Knights of Art by Amy Steedman – 1. Giotto: Cautions

The three works of art selected for highlighting and illustration are, sadly, not actually by Giotto (d. 1337).

The first, The Shepherd Sitting Under His Tent, is today in in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, while a copy adorns the exterior of the Campanile. More precisely titled, Jabal: L’invenzione della pastorizia (Jabel: The Invention of Sheep Herding) – “And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of herdsmen.” Genesis 4.20 – may have been conceived by Giotto, but was carved by Andrea Pisano (d. 1348), who succeeded Giotto as Master of the Works of the Duomo in Florence and whose work certainly shows Giotto’s influence.

The second, the Visit of the Magi, today in the Galleria dell’Accademia, was painted by Taddeo Gaddi (d. 1366), his most talented pupil.

The third, the Meeting of Anna and Joachim, a fresco in the Capella di Sant’Anna in Santa Maria Novella in Florence, was painted by Nardo di Cione (d. ca. 1366).

Image Sources:

Jabal: L’invenzione della pastorizia by Andrea Pisano.

The Visit of the Magi by Taddeo Gaddi.

The Meeting of Joachim and Anna by Nardo di Cione.

William Tell

Stories for Children

Stories of William Tell and His Friends Told to the Children by Henrietta Marshall.

Beacon Reader (1932).

Heroes Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mabie (Doubleday, 1907).

Legends of Switzerland

Poetry

William Tell by William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)

William Tell by Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805)

These verses accompanied a copy of his play.

Tell’s Birthplace by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

In the town of Bürglen, you may visit the William Tell Chapel, its exterior painted with frescoes.

William Tell by Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805)

This poem refers to Küssnacht, the home of Austrian Bailiff Gessler, Gesslerburg Castle, and yet a third Tellskapelle. Enjoy this nicely documented visit to the Tellskapelle at Hohle Gasse.

The Chapel of Tell (On the Lake of Lucerne) by Aubrey Thomas de Vere (1814–1902)

Another Tellskapelle on Lake Lucerne marks where William Tell leaped from the boat of his captors. It preserves frescoes by Ernst Stückelberg. Look at the painting of the chapel by Johann Heinrich Neukomm (see below under “Art”). Enjoy this photo album of a visit to the chapel.

Song of the Battle of Morgarten by Felicia Hemans (1793–1835)

Tell was purportedly at the Battle of Morgarten in 1315, and here he shoots the first arrow.

The Death of Tell by Henry Morford (1823–1881)

This poems takes place in the Schächental, the valley of the River Schächen. Enjoy this video of a stunning waterfall that you may there visit.

Effusion in Presence of the Painted Tower of Tell, at Altorf by William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

Wordsworth likely refers to the tower before which Kissling’s statue of William Tell and his son stands (but which postdates this poem; see below under “Art”). According to the English Wikipedia article on the town of Altdorf, the Türmli preserves “rude frescoes,” but no other information about them can be found.

Drama

William Tell by Friedrich von Schiller (excerpts here)

Music

The William Tell Overture (background) to the opera William Tell by Gioacchino Rossini (background) based on Schiller’s play.

Art

Wallfahrt zur Tellskapelle in Brunnen (ca. 1830) by Johann Heinrich Neukomm

There are many such paintings. Here is another by an unnamed artist.

The Tell Monument (1895) by Richard Kissling in Altdorf.

Wilhelm Tell (1896-1897) by Ferdinand Hodler.

Arrest of William Tell (1901) a mosaic by Hans Sandreuter at the Landesmuseum in Zurich

Other Works of Art Depicting William Tell at the Landesmuseum in Zurich

Works of Art at the British Museum Depicting William Tell

Swiss Geography – Fribourg

Map

Gruyère

Ranz des Vaches

Read in French of the “Origine du Ranz des Vaches.” Read the song in full, in Patois and French, and listen to it here.

Morat (Murten)

The Battle of Murten by Veit Weber (d. 1483)

Veit Weber was assumed as a pseudonym for an 18th to 19th-century author, Leonhard Wächter, but he borrowed it from an 15th-century soldier-poet of the Burgundian War. The Battle of Murten de facto ended the Burgundian War and the defeat of Charles the Bold’s ambitions. “The Battle of Murten” is the final of his five battle poems on the War. Here it is in its original German from the collection of German songs, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, there from the Beschreibung der Burgundischen Kriege of Diebold Schilling. A 19th-century panorama depicts the Battle. (Here find an alternate printing of the poem with an introduction).

Morat by Lord Byron (1788–1824)

Learn more about the town of Morat (also here, both in French).

Murist


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