering from Kearns. The account gives little personal background beyond this description and his family connection: the offence at issue belongs to his son, but the reprisals fall upon Henry. His introduction establishes him first as a respected local figure and then as a father made vulnerable by another person’s flight.

Persecution and Blinding

Landenberg orders the seizure of the young man’s best pair as punishment for an offence attributed to him. The account does not specify the pair or explain the offence further. When the son escapes Landenberg’s grasp, the response turns against Henry. The threat is no longer simply to catch the fugitive: Landenberg declares that he has the father and that Henry will feel his vengeance. The men throw Henry to the ground and plunge pointed steel into his eyes.

Aftermath and Narrative Significance

The blinding is followed by the loss of Henry’s possessions. Stauffacher describes him as stripped of everything, with only his staff remaining; blind and in rags, he moves from door to door. These details trace the assault beyond the moment of physical violence: Henry is left without sight, property, or independence. His staff is both his sole possession and the means by which he gets about, while his dependence on door-to-door aid makes the punishment visible in everyday life.

Henry’s ordeal also gives the political account a concrete measure of what Landenberg’s power means for a household. The authorities retaliate against an old man because his son has escaped them, turning a conflict with the young fugitive into bodily punishment and destitution for his father. Stauffacher’s report makes Henry’s suffering evidence of a wider coercion, rather than an isolated injury: the violence reaches kin who are within the rulers’ grasp.