Chapter 18

Swiss ArmsChapter 18

-VB-

The Compact of the Seven Towns

Easily both the most influential event and the piece of document surrounding the Alps at the start of the High Medieval Age, the Compact of the Seven Towns - Davos, Klosters, St. Peter, Langweis, Castels, Schiers, and Maienfeld - came to be at the request of Hans of Fluela after his victory over the Count of Waldenberg and Count of Sax-Misox at Zernez. According to what anecdotes still left from the event, the meeting between these seven towns, with Hans of Fluela and his Fluela Pass Fort speaking on behalf of Davos, was meant to gather the nearly insignificant entities to form a significant enough player in the Alps for self-defense.

"Stand together or die alone," Hans of Fluela spoke in this meeting.

While this may have been Hans's intention and hope, the Compact of the Seven Towns grew to become more than a defensive pact. As Hans played a pivotal role in the defense of the towns against outsiders, the towns gave more and more political and military power over to the man who made their defense possible, and within thirty years of its formation, Hans would become the undisputed leader of the Compact.

This was in part because of how strongly their neighboring prince-bishops and counts pushed to dissolve and partition the Compact, seeing it as an affront to the status quo and their authorities. They weren't wrong about the possible future and decline of their power as they had learned from the rise of the Hanseatic League in Lower Saxony and the Free Imperial Cities like Augsburg, Nordlingen, and Ulm in the Swabian duchies. Some of these nobles, like the belligerent Count of Toggenburg, spoke correctly when he declared in the Meeting of the Nine Lords - which was a meeting of Habsburgs, Kyburg, Toggenburg, Meinherdin of Tyrol, both Sax-Misox counts, Prince-Bishop of Chur, Abbot of St. Gallens, and Count of Montfort - that allowing the likes of the Compact to remain in their neighborhood would destabilize their own holdings, especially since they were also keenly aware of the fact that Bern and Zurich, two cities to their southwest, grew at an alarming rate.

The Meeting of the Nine Lords and their own agreement to quash the rising power of the city-state republics contributed to the Habsburg expedition against the Forest Cantons (Old Swiss Confederacy), which was allied with the Compact, at the Battle of Morgarten. This battle not only cemented the Compact as a regional power but also began the decline of nobility in Switzerland and Upper Swabia and marked the beginning of the Compact's expansion in eastern Switzerland and Tyrol just as it marked the rise of the Forest Cantons in central and western Switzerland.

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I walked into the meeting room I had prepared for this and saw six representatives sitting and waiting for me. Kraft, as the representative of Travaos, came with me.

The narrow room barely had enough room for all eight of us, but we made do. Kraft and I scooted around the small room around the edge of the room and got to the head of the table. We sat down in the two free seats.

The representatives looked awkward as I did, which meant that I needed to break that awkwardness as soon as I could. Unfortunately, I was an awkward guy myself, so I knew nothing about how to break this ice.

"It's good to see that our neighbors have avoided the tragedies that have befallen our quiet valleys," Kraft began somberly, and the others agreed with equally somber nods and ayes.

'Yes, that's a good way to start us off, Kraft,' I thought to myself with relief.

"Our friend, Hans, gathered us here today so that we may discuss what steps we can take as neighbors to prevent what happened to Zernez, Churwalden, and Belfort," he continued. "When the Count of Sax-Misox invaded the Barony of Vaz, he spared nothing, which went completely against the normal and honorable code of war."

Someone raised their hand.

"Please, speak," I gestured for the middle-aged man with a grey goatee to speak.

"I am Gerald of Schiers," he spoke. "What exactly does this meeting hope to accomplish?"

He and two others looked … skittish. Were they afraid of something?

I glanced at Kraft, who just nodded at me. I don't know what you're trying to tell me when you just nod at me without prior arrangement, old man! I took a deep breath in and leveled a stare at Gerald.

"Thank you for coming to this meeting, Herr Gerald. I am Hans of Fluela."

"I-It is an honor, sir Hans. I have heard of your deeds," he replied a little flustered with a bow, awkwardly trying to stand up but also unsure of what he should do.

"You have heard of me?"

"Oh yes," he replied with a nod. "Travelers and refugees told us of your tale. How you fought for the Baron of Vaz and defeated many knights of the Prince-Bishop. How you took in all of Travaos despite your own hardships and defended them against the depravations of Count of Waldenberg of Zernez. How you led men to secure food for the villagers by striking at Zernez and striking down the Count of Sax-Misox, whose unjust invasion caused this grief in the first place."

My head snapped to Kraft, who looked away from me.

'Dude, what the fuck?'

Kraft had been the one to host him and three other representatives who had arrived early. Did he feel their heads with wrong ideas? Actually, what did he say to them?

I looked back at Gerald and smiled. "I did what I could."

He nodded, suddenly a little more animated and relieved(?).

"I see."

What did you see?

"What I hope to see from the end of this meeting," I spoke up quickly to reassure him and others. "Is a mutual defense pact. When one of us is being attacked, then all of us will rise to fight off the invader. We won't allow foreign nobles to declare that this land is theirs because someone far away on the other side of the Empire said so. If anything, someone who becomes our lord must be chosen among us, not someone from a complicated land swapping deal from the loins of uncaring lords and abbots!"

Everyone liked democracy when it gave power to them, right?

"If a mutual defense pact cannot come forth from this meeting, then at the very least, we must agree to share information on what is going on around the world that we individually cannot see. By broadening our eyes, we can make better decisions, which will keep our families and towns fed and secured. For example, if an invading force is burning fields of Travaos and is moving north, wouldn't it be great to have an early warning so that you can save at least some of your crops?"

Everyone looked agreeable to that idea. They murmured with each other, glancing at me.

"How do you propose we do that?" someone else spoke up.

"You are?" I asked the most fancifully dressed man. Rather, he had the rich medieval merchant garb down to a tee.

"I am Daniel of Klosters, a merchant."

"Thank you for asking, Herr Daniel. I believe we will use light."

"... Light?"

I pulled out a polished glass with an iron back.

Daniel's eyes widened, and I knew why. Glass objects were hard to come by, and me showing off glass despite the wooden nature of my compound and fort was a sign of wealth. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"I make glass."

Oh shit. Daniel, you're popping blood vessels there, mate. Hold your excitement.

"And I can make mirrors."

… You alright there, Daniel? You're getting pale and red at the same time. Chill.

I angled the primitive mirror against the light flooding in from the top so that it would point at the table, and then covered the mirror. The light stopped reflecting, and I rapidly but with rhythm and precision took my hand on and off the mirror. The light on the table flickered on and off with my hand.

I smiled. "We'll have to come up with codes and have some people stationed in watchtowers between villages and in villages, but we can communicate across long distances now."

The representatives looked at each other.

When they looked back at me, I knew that I had their attention.

"Tell us more about what you had in mind…"

I grinned.