page_title: Canton of Schwyz
section_title: Eternal alliance
hierarchical_section_title: Canton of Schwyz / History / Eternal alliance
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Schlacht bei Morgarten 1315, Holzschnitt English: Battle of Morgarten in 1315, Woodcut Español: Xilografía de la batalla de Morgarten, año 1315.
context_page_description: The canton of Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centered on and named after the town of Schwyz.
  It is one of the founding cantons of Switzerland; Switzerland's name is derived from the name of the canton, and the flag of Switzerland from its coat of arms. The Swiss Federal Charter is on display in Schwyz. Northeast of the town of Schwyz is the Einsiedeln Abbey.
context_section_description: Perhaps on 1 August 1291, the cantons of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden entered into an Eternal Alliance that would eventually become the Swiss Confederation. The Federal Charter of 1291 was probably prompted by the death of Rudolf I of Habsburg on 15 July 1291 and created a defensive alliance. The Rütlischwur (Oath of the Rütli) was another alliance between the Forest Cantons in or around 1308 and brought the cantons closer together. The canton of Schwyz took the leadership in the confederation early on. As early as 1320 the name of the canton was applied to the whole of the confederation. It was only in 1803, however, that the name Schweiz as derived from the canton of Schwyz became the official name of Switzerland. The flag of Switzerland is derived from the banner of Schwyz.
  With the Eternal Alliance, the three cantons remained politically independent, with a central council to deal with disputes among the members, and with promises of military assistance. The cantons became de facto independent from the Habsburgs at the same time as the Habsburgs were attempting to expand into the Forest Cantons. When the century-old Marchenstreit between Schwyz and Einseideln Abbey led to a Schwyz attack on the Abbey in 1314, the Habsburgs, as patrons of the Abbey, had an opportunity for military action against them.
  On 15 November 1315, Leopold of Austria led a large army of knights to crush the rebellious confederates, planning a surprise attack from the south via Lake Aegeri and the Morgarten pass, and counting on a complete victory over the rebellious peasants. The chronicle of Johannes von Winterthur concerning the battle puts the Austrian forces at 20,000, though that number is certainly inflated. Another account says that there were 9,000 men in the Austrian army, while Delbrück holds that the Austrian army was only 2,000-3,000 but mostly knights.
  The Confederates of Schwyz — supported by the Confederates of Uri, who feared for their autonomy, but not supported by the Confederates of Unterwalden — expected the army in the west near the village of Arth, where they had erected fortifications. The size of the Confederate army is also disputed, with some chronicles placing it at 1,500, while others state that it was 3,000-4,000. Even if the Confederate army outnumbered the Habsburgs, they were an untrained militia against a force of well-equipped and trained knights.
  The Confederates prepared a road block and an ambush at a point between Lake Aegeri and the Morgarten Pass where the narrow path led between the steep slope and a swamp. When the Austrian army entered the ambush, the Confederates attacked from above with rocks, logs and halberds. The knights had no room to defend themselves and suffered a crushing defeat, while the foot soldiers in the rear fled back to the city of Zug. About 1,500 Habsburg soldiers were killed in the attack.
  After the victory at Morgarten, the Forest Cantons met at Brunnen on 9 December 1315 to renew the promise of mutual military assistance. The Pact of Brunnen, which emerged from the meeting, changed the pragmatic defensive alliance into a full confederacy. During the following forty years, five nearby cities (Lucerne in 1332, Zürich in 1351, Glarus and Zug in 1352 and Bern in 1353) joined the Pact and began the growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
caption: The Battle of Morgarten, the first battle of the new Confederation against the Habsburgs
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