South Central Europe (1396–1539 CE): Alpine Confederacies, Habsburg Frontiers, and Reformation Currents

Geographic & Environmental Context

The subregion of South Central Europe includes western and southern Austria (except Salzburg), Liechtenstein, extreme southwestern Germany, and most of Switzerland (including Geneva and Zurich but excluding Basel and the northern Jura). Anchors included the Tyrolean and Styrian Alps, the Rhine headwaters around Chur, the Swiss plateau cities of Zurich, Bern, and Geneva, the Bernese Oberland and Valais highlands, and the Alpine passes of St. Gotthard, Brenner, and Arlberg. These zones linked Italy to Germany and France, funnelling merchants, pilgrims, and armies across snowbound corridors.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

The Little Ice Age deepened alpine challenges:

• High Alps: Glaciers advanced, threatening upland pastures and settlements in Valais and Grisons.

• Swiss plateau & Tyrolean valleys: Shorter growing seasons limited wheat; rye, barley, and oats dominated.

• Geneva basin and Ticino valleys: Grapes and chestnuts thrived, though yields dipped in cold decades.

• Pastoral uplands: Transhumance sustained dairy, wool, and hides despite winter stress.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Villages: Practiced mixed farming of rye, oats, beans, flax, and orchards; cattle herding for milk and cheese anchored upland economies.

• Transhumance: Seasonal migrations between valley farms and alpine meadows shaped life in Switzerland, Tyrol, and Grisons.

• Towns: Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, and Geneva thrived as markets and political centers; Innsbruck (Tyrol) linked Alpine mining to wider trade.

• Lake Geneva & Zurich basins: Supported viticulture, trade fairs, and craft production.

Technology & Material Culture

• Agriculture: Heavy plows and scythes; communal granaries; watermills in valleys.

• Mining & metallurgy: Silver and copper mines in Tyrol enriched the Habsburgs; ironworking supported tools and weapons.

• Crafts: Swiss textiles, watchmaking beginnings, leather and woodwork.

• Architecture: Gothic churches (Zurich Grossmünster, Geneva St. Pierre), alpine castles, civic halls in Swiss towns.

• Printing: Presses in Zurich and Geneva (early 16th century) spread humanist and reformist texts.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Alpine passes: Brenner, St. Gotthard, and Simplon carried Venetian silks and spices north, German furs and silver south.

• Rhine headwaters & upper Danube: Moved timber, grain, and wine into broader markets.

• Lake Geneva: A hub for trade fairs drawing French, Italian, and German merchants.

• Pilgrimage routes: To Einsiedeln Abbey, Chur, and alpine shrines; also transalpine routes to Rome.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Catholic piety: Monasteries, abbeys, and feast cycles structured rural and urban rhythms.

• Swiss Confederation: Gained cohesion after victories at Morgarten (1315), Sempach (1386), and Näfels (1388); cantonal leagues expanded through the 15th century.

• Burgundian Wars (1470s): Swiss defeated Charles the Bold, solidifying confederate military prestige.

• Humanism: Geneva and Zurich became hubs of learning; Erasmus resided in Swiss lands, and reformist writings spread from presses.

• Reformation: Ulrich Zwingli launched reform in Zurich (1519), spurring iconoclasm and liturgical change; Geneva embraced reform under John Calvin by the late 1530s.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Alpine households: Stockpiled hay and grain; practiced intercropping to stabilize yields.

• Dairy cooperatives: Produced cheese for storage and trade, buffering poor harvests.

• Communal labor: Built terraces, repaired flood dikes, and maintained alpine pastures.

• Upland resilience: Relied on diverse resources—forests, hunting, and river fishing—in lean years.

Technology & Power Shifts (Conflict Dynamics)

• Swiss Confederation vs. Habsburgs: Defeated Habsburg attempts at control; secured autonomy after Swabian War (1499).

• Urban-rural tensions: Town guilds and peasant communes clashed over taxes and pastures.

• Religious wars: Swiss cantons divided between Catholic and Protestant; Zwingli died in battle at Kappel (1531). Geneva became a center for Calvinist exiles and doctrine.

• Habsburg Austria: Consolidated Tyrol and Styria with mining wealth, funding imperial ambitions; Vienna and Innsbruck fortified against Ottoman threats advancing up the Danube.

Transition

By 1539 CE, South Central Europe had become a region of contrasts: Swiss cantons prided themselves on military independence but fractured along confessional lines; Geneva emerged as a Protestant stronghold; Zurich was scarred by religious wars. In Austria and Tyrol, the Habsburgs consolidated mining wealth and fortified the Danube frontier. Alpine villages adapted to harsher climate with resilient agro-pastoralism, while alpine passes tied Italy and Germany in a web of trade, pilgrimage, and war.

The Swiss confederates control most of the territory south and west of the Rhine to the Alps and the Jura mountains by 1460, particularly after victories against the Habsburgs (Battle of Sempach, Battle of Näfels), over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s, and the success of the Swiss mercenaries.

The Swiss victory in the Swabian War against the Swabian League of Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 amounts to de facto independence within the Holy Roman Empire.

The Old Swiss Confederacy had acquired a reputation of invincibility during these earlier wars, but expansion of the confederation suffers a setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano.

This ends the so-called "heroic" epoch of Swiss history.

The success of Zwingli's Reformation in some cantons leads to inter-cantonal religious conflicts in 1529 and 1531 (Wars of Kappel).

The Battle of Nancy and the Death of Charles the Bold (January 5, 1477)

On January 5, 1477, the fate of the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was sealed decisively at the Battle of Nancy. Reduced by harsh winter conditions to only a few thousand exhausted men, Charles faced a vastly superior alliance composed of the forces of René II of Lorraine and the formidable Swiss Confederation, who had come to relieve the besieged city. The battle, a culmination of years of strategic miscalculations and diplomatic isolation, ended catastrophically for Burgundy, marking the dramatic collapse of Charles’s ambitious political and military aspirations.

The Decisive Engagement

The Burgundian forces, already weakened by severe cold, hunger, and attrition during the preceding siege, were swiftly encircled by the coalition forces. Charles’s army was overwhelmed, suffering devastating losses. In the ensuing chaotic retreat, Charles himself perished. His body, abandoned on the frozen battlefield, was discovered several days later, half-submerged and frozen in the icy waters of a nearby stream, stripped of clothing and grotesquely disfigured.

Discovery and Identification of Charles’s Remains

Charles’s body had been subjected to extreme violence: his skull cleft by a halberd blow, lances lodged deeply in his abdomen and loins, and his face mutilated beyond recognition by scavenging animals. The identification of Charles’s corpse was possible only through the meticulous observation of his personal physician, who recognized distinguishing features—Charles’s unusually long fingernails and distinctive battle scars, accumulated over a lifetime of military campaigns.

Burial and Symbolic End to Burgundian Ambition

Initially, René II respectfully ordered Charles’s battered remains interred within the ducal church at Nancy. This burial symbolically underscored the finality of Burgundy’s defeat and the restoration of Lorraine’s independence. Charles’s death effectively ended the Burgundian defiance against the French monarchy, extinguishing the vision of a unified, autonomous middle kingdom.

Political and Territorial Consequences

Charles’s demise and the destruction of his army at Nancy had profound and lasting implications for European geopolitics. Burgundy’s expansive and ambitious territorial domain fractured rapidly. The original Duchy of Burgundy reverted swiftly to direct royal control under Louis XI of France, while Charles’s heiress, his daughter Mary of Burgundy, retained authority only over the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté. These territories subsequently passed through Mary’s marriage to Austrian Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, laying foundations for the enduring Habsburg dominance in European affairs.

Cultural and Historical Significance

Charles’s dramatic fall marked a defining moment in late medieval Atlantic West Europe. It signaled the decisive shift from feudal fragmentation and ducal autonomy toward centralized, national monarchies. His catastrophic defeat at Nancy vividly illustrated the consequences of overambitious territorial expansion without sufficient diplomatic and strategic flexibility, leaving a lasting impression on political and military thought across Europe.

Long-Term Legacy

The violent end of Charles the Bold symbolized the limits of late medieval territorial ambition, precipitating the decline of feudal territorial states and the rise of more centralized, modern European states. The dissolution of Burgundy following Nancy reshaped European alliances and set the stage for centuries of rivalry, notably between France and the Habsburgs, fundamentally influencing Europe's historical trajectory into the early modern era.

Matthias also enters into an alliance with Archbishop of Salzburg Bernhard II of Rohr, who allows him to take possession of the fortresses of the Archbishopric in Carinthia, Carniola and Styria.

The Battle of Guinegatte and the Rise of Infantry Warfare (1479)

The Battle of Guinegatte, fought on August 7, 1479, near the village of Guinegatte in Artois, marked a critical turning point in late medieval European military tactics. In the aftermath of the Burgundian collapse, the young Archduke Maximilian of Austria, husband of Mary of Burgundy, confronted the forces of French king Louis XI, who had aggressively contested the Burgundian inheritance. At Guinegatte, Maximilian employed innovative infantry formations inspired by the successful tactics of the Swiss mercenaries who had decisively defeated Charles the Bold two years earlier at Nancy.

Context: Military Innovations and Swiss Influence

The catastrophic defeat of Burgundy at Nancy (1477) had dramatically showcased the effectiveness of the Swiss infantry pike squares—dense formations of foot soldiers armed with long pikes, capable of resisting and defeating heavily armored cavalry charges. At Nancy, Swiss troops fighting on behalf of the Lower League and René II of Lorraine demonstrated the superiority of disciplined infantry squares over the traditional heavy cavalry charges, revolutionizing late medieval battlefield tactics.

Witnessing firsthand the efficacy of these tactics at Nancy was Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont, now allied with Maximilian and urging the adoption of similar infantry techniques. This marked a major shift away from medieval dependence on heavily armored cavalry toward an infantry-centric method of warfare that would dominate European battlefields into the early modern period.

Deployment of Innovative Infantry Formations at Guinegatte

At Guinegatte, Maximilian decisively adopted Romont’s advice, deploying his 11,000 infantrymen into two large, densely packed squares. One square, commanded by Count Engelbert of Nassau, a seasoned commander who had also fought at Nancy, anchored the Archduke’s battle line. The second square, under Romont’s command, mirrored the Swiss formations: ranks of disciplined, determined pikemen supported by noblemen and knights, prominently positioned in the foremost lines—an unusual innovation that signaled a major shift in tactical doctrine.

Notably, Maximilian himself took an unprecedented step by personally joining the frontline infantry ranks alongside his noble retainers—an extraordinary act for a prince of his stature, defying contemporary military tradition, which typically placed commanders safely behind front lines.

The Battle: Turning Defeat into Victory

Initially, Philippe de Crèvecœur (Maréchal des Cordes), commanding Louis XI’s French forces, successfully attacked the Burgundian left square, driving it back and capturing the Burgundian artillery positioned there. However, the French cavalry—traditionally the decisive force—failed to capitalize on their early advantage, becoming distracted by their captured artillery and scattered pursuit.

On the opposing flank, Maximilian’s disciplined infantry squares stood firm. Slowly advancing, they methodically wore down French resistance through sustained pressure, demonstrating the tactical superiority of disciplined infantry formations. Ultimately, this steadfastness and cohesion secured victory for Maximilian’s forces.

Tactical Innovation and Shift in Warfare

Guinegatte represented a profound turning point in European military history. The successful use of infantry squares, previously perfected by Swiss mercenaries, fundamentally challenged the long-established dominance of knightly cavalry. The discipline, cohesion, and fighting spirit of massed infantry formations would thereafter dominate European battlefield tactics, significantly diminishing the effectiveness of traditional cavalry-centric strategies.

Long-Term Historical Consequences and Legacy

The victory at Guinegatte greatly reinforced Maximilian’s political and military standing, solidifying his rule over Burgundian territories and decisively checking French expansionism. By highlighting infantry formations as superior to traditional cavalry, Guinegatte accelerated the shift towards infantry-based warfare that would dominate European battlefields well into the early modern period.

Additionally, Maximilian’s extraordinary decision to personally lead his noble troops from the frontline created a new ideal of courageous, engaged leadership. This set a symbolic and practical precedent for battlefield leadership that influenced subsequent military doctrine throughout Europe.

Thus, the Battle of Guinegatte (1479) represented not only a critical victory for Habsburg ambitions against French aggression, securing the Burgundian inheritance under Habsburg rule, but also marked the beginning of a lasting transformation in military strategy and organization that reshaped warfare in late medieval and early modern Atlantic West Europe.

The competition between Swiss (Reisläufer) and Swabian mercenaries (Landsknechte), who both fight in armies throughout Europe, sometimes opposing each other on the battlefield, sometimes competing for contracts, intensifies.

Contemporary chronicles agree in their reports that the Swiss, who are considered the best soldiers in Europe at the time after their victories in the Burgundian Wars, are subject to many taunts and abuses by the Landsknechte; they are called "Kuhschweizer" and ridiculed in other ways.

Kuhschweizer roughly means literally "Swiss cow herders"; although intended as a derogatory term, there is no connection to "coward".

One explanation for the violent response of the Swiss to that and related "cow"-based insults is that these alluded to sodomy and thus heresy.

Incidentally, the Swabians also use the term Schwyzer to denote all the Swiss, who call themselves Eidgenossen at this time, as an insult.

The Swiss, however, assimilated that term and begin to wear it proudly.

Such insults are neither given nor taken lightly, and frequently lead to bloodshed.

Indeed, such incidents will contribute to prolong the Swabian War itself by triggering skirmishes and looting expeditions that the military commands of neither side had ever wanted or planned.

The Swabian War of 1499 (Schwabenkrieg, also called Schweizerkrieg ["Swiss War"] in Germany and Engadiner Krieg ["War of the Engadin"] in Austria) is the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg.

What had begun as a local conflict over the control of the Val Müstair and the Umbrail Pass in the Grisons soon gets out of hand when both parties call upon their allies for help; the Habsburgs demanding the support of the Swabian League and the Federation of the Three Leagues of the Grisons turning to the Swiss Eidgenossenschaft.

Hostilities quickly spread from the Grisons through the Rhine valley to Lake Constance and even to the Sundgau in southern Alsace, the westernmost part of Habsburg Further Austria.

Many battles are fought from January to July 1499, and in all but a few minor skirmishes, the experienced Swiss soldiers defeat the Swabian and Habsburg armies.

After their victories in the Burgundian Wars, the Swiss have battle-tested troops and commanders.

On the Swabian side, distrust between the knights and their foot soldiers, disagreements among the military leadership, and a general reluctance to fight a war that even the Swabian counts consider to be more in the interests of the powerful Habsburgs than in the interest of the Holy Roman Empire, prove fatal handicaps.

When his military high commander falls in the battle of Dornach, where the Swiss win a final decisive victory Maximilian I has no choice but to agree to a peace treaty signed on September 22, 1499 in Basel.

The treaty grants the Confederacy far-reaching independence from the empire.

Although the Eidgenossenschaft is to officially remain a part of the empire until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the peace of Basel exempts it from the imperial jurisdiction and imperial taxes and thus de facto acknowledges it as a separate political entity.

Maximilian I had formed the first mercenary Landsknecht regiments in 1487.

Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519, he calls upon Georg von Frundsberg, sometimes referred to as the Father of the Landsknechts, to assist him in their organization.

Frundsberg, born to Ulrich von Frundsberg, a captain of the Swabian League forces, and his wife Barbara von Rechberg at Mindelheim, into an old line of Tyrolean knights who had settled in Upper Swabia, had followed his father in the campaign of the Hohenzollern margrave Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach, authorized to execute the Imperial ban against Duke Albert IV of Bavaria in 1492.

As Albert gave in, the expedition had been canceled.

The Landsknechts, formed in conscious imitation of the Swiss mercenaries (and, initially, using Swiss instructors), will eventually contribute to the defeat of the redoubtable Swiss, whose battle formations—over-dependent on hand-to-hand fighting—are becoming vulnerable to the increased firepower of arquebus and artillery.

French artillery or Spanish firepower will deal serious blows to the Swiss formations, and the Landsknecht pike blocks will be there to fight off the depleted Swiss attack columns once this occurs.

Landsknechts will later go on to fight in almost every sixteenth-century military campaign, sometimes on both sides of the engagement.

Pope Innocent VIII, in conflict with King Ferdinand I of Naples over Ferdinand's refusal to pay feudal dues to the papacy, had excommunicated and deposed Ferdinand by a bull of September 11, 1489.

Innocent had then offered the Kingdom of Naples to Charles VIII of France, who has a remote claim to its throne because his grandfather, Charles VII, King of France, had married Marie of Anjou of the Angevin dynasty, the ruling family of Naples until 1442.

Innocent had later settled his quarrel with Ferdinand and revoked the bans before dying in 1492, but the offer to Charles remains an apple of discord in Italian politics.

Ferdinand dies on January 25, 1494, and is succeeded by his son Alfonso II.

Charles VIII, in order to have a free hand in Italy, has made ruinous pacts with all his neighbors, so they will not interfere.

Henry VII has been given cash, Ferdinand II of Aragon has been given Roussillon and Maximillian has been given Artois and Franche-Comté.

This handing out of territory is symptomatic of Charles' lack of foresight.

Charles is willing to do this, however, in his attempt to establish his Neapolitan base for his crusade.

The fighting between the many independent towns of Italy has been done by establishing a contract, condotta in Italian, between the town leaders and the leaders of mercenary bands, who had come to be called condottieri.

This had led to the developing of fighting tactics destined to establish field supremacy, gaining wealthy prisoners to be ransomed, and minimizing casualties, as it is basically a business.

These tactics will be put to shame when the motivated armies of France and Spain descend upon the Italian peninsula.

Rapallo is occupied by four thousand Neapolitan troops on September 3, 1494, with Giulio Orsini, Obietto Fieschi and Fregosino Campofregoso in command, their plan being to force a rebellion in Genoa; however, the Neapolitan fleet is soon forced away by bad weather.

Louis d'Orleans lands on September 5 with one thousand Swiss mercenary infantry, later reinforced overland by two thousand more Swiss mercenaries and a contingent of Genoese-Milanese infantry.

A skirmish breaks out between the Swiss mercenaries and Neapolitan forces, though the terrain does not allow for the Swiss to form up their pike squares.

The battle is mainly fought, however, between the Genoese-Milanese and Neapolitan infantry.

Following concentrated artillery fire from the French fleet, the Neapolitans are routed.

The Swiss massacre Neapolitans trying to surrender, although Orsini and Campofregoso are captured in the retreat.

After the battle the Swiss mercenaries kill the enemy wounded and sack the town of Rapallo.

Though this had been a small battle, it is seen as a significant victory that halts Neapolitan-Aragonese attempts to incite a rebellion in Genoa against the French.

Ludovico Sforza, who has long controlled the Duchy of Milan, finally procures the ducal title in October 1494, after providing a hitherto unheard-of dowry to his niece, who is marrying the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian.

He is immediately challenged by Alfonso II, who also has a claim on Milan.

Ludovico decides to remove this threat by inciting Charles to take up Innocent's offer.

Charles is also being encouraged by his favorite, Étienne de Vesc, as well as by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II, who hopes to settle a score with the incumbent Pope, Alexander VI.