Ep. 227: Landsknechte vs. Swiss Mercenaries – The Swabian (Swiss) War of 1499

Ep. 227: Landsknechte vs. Swiss Mercenaries – The Swabian (Swiss) War of 1499

From History of the Germans by Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

March 4, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 227

About this episode

This episode explores the Swabian War of 1499 and its significance in Swiss and German history, particularly focusing on the identities of Swiss mercenaries and Landsknechte.

Why are the Swiss called the Swiss? After all, Schwyz in only of 26 cantons, and not one of the largest ones. How did the proud and prosperous citizens of Zurich or Berne, mighty city states in their own right, decide they wanted to be named after a mountainous region largely inhabited by peasants tending to their gorgeous brown cattle, the Braunvieh. They even called their national airline Swissair, until my former colleagues at McKinsey let the air out of that one. So, why Swiss? The answer goes back to today’s topic, a war that the Swiss call the Schwabenkreig or Swabian War. This war played a massive role in Swiss historiography, and its main battles at the Caven and at Dornach was mentioned in the same breath as Morgarten and Sempach. It was seen as the moment when Switzerland de facto exited the Holy Roman Empire and began ploughing its own furrow in European history. Meanwhile in Germany, this war that we called the Schweizerkreig or Swiss War is largely forgotten amongst the hundreds of other military conflicts. It was also the first of many contests between the two formidable fighting forces of the Renaissance, the Swiss Reisläufer and the German Landsknechte. These…

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