William Tell
Legendary Swiss folk hero and enduring symbol of resistance.
William Tell is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is famous for shooting an apple from atop his son's head. According to the story, Tell was a skilled mountain climber and a precise marksman with a crossbow. He killed Albrecht Gessler, a cruel Austrian reeve of the Habsburg dynasty stationed in Altdorf, Uri. Tell's act of defiance and his assassination of the tyrant are often seen as a symbol of resistance, but the earliest accounts, such as the White Book of Sarnen, place the Rütli Oath—the legendary alliance of the cantons—before Tell's deed. Thus, while Tell embodies the spirit of Swiss independence, the founding of the Swiss Confederacy predates his legend, and he is not considered its father.
- Field
- Legendary folk hero
- Nationality
- Swiss
- Known for
- Shooting an apple off his son's head; tyrannicide of Albrecht Gessler; symbol of resistance against aristocratic rule
Lore & Background
The first reference to Tell, without a specified given name, appears in the White Book of Sarnen, written c. 1474 by Hans Schriber. It mentions the Rütli Oath and names Tell as one of the conspirators, but contrary to later retellings, the oath is depicted as occurring before Tell's heroic tyrannicide. An equally early account is found in the Tellenlied, a song composed in the 1470s, which calls Tell the 'first confederate' and includes the apple shot, his preparation of a second arrow to shoot Gessler, and his escape, but does not mention any assassination of Gessler. Aegidius Tschudi of Glarus, writing c. 1570, presents an extended version, adding details such as Tell's given name Wilhelm, his being a native of Bürglen, Uri, the precise date of the apple-shot as 18 November 1307, and an account of Tell's death in 1354. Tschudi's version became influential and entered public consciousness as the 'William Tell' legend.
Reader's Guide
William Tell is a central figure in Swiss national historiography, along with Arnold von Winkelried, the hero of Sempach (1386). He was important as a symbol during the formative stage of modern Switzerland in the 19th century, known as the period of Restoration and Regeneration, as well as in the wider history of 18th- to 19th-century Europe as a symbol of resistance against aristocratic rule, especially in the Revolutions of 1848 against the House of Habsburg which had ruled Austria for centuries. The first recorded Tell play was probably performed in the winter of either 1512 or 1513 in Altdorf. The Three Tells were symbolic figures of the Swiss peasant war of 1653, expressing the hope of repeating the success of the rebellion against Habsburg Austria. By the 18th century, the Three Tells had become associated with a sleeping hero legend, said to be asleep in a cave at the Rigi. Tell's legacy endures as a symbol of defiance against tyranny and the foundation of Swiss independence.
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