Coverpage....Introduction....Arthur....Siegfried....Richard....William

William Tell: The Crossbowman of Burglen

Very early in the 14th century, a man named William Tell lived in the village of Burglen, in the canton of Uri, Switzerland. Tell was just a peasant, and the little cottage he lived in was packed to the brim with family. He lived with his wife, Annette, his six children, his nephew, Philip, and his niece, Lalotte. William Tell was not a rich man by any means, but he was able to provide for his family quite well using his talent with the crossbow. William's skill with the bow allowed him to have great success in hunting, and he supported his family by bringing home local game for food or to sell for money. William's markmanship skills were so famous that he was known as "The Crossbowman of Burglen."

William Tell was not only famous for being an expert marksman, but he was also very admired in some circles for being a member of the Brothers of Rutli. The Brothers were a band of thirty-four countrymen who vocally objected to the German tyrants who tried to rule Switzerland. In William Tell's time, Albert, Duke of Austria, had recently been made the Emperor of Germany. This was a problem for the Swiss because Switzerland was in a state of slavery to Albert. The Swiss had supported Albert's rival, Count Adolph of Nassau, and Albert decided to punish the Swiss once he had all the power. Albert declared that the Swiss were no longer subjects in his kingdom, but slaves. A German governor named Gessler took Albert's declaration to heart, and angered the Swiss people by killing and torturing many of their own. The entire country was screaming for a revolution, and the Brothers of Rutli hoped to be a part of the revolt against Germany.

Of course, Tell certainly despised Gessler, but he probably never imagined that a simple hunting trip might initiate a string of events that would lead to Tell meeting the horrid German governor. But alas, it all started one autumn day when Tell took his nephew Philip out hunting. The were gone for a few days, and when they returned home they were loaded down with the skins of the chamois that lived abundantly in the area. Tell was so happy with the quantity of skins that he decided to go to the fair in Altdorf the following day to sell some of the skins in preparation for winter. Philip and Henric, one of the Tell children, were immediately excited at the prospect of going to the fair. William quickly put a halt to their excitement, though, saying that the fair was too dangerous of a place for young boys in the time they were living. But of course, when do adventurous boys ever listen to their parents? These two certainly did not, and they made plans to sneak away to the fair on their own the next day.

The next morning, William happily set out for the Altdorf fair to sell the chamois skins. When Philip and Henric decided the coast was clear, they quietly made their way out of the house and headed toward the fair as well. Not too long after they left, Annette and Lalotte realized that the boys were gone and what that must mean. Lalotte went running down the road in the direction of the fair to see if she might be able to catch the boys before they arrived at the fair. Annette quickly got her BlackBerry out and began to email her husband to let him know what was going on.

During his search for the boys, Tell passed by a German flag Gessler had placed on the fairgrounds. Tell passed it with barely any notice until he was stopped by German soldiers. They told him that he must bow and pay homage to the flag, or else he was insulting their Emporer and governor. William was arguing with a soldier about this when Gessler himself suddenly stepped forward and began calling William a traitor. After many more minutes of arguing, Gessler noticed William's son, Henric, standing nearby. Gessler grabbed Henric by the arm and started dragging the boy alongside him. He then shoved the boy at some of his soldiers who started to tie the boy to a tree. William was frantic with worry about what was happening when Gessler snarled at him and said, "If you are truly the marksman people claim you to be, then there has never been a better day to prove it." Gessler then walked over to the boy and placed an apple on his head and told William that he must shoot the apple on his son's head. If William were to miss the apple or accidently kill his son, he would immediately be executed for boasting about fake skills.

William set up the shot, drew his bow with shaking hands, and then murmured a quick prayer for strength and accuracy. He let the arrow fly and it stabbed the apple straight through its core and right into the tree. The crowd that had gathered to watch broke out in cheers and Gessler begrudgingly let Henric go back to his father's side. William was so furious with Gessler that he vowed revenge in that exact moment. Tell got his revenge quickly, as not even days later, he killed Gessler with the same bow that had saved his son's life. This was a major victory for the Brothers of Rutli and their cause because Gessler's death led to the defeat of the German soldiers who occupied Switzerland. Shortly thereafter, Switzerland was declared an independent country.

Author's Note: This story was hard to write because the story about William Tell is so interesting that I just wanted to include it all! I felt it was necessary to give background about William Tell and what was going on in Switzerland at the time for the story to make any sense at all, which forced me to cut out most of his adventures after shooting the apple on his son's head. Supposedly, Tell had actually lined up two arrows to shoot, so that if he accidently shot his son he could kill Gessler for making it all happen in the first place. Gessler questioned Tell about that second arrow and Tell told him the truth. Gessler was so angry about what had happened that he used Tell's proven malice as a reason to kidnap him and take him to prison in the dungeons of Kussnacht. Tell was able to escape from the ship that was carrying him to Kussnacht, but he still went ahead on foot to Kussnacht. When he got there, he found a place to wait and hide from Gessler. As Gessler was passing by Tell's hiding place, he was talking about how he would kill Tell's children and wife if he ever had the opportunity to return to Altdorf. This only infuriated Tell more, and he killed him then and there from his hiding place on the ground. Tell is still one of the most legendary heroes of Switzerland, although it cannot be confirmed if he ever actually lived or not. Regardless of that, I thought learning about Tell was possibly the most fun in my whole storybook because although I had always known the name "William Tell," I never actually knew anything about him before writing this story!

Source:
Mabie, H.W.. Heroes Every Child Should Know. New York: Doubleday, 1908. Weblink: Baldwin Project- William Tell.

Image Information:
"William Tell." Weblink: Heroic World.
"William Tell." Weblink: Opera.
"Ping Went the Bowstring." I.L. Gloag, 1907. Weblink: Baldwin Project.

Coverpage....Introduction....Arthur....Siegfried....Richard....William