History teaches us that we learn nothing from history.
The wheel of oppression, suffering from injustice and the resulting struggle for
freedom therefore patiently turns on and on.
The true value of a story written with sweat, blood and tears will only ever be known to those who wrote it with their own blood.
You should write a brief historical outline of the Battle of Sempach and not a biography of Arnold Winkelried!
The days are getting more and more hectic.
Who would take the time to read all these details later?
And what if Winkelried's name is forgotten?
Hundreds of brave men lost their lives with him.
Wouldn't they all have the same right to be included in the chronicle?
But Arnold Winkelried ...
Only one name can be significant for posterity,
when it commemorates that July 9, 1386:
Leopold the Third, Habsburg King of Austria, oppressor of the Swiss people, enemy of their rights and freedoms,
falls victim - as did his predecessors - to the Swiss people's will to defend themselves and their bravery.
But without Arnold ...
Don't worry any more.
Noldi's name will not be forgotten.
His name is on everyone's lips, and it will stay that way.
He will not become a myth.
Too bad about all the work and the expensive parchment.
Get a new role now, and keep it shorter!
What a pity, I would have loved to leave this story for posterity!
Heroes die differently
Screenplay and director Ivo Sasek
The Tell is coming!
May I join your elevator?
But of course, with Walter at your side, the alpine elevator can only be all the more blessed!
I've been looking forward to spending the night with you in the alpine hut in the hay for so long!
It's cold up there on the alp at night, but if you lie close enough to me, it will get warm.
That's why I'm so happy!
If mom knew how happy I am!
Tomorrow, Tell, who are you bringing with you today?
This is my grandson, the son of my eldest daughter Vreni.
Well, what's your name?
Arnold Winkelried.
Everyone says 'Noldi' to me.
Yuphi! You are welcome!
Do you sleep in the hayloft with us?
I can sleep in my grandfather's arms.
Yay! I can spend the night in the hay with my grandfather!
There's nothing better!
Stop, you won't get through!
Why shouldn't we be able to get through?
Turn around, get lost, you cow milking people!
This is where other people's property begins!
What, other people's property?
We have been going to these pastures with our grandfathers since we were children.
That's water under the bridge.
The pastures now belong to Abbot Johann.
Emperor Frederick the Fair gave it to the monastery.
The emperor had no right to give them to the abbot.
Make way, otherwise we'll strike!
(Ouch ...)
Grandfather! Grandfather!
We will not put up with that.
Let's beat them!
There you have it, you greedy burgers!
And this hypocritical rabble of monks should also be put to death.
Grandfather! Grandfather!
Is everything all right?
Weeds do not die!
It will soon be better again.
Go on, without me.
I'm going to relax here for a moment.
But call us if you need help!
We have to keep going, we still have a long way to go.
Noldi, you just go with me.
It will be better in a moment.
I'll catch up with you.
And when the Habsburgs return?
Ha, they are cowards.
They ran like rabbits!
Those darn Swiss cows.
I hate their sticks and truncheons.
We only have to catch one of them as a hostage.
Then we'll know who all the others are afterwards.
Isn't that a pretty familiar face?
I'm telling you, it was his father who shot Gessler.
But now he's lying there all alone.
And I haven't seen a crossbow either.
Grandfather!
Help, help! The Habsburgs have returned.
Come quickly, help us!
Grandfather!
Help, help!
No, grandfather! No!
Grandpa, why did I leave you alone?
Why didn't we stay with the others?
No! Grandfather! No!
No!
I'll say it for the last time, you've gone crazy.
Should we let him live so that he can shoot as many of us as possible, like his father?
We should hand him over to the emperor, there's a reward waiting for us!
We are the emperor.
Besides, we can show the emperor where we've sunk him.
That is vigilante justice.
If you don't stop right now, we'll tie you to him.
I'm staying out of it.
I don't touch a hand.
We can do that on our own.
Come on, turn around or you'll start crying.
Grandfather!
No!
I swear to you by my blood that I will take revenge and will not rest until I see you wriggling in your blood.
Go away, you devil!
Mom! Dad! They killed Grandpa!
Noldi, you haven't been eating properly for three weeks now. - Please!
If I ever eat again, it's only to fortify myself for boyhood.
Why don't you finally stop planning revenge?
At least they are still fighting the disaster and not just sitting around praying and doing nothing like us.
Revenge is the wrong way to go.
The better way is to take bloodguilt committed
covered with your own blood!
What do you mean?
When you place your body and life under the obedience of Christ with faith,
so as to live, as it were, as one who has been killed, no longer for himself but for Christ.
Noldi, he wasn't just your grandfather!
He was my father!
Don't we want to wish those murderers the better way first?
They don't want to go there anyway!
Then God himself will see to it that their blood is shed.
And countless other innocent people will die with them!
Nevertheless, I'll tell you that:
You will not join a boyhood!
Did you understand that?
Did you all understand that exactly?
Heini, you're repeating the exact procedure again!
What kind of young stag have we caught here?
Please don't hurt me, I just want to become one of you.
Ha! Anyone can say that!
Did you ask your mommy for permission?
She's already asleep at this time of night.
Okay, get him up!
The boy is all right!
Are you the son of the German mercenary?
The leader of the youngest boyhood?
I am Danny.
Did they also tell you that my father is a murderer?
And you're not afraid to come here?
It's really cool! It must be real!
Only that the matter is clear between us:
My father was a knight in the service of Rudolf of Habsburg.
His blessing at his knighthood meant:
To be the protector of the Church and the weak against the savagery of the heathen.
But then he was accused of murdering innocent people.
He was also to take part in raids by the Roman Church.
When innocent and unarmed Swiss families began to be slaughtered before his eyes, he reached for his sword.
He slew his own countrymen to protect the defenceless Confederates from the savagery of these heathens.
He then fled here to perform military service for Switzerland as a liegeman.
My mind resisted going to a murderer's son, but my heart drew me to you despite this lying rumor.
And it's real!
I am Heini!
Nice to meet you! I am Arnold Winkelried.
Uh ... we only say our first names here.
That's all we know about each other.
That way we're safe from prosecution!
So, I'm Noldi.
I am Heini.
And you must be Heini?
That really is the case.
The boys don't lie. - Let's keep it short.
Apart from you and me, there's only one other person here who isn't called Heini.
This is the Dänu.
Is your father behind this boyhood?
He and we have sworn by our blood to fight for the Confederates until the oath they have sworn before God is fulfilled.
Which oath do you mean?
You're Swiss and you ask a German that?
We want to be one people of brothers.
In no distress separate us and danger ...
We want to be free, like the fathers were ...
Rather death than live in servitude ...
We want to trust in the highest God ...
And do not fear us
from the power of men!
What hardship can we share with you?
Tell was my grandfather!
Oh, I'm so sorry about that!
And they drowned him in front of me!
And the big players are doing nothing about it.
They can only pray.
Please!
Never stop praying!
Who else could help us?
But you're right!
Action must follow!
Sometimes we still have to help the grown-ups with this.
Will you help me avenge my grandfather's blood?
God has said that blood guilt can only be removed by the blood of the one who shed it.
We know the path of the three soldiers who drowned your grandfather.
Are you all taking part?
We want to be one people of brothers.
Wait! I heard one of the three screaming that he wasn't going to take part.
We do not want to shed innocent blood.
I ... It was me ... it was me!
Hurry, we can't hold them much longer!
Hey, what's going on here?
Shit, get out of here quickly!
Get out of here quickly!
Yes, of course we've got you, little boy!
No! Let go of me at last!
That's fine slave money!
Don't you agree?
Come on, let him go!
He had to watch you drown his grandfather.
So what?
That's just the way life is.
We're not killing him, we're just selling him.
Let go of me, you murderers!
Where am I here?
Don't worry, kid, we're friends!
Where are the Habsburgs?
They are gone.
We are here in the mountains, in safety.
Did the arrows come from you?
Actually, we only need them for hunting.
We are persecuted Waldensian Christians.
When we came across you by chance while hunting and saw you in mortal danger, the spirit of the Lord came upon us.
We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit and in God's spiritual gifts.
Against our better judgment, we were inspired to free you and execute justice on your executioners.
I've heard a lot about the Waldensians.
But everyone says that you would never take up arms!
We would rather die like our Lord Jesus Christ.
Haven't you put your lives in danger now with my liberation?
Yes, but how could we watch a defenseless boy being killed or sold as a slave?
The Roman Catholics have killed over 22 million innocent people in 7 crusades over the past 300 years.
In Jerusalem alone, they murdered 60,000 Jews,
because they did not want to convert to the papacy.
Yes, just like the 10,000 Stedingen farmers back then.
They have wanted to massacre us and our families for years.
Don't worry, boy.
For years we have been in mortal danger because we only want to submit to the Holy Spirit
and not to the inquisitors and their crusaders.
Are you sure you don't want that?
Let's see which god is the stronger one here!
We had been looking for you for a long time!
We had a long time to prepare a place for you...
Let's go now!
Put your hands behind your head and follow us!
Do what you want with us.
But let this boy go free.
He has seen enough cruelty!
So is that your last wish?
Yes, otherwise I have no more wishes!
Leads the boy out.
It can serve us well.
Look at this sign!
It will ease your mortal pain.
My innermost being is so full of the true benefits and goodness of Christ that I don't
need a piece of dead wood to remind me of Him.
Pierce her tongue first, and when it is pierced, burn her!
Yes.
Do you want to be executed or baptized back into the Father's house so that you can at least go to heaven?
Are there also Catholics in heaven?
Who else?!
Then I don't want to go there.
I'd rather be in hell with our own.
If only I didn't have to see such cruel people as you for eternity, or stay where you are present.
Break his bones!
If you recant, the Lord's Supper will be granted to you and you will enter heaven in the grace of the thief.
I was there when Catholic troops slaughtered thousands of us.
In one of your churches I found 50 of our women beheaded and saw their infants still
sucking on the breasts of their lifeless mothers.
You can take away our temporal life, but the Lord God can,
He will redeem us to eternal life in His glory.
But you, together with your wafers and crosses, will burn in eternal fire.
Have you been taken here too?
Me too.
Have you been here long?
I think forever.
And where are you from?
From Alsace.
They abducted me.
And now? Where are we now?
I have no idea.
I was blindfolded.
You too?
But I think it must be a monastery, because there's an Abbot Johannes here.
Abbot Johannes? Are you sure?
Yes, definitely, because my father was also called Johannes.
Was he? Is he no longer alive?
Mom no longer does either.
Who did this?
The Romanesque Church.
At first they only destroyed our synagogues.
Syna... what?
These are houses.
You call them 'churches'.
Then we were no longer allowed out on the street on Christian holidays.
What do you mean by 'we'?
Yes, just the Jews.
All Jewish books had to be burned and we had to wear special clothes.
It wasn't all that bad, but then we weren't allowed to stay in our house either.
Everything was taken away from us.
And they wanted to force us to be baptized.
My parents didn't want that.
Then their heads were cut off in front of me.
I'm so homesick!
We have to be brave now.
We certainly won't be in here for long.
Danny! Danny won't let us down!
Who is Danny?
My best friend.
My parents are still alive, but they won't be able to help us any more than yours can.
Why not?
Oh, they just pray all the time, but don't do anything about it.
But Danny, my friend, will come; he'll get us out of here.
You are no longer alone, Anneli.
I'm your big brother now.
As long as I live, I want to be there for you and take care of you.
You are no longer alone.
Why are you on this page?
Practice staying away from the opposite sex from an early age!
Why haven't you moved on yet?
I've just explained to him that things are moving far too slowly here.
And we discussed together how we could get this situation under control.
Tss, you must come from a fine family!
Come down now! There's still work for you in the garden.
You can prepare the ground for a new bed.
Quick, kneel down!
What's going on again?
She hurt herself terribly while digging.
I thought you were dead, you were screaming!
Take better care with the devices!
We have to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Something bad must have happened here.
We'll meet tonight when everything has gone quiet.
I've discovered a passage in the cellar that might lead us to freedom.
Quick, we'll dig everything up.
Could it be that we are not in a monastery after all?
That sounds more like a tavern.
But there's no whispering in a tavern.
But the woman did say that men and women avoid each other?
But did you see what terrible things they did to each other?
This was probably not meant for our eyes.
Come quickly!
I hang my sack of bread in the window so Danny knows where we are when he arrives.
Danny, I knew you wouldn't let me down!
We want to be free like our fathers were!
I would rather die than live in servitude.
In no need separate us and danger.
Be ready tomorrow at the same time.
We're coming for you! Your brothers and Danny!
I knew it! I knew it!
He is here!
Didn't I say he was coming?
Danny is here!
What do we do now?
Tomorrow at the same time
he will come for us.
Come into my room when everything has gone dark and quiet.
But take everything you have with you.
All right. See you tomorrow evening.
They are here!
PULL UNTIL THE LADDER ARRIVES.
Still out and about this late?
Where should the journey go?
Well ... um ...
Let us go, you devil!
We no longer want to stay in a murder house where children are murdered ... ... lying to us and
getting drunk ... ... and do terrible, naked things!
You speak very unwisely!
I could be your enemy, and then what you just said would happen to you.
Look at me! Don't we know each other?
You are the man from the lake!
Yes, but do I look like a devil, like you called me back then?
Listen up, you two!
Believe it or not, I am your friend, and I have been suffering for years from these
things that you have also seen with your own eyes.
Why didn't you leave long ago?
And why didn't you burn down this devil's house long ago?
Because it would be unwise!
I know your fate, Noldi!
If I ran away, the same thing would happen to me and my house as would happen to yours if you ran away.
Behind these monastery walls, hundreds of children have been killed who should not exist.
Since the introduction of the Inquisition by Gregory IX, a lot of blood has been on the hands of these people.
Why are they doing all this?
They want to get their way, and what's more, they are greedy for money and always want more money!
And when they found a rich house, they burned their wives as witches and took away their possessions.
If you are our friend, help us escape now!
Would you hand over your family and all your relatives to these murderers and inquisitors?
Should I do that with mine?
Oh, that's what you mean.
Look, if it were just about this one little monastery, then things would be very simple.
But behind this is a global power that pursues us with its inquisitors wherever we go.
So let's go back inside.
Any change must come from the inside out.
That's why I've been praying for so long.
So let's form a team and God will show us His ways!
But I don't want to work with someone who only prays but doesn't act.
Nothing comes of it anyway.
I like that you are so sincere; but never stop praying and believing, even if it sometimes takes longer
for our prayers to be answered; but they are answered!
Let's go inside.
So, sit down, you two.
You are waiting here now.
Someone will be here soon,
who gives you the next job, yes?
I have an idea of how to bring about change from within.
Sister Martha, where are you?
I'm going to assume that this was nothing but a stupid child's prank!
But wait! Come on, I've got a proper job for you!
We have to be more skillful so that nobody notices that we are behind it.
I already have an idea!
Wow, am I hungry!
You inconsiderate bitch!
Cleaner! You're a good-for-nothing, a good-for-nothing!
It was not intentional.
I didn't know it was so slippery.
Oh no, not again!
Oh, that's what I thought for a long time, that your thin head
does not fit your girth!
What do we do now?
It's what we have to do every now and then.
You fool, you!
If you can't refrain from jumping, at least teach your men to jump off!
Go on, unhook it and take it out into the garden!
No! No!
Not in the garden! No! Don't kill the child!
How did you get here?
Maybe we should take them down to the garden as well?
No! No!
Come on!
No!
Listen to me, you cheeky brat!
If you swear right now that you will never tell anyone what you have just seen for the rest of your life, we will let you live.
I swear, I swear, I swear!
We should take them to the tower!
At this age?
Come on!
Better safe than sorry!
No!
Come on!
No!
And I will take revenge!
All praying doesn't help!
I swear to God: I'll get you out of this!
And Danny will help me with that!
We won't let you down!
I knew you wouldn't let me down, that you would come!
Why are you still here?
Come on, let me tell you everything in detail one by one ...
... and Father Waldes prays too much and does too little!
And what do you propose now?
What can I do for you?
Just go and spread the word with the boys,
what I have revealed to you among the people.
Let the sparrows whistle these sins from the rooftops for so long,
until a will to fight arises among the people and they tear down all these houses of the devil!
We will not let up until the entire power of the Habsburgs is broken!
I have sworn by my blood that I will take revenge.
Revenge for Grandpa, revenge for all those murdered children, revenge for Anneli in the tower,
revenge for all the lying and impure things they do.
There are only a few of us, but we don't have to win the war.
We just have to get it up and running.
We will put these rumors into circulation, and God willing, we will have the victory!
God willing?
After seeing all this, I can no longer believe in a God!
Why would you say that?
I only trust you now... and your physical strength!
Have you heard what goes on in the monastery?
Yes, there's supposed to be a whorehouse up there!
Skeletons, yes, of small children!
Hundreds were buried there.
They also keep child slaves up there!
A girl is said to have been locked up in the tower for years because she witnessed an atrocity murder!
An investigation should be carried out and every chamber of this house should be illuminated!
Anneli, only a short time left and I'll be with you!
I'll get you out of there.
I promise you that!
Just one thaler! Just one thaler!
Think of purgatory!
Just one thaler!
A thaler for an indulgence!
Just one thaler!
Think of purgatory!
They are witches - stand aside!
That's two witches!
No! That's not true.
He just wants to collect a bounty!
They are witches - stand aside!
I am not a witch! No, that's not true!
Leave me alone!
He only wants my money because I'm wealthy!
No! No!
No! No! Let him go! Please, please let him go!
He only stole because we had no more money to buy wood!
Leave him! No, oh God, no!
Let that be a lesson to you from today on!
What's going on here?
What was that terrible shouting just now?
Screaming? Was it a scream?
Maybe we'll have to see...
Hello, Father Arnold!
Arnold!
Father!
My beloved son!
I'm glad you're here.
But there is so much unrest in the country.
I know that not much is missing and there will be war!
We hear from Leopold that he wants to expand his power.
Take good care of yourself, my son!
It's time for a stable government, Father.
It is like a curse; the country is fragmented.
The East is separated from the West and there is unrest everywhere!
I want to unite all countries.
One people - one language - one religion - one king!
I want this whole country!
But it will be impossible for me to govern it unless I can appoint a co-ruler - or even two.
The entire Alpine region is a single cauldron of unrest.
It has become the refuge of all heretics and their allies.
These lands are full of Austrian vassals who have entered into supremacy treaties with the Swiss.
Woe betide us if it comes to war!
Ha, what about Leopold I, Henry's only legitimate heir to the throne?
The self-proclaimed Grand Master can no longer do it alone and suddenly needs co-rulers?
Who did you have in mind?
To none other than my biological brother.
Frederick the Fair?
Are you completely out of your mind?
Who else?
No one other than Ludwig the Bavarian would come into question.
Together they would divide up the rule in the west and south.
Ludwig the Bavarian?
Well, why not?
But your brother - never!
He's just waiting until he can rip the crown off your head.
You'll risk your life and limb over him!
Not when Friedrich's head rolls in front of mine!
Your Honor?
Prince Ludwig the Bavarian has just arrived.
Soon you will not call him 'prince', but 'king'!
My dear Ludwig, you know why I sent for you.
It is a great honor for me and I will gladly think about it.
What do you mean by 'thinking'?
I have sent for you to finalize the last details
to discuss your appointment with you!
There can be no turning back.
I will do my best.
My Ludwig, as you know, I trust you more than my biological brother.
But you also know how greedy Friedrich is.
That's why I advise you to take good care of Friedrich right now!
If you don't, it will not only cost you my crown, but also yours.
Do we understand each other?
And do you trust me to act on your behalf?
Of course you can, I have even more confidence in you!
When we have the country under control and have united all the remaining confederate parts into a Habsburg empire,
I promise you half the crown if you manage to uninvite Frederick from our current necessary alliance.
But he is your brother!
You want to betray him?
Betrayal! Life is full of betrayal!
The only question is who strikes first!
I guarantee you: Frederick will strike as soon as his throne is secured!
I advise you, when everything is under control, Friedrich, for the sake of his country's greed, in private ...
But Your Majesty, I fear for the people!
It would stone me!
The people! - The people only believe what they are told!
Just tell him: Frederick wanted to kill his brother Leopold for the sake of the country.
Do we understand each other now?
Your Honor?
Your brother, Frederick the Fair, has just arrived.
My dear Friedrich, what a day, what an hour!
If only the blessed Rudolf von Habsburg had lived to see it!
I have sent for you, according to the ancient custom of the fathers,
to be properly blessed in your service.
Unfortunately, I have to tell you that the Pope's blessing will come to nothing.
But who else could give us the blessing of the royal office?
Abbot Johann from the Klausner monastery could give the blessing.
I have already negotiated this with him.
This costs us almost more money than the popes demand,
In return, we can handle the matter among ourselves, in a small circle.
But the abbot made one thing a condition.
Since when does an abbot set conditions for kings?
Well, he demands a confession beforehand, otherwise he couldn't give the blessing.
So, it's about my ... it's about my royal brother.
And he would ... would execute me on the spot if he knew ... what I'm going to confess here today.
My son, what are you saying?
Are you aware of what this means?
Aren't you afraid of ... the sweeping fire?
Yes, it is!
How long will I have to pay?
You won't get away with less than 10,000 years!
What should I do now?
He has only recently shown us how kind God really is.
But He revealed to me last night what a heavy judgment lies upon you and He told me to present this contract to you.
God seems to have great understanding for you, because the ransom price seems very low to me.
Just transfer all the pastureland from Schwyz to this monastery and the fire will go out on you.
Thank you, thank you, a thousand thanks, kind Father!
Sign this ... this contract right now!
Yes, good. Kneel down!
By proxy, I impart to you the papal blessing
and the anointing for your ministry. Amen.
If your brother - or worse still - if the people knew what only you and I know now, there would be many an executioner for you.
I am sure you will have a lot more to offer me in the course of time.
You charlatan, I will execute you!
Then it will cost you everything!
I am a holy man and the people are behind me.
Yes, two coming kings in our house in one day!
What an event!
He's coming, Ludwig the Bavarian!
Your Honor, may I ask you, Your Grace?
What a special day today!
You are most welcome, Your Majesty!
Look, everyone is ready, just as you wanted.
We were a little curious to find out what you were up to with this little gathering.
Well, you shall see.
I have brought you a welcome gift.
But now follow my instructions and get in line.
Now open your mouth and close your eyes.
How dishonorable and disrespectful to despise the king's gift!
O King, forgive this great sin.
I am outraged!
Why sin?
I have chosen him.
Him for what? Chosen for what?
Unlike you, he has no taste for it
in the value of perishable gold.
And since he testifies to this so fearlessly, he proves himself to be a true servant of Christ in two ways.
I want him to hear my confession.
If that is your wish, Your Majesty.
But if all are without value and unclean ... then so be it!
Your Majesty, I am far too young and not skillful.
I cannot accept your confession.
Young monk, I can very well overlook what I am doing.
God gave me the gift of knowledge of human nature.
I know that you are the right man.
Yes, but don't you understand?
I have no idea!
And I wish you thought a little less of the false modesty of your youth.
So, furthermore, I would like to confess before God ...
With all due respect!
Monk!
Before you confess further, I insist on being allowed to confess my sins before you.
Oh - is that how it's been done recently?
Please take the time to listen to my life story.
I would like to tell you who I am and where I come from and that I am basically two people.
I was only 7 years old when they killed my grandfather in front of me.
I can still see his eyes today ...
... And you see, that's why all the rumors circulating about this monastery are true.
Danny brought them to the people on my behalf, together with the boys.
This abbot and the priests all just want pleasure, slaves, money, power!
As slimy hypocrites, they use the rulers as stirrup holders.
Abbot Johann follows his role model, the Abbot of Murbach, who sold the whole of Lucerne and
its inhabitants to the Habsburg king in 1291.
It is always the same procedure: salvation from purgatory at the price of the Alps, houses, cattle and wagons.
This provides customs duties, revenue and power over the people.
Customs duties and revenue, yes!
But why power over the people?
Because they trumpet everywhere that the emperor has given them the land.
Later, however, they sell it back to him.
And even later, again land against purgatory - for the sake of ever new sins.
This is how the wheel turns.
But I don't need to explain that to you, Your Majesty.
That's it.
What are you going to do to me now, Your Majesty?
Confess my last sin to you.
But I thought that ... that this might have been my last confession.
Perhaps you will understand me when I reveal to you the last burden of my conscience:
Every day I betray my own nation, because my heart has long been with you Swiss.
I admire your uniformity of purpose.
You live as if you had only one body, and you do not seek your own will, but only want to establish the rule of God among you.
Truly, you are a united people of brothers!
You live together and you die together!
The peace of God - you want to obey Him!
And this must ultimately lead to the kingdom of peace that Christ has promised us.
And I want to be there!
Are you blessing me now?
Yes, have you taken leave of your senses?
Given away - all the good grazing land, all this precious land -
the abbot, the monastery?
And what about me?
You don't care,
when I am impoverished before your eyes?
Now listen to me: you know that we don't actually own all this land.
What use are they all to us if the people everywhere live in double contracts?
In this way, however, the greedy abbot will collect high customs duties and there will be quarrels and riots.
And it is precisely these that give me the reason to intervene and make legitimate conquests.
I'm amazed at what comes out of you again.
If this is the case, of course ...
Why don't you talk to Ludwig the Bavarian?
When the abbot's name was mentioned recently, only looks of hatred and contempt twitched in his otherwise kind eyes.
He seems to know something about the abbot that you don't.
There were times when people knocked on the door before entering.
If Pope Paul V and the Roman Senate of the time were still alive, would you be able to stand up to them?
What do you think?
Rumor has it that your monastery's fish pond should also be drained a little.
Fish ponds? -
We don't have any fish ponds at all.
Really not?
No.
But the sparrows have been whistling this story from the rooftops for centuries.
How did the Roman Senate justify the indispensable justification of brothels when Pope Paul tried to abolish them?
The Roman Senate claimed that brothels were essential for the male world.
For which men's world?
For the priestly ...
All the senators claimed,
Brothels were the only means of protecting priests from the seduction of wives and daughters.
Is that what they said?
Was that really just an assertion?
Everyone knows that the so-called 'Holy City' with its modest 100,000 inhabitants was home to over 6,000 whores.
But what was worse - what did they find when they dug out the large fish pond next to the Roman monastery?
A few bones - maybe a few infant skulls.
It ... well, an earlier ... an earlier children's burial place.
Why so superficially modest all of a sudden?
More than 6,000 infant skulls, my friend!
6,000 babies, 6,000 bastards, conceived by monks, born by nuns.
What purgatory, what price of indulgence can ever atone for this abomination?
If even one person learns something of what only you and I know - damn monk, I tell you:
I'll let you dig out your garden and your cellar.
I am privy to your life!
There is no passage here!
For the last time:
If you don't obey on the spot, you'll be beaten!
There is no passage here!
The new king has given this land to St. Abbot John!
Pah, you call this clerical fart holy, who takes the last money out of our pockets?
And stealing our livelihood, our fields, our meadows?
Shut up, you damn cow farmer!
That's what you said last time!
It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that you have angered the Lord of the monastery.
Now he has sued you to the Archbishop of Constance and found help from him.
You have been expelled from the church.
And we priests in Schwyz were forbidden to open the churches for mass!
The punishment your Lord has imposed on us is too harsh.
The church gates remain closed to everyone - including the innocent children who are to be baptized.
For the dead who wish to be laid to rest in the churchyard, as well as for young couples who wish to be married.
Now go home and pray silently for yourselves.
The emperor should never have given the land to the abbot!
We should take revenge!
A rope for the abbot!
Hello?
May I help you?
Who are you?
You're pretty handy with that thing.
Who are you?
A friend of Danny's.
You have done something very dangerous.
I can also spin this thing pretty well.
Yes, I know.
But I was also told,
that you don't just randomly kill people.
I am Walter Stauffacher.
I know everything about you, Arnold.
Why did you come?
The abbot has done us a great dishonor.
We want revenge.
We have auditioned with Ludwig the Bavarian, the king by the grace of God.
The Archbishop of Mainz is his friend, and he will also reopen our churches.
Tomorrow we will storm the monastery and put an end to this.
I brought you the attack plans from Danny and a service request from King Ludwig.
A request for service from the king?
Yes, he asks if you would like to become his governor of the strategically important town of Brugg?
Me, a Habsburg governor?
No, of course not, a Swiss-German of course.
King Ludwig told me in a confidential conversation that he wants to become Swiss as soon as the time is right.
Well, what can I report to him?
Well, let me pray about it.
Are you praying again?
Then Danny seems to be out of the loop.
Anneli, only a short time left and I'll be with you!
Interesting words you're saying there, monk!
Didn't I see you at church yesterday?
Maybe so.
I had to speak to the people.
So, so, speaking to the people ...
I have to go to the Zechhaus.
That's where it will become clear,
whether the matter is not already on everyone's lips.
Has anyone heard any news of Father Arnold from the monastery?
Only drunk, nothing heard.
Leave us alone, we're not on duty here.
Get your hands off her!
I told you to take your hands off her!
You disturb my love!
Take care of him before he bleeds to death!
Hey look, he's got it!
Father!
Arnold, my beloved son!
Where have you been for so long?
In the ... in the evening, the mood is always such that I am closest to God.
I had an eventful quiet time, Father.
What have you done here?
Oh, nothing. I ... I just slipped with the knife.
Love believes everything ...
If only I could believe you.
I have been instructing you in the ways of the Lord for so long.
You are the dearest thing I have in this world.
I would give my life for you if they wanted to take it from you.
But I can still see traces of deep hatred in your eyes.
And something in my spirit sinks when I meet you.
Are you really my disciple?
You were always a wonderful father to me.
No son has ever received more love than I have from you.
I wish I was a better son to you.
Someone who can do what you have always taught me so wonderfully.
But I simply don't have the strength to implement it according to your ideas.
You're probably right.
You need the power of the Holy Spirit.
And as I can see from the scriptures, you lack the true baptism of faith
and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
If you like, we can talk about it from time to time.
There is simply not enough movement for me.
You have been promising us for years that salvation will come.
And Anneli?
She's still sitting over there in the tower!
Forgive me, Father, but I miss her.
Me, I don't even know how she is.
Trust me, my son.
God has given firm assurance that He will bring about salvation in a short time.
Judgment is God's business.
And you know that I don't want to be a traitor.
We, we should keep the peace and thus be role models.
This is the only way people will change.
And again and again I have taught you that not through revenge and hatred,
but through self-sacrifice and love the kingdom of peace is built.
We must learn to lay down our lives as Jesus laid them down for us.
One died for all. All live through One.
Anneli, I haven't forgotten you.
Tomorrow is the day.
Noldi and all your brothers.
Will you continue your protest?
Are you still refusing to eat?
Someone is lying dead on the ground and nobody knows who threw him to the ground?
Can you recognize faces through closed visors?
Wait a minute ...
I have seen the face.
Of course I did, I saw it for a moment.
Who was that again?
No, that would be impossible!
What is impossible?
I can't find it among all the knights, but I can find it at the monastery!
What does 'at the monastery' mean?
Of course, now I can see it clearly
But how does this man get into this armor?
Who are you talking about?
Yes, yes, from Brother Arnold!
... the favorite of Father Waldes.
If it wasn't him, he must have a twin brother.
Ah, good morning, Brother Arnold.
Oh, what have you got there?
Oh, nothing.
Are you injured?
I slipped during the woodwork.
Well, may we have a look?
Hey, what are you doing?
So, priest, your hour has come!
Quiet, someone is coming.
That must be Arnold.
Finally we meet again.
No, a knight.
Danny! Danny, it's me!
Arnold, what do you look like?
Arnold! Arnold!
I was so looking forward to this day!
So many years have passed.
Too many years have passed.
But now, finally! Tomorrow is the day!
No, the matter with me has become known.
At least I can't go back to wearing the priest's habit.
We have to strike today.
But everything goes according to plan!
I am ready!
Come on, there's a revolt up ahead!
Anneli! Anneli!
Anneli, the time has finally come!
Oh, Anneli!
The time has come, Anneli!
I'll get you out of here!
Forever!
Anneli, you don't want to say anything?
Anneli, don't you remember me?
It's me, Anneli.
So say something, anything.
No! No, Anneli!
Who was that?
Stop!
Who are you?
No, father!
No! No!
Father, no!
No! No! No!
No, father!
Why didn't you wait another hour?
Then we would have seen the salvation of God.
No!
Now it's here!
No! No!
Now we have won our long-awaited freedom!
But you, my beloved son, I have lost!
No, father, you must not go!
Father, listen to me!
I know you are not supposed to swear, but I am taking an oath now, before God and before you, Father.
God will give me the strength that ... that I can fulfill him all my life, Father!
I am your son!
Your ... your son, father!
And I will do everything you have taught me from this hour on.
Father, I am your disciple, your true disciple!
Can't you hear me, Father?
Can't you hear me?
No, you must not go!
No! No! No!
I swear to God: I will never kill another human being, I will only be there for peace!
Only now, too late, do I realize that bloodshed is the wrong way because ... because it always falls back on the innocent.
Father, I believe in your ways;
I believe in your prayers, and I believe in your God!
We are free, Arnold! We are free! We are - free.
I killed my father!
Danny, it can't be the freedom we're looking for.
I have just lost my real freedom.
It lies not only in external freedoms.
True freedom lies only in peace and love,
that we have in our hearts for each other.
Father! I killed my own father.
Blood guilt sticks to my hands, father.
Only now do I realize the good path that my parents always wanted to teach me.
Only the blood of the one who sheds blood can atone for blood guilt.
I give You my own blood by consecrating to You now this body of mine, this soul of mine and my spirit.
Jesus, please live in me and do what I am not able to do.
Thank you that from now on you will live me as your body. Amen.
Is it because I have to leave soon, Anneli?
It's not so bad, Anneli.
Parliament only lasts one day.
Yes?
Dad! Dad!
Yes, my darling?
Does mom only talk to you?
No, mom speaks to all of us.
But she has never spoken to me.
Yes, she has spoken to you many times.
You just have to understand it properly.
But I just don't understand it.
You know, mom speaks with her eyes.
The look she gave me just now was worth a thousand words.
Yes, I see,
But then mom often says that she is very sad.
Not just sad, you know, she just needs us.
I need you too.
Please don't stay away for so long!
I try to keep it the same as always.
No longer than one day, sometimes two a week.
But, Dad,
Do you really have to attend every Landtag?
Parliament needs me just as much as you do.
In a certain sense, he is just our extended family.
And like every family,
Parliament also needs its fathers.
Are you the father of the Landtag?
Yes, you know, basically we're all just like big kids.
We try to understand together what the Father in heaven wants from us.
We always miss you when you're away.
You help us so much to understand what mom needs.
Goodbye.
Take good care of each other! Bye bye.
We won't let you go!
No - stay here, Dad! - We won't let you go!
You have to stay here!
You have to stay here, Dad!
What is your mom trying to tell you?
I should give myself an apple break too.
Thank you.
The law says 'a quarter of a guilder', but you're stealing the last loaf of bread from me and my two children.
Tell me, how are we supposed to live?
Yes, yes, we all know the sayings.
Oh God, show me how to counter this injustice.
Rise up in me now, and work Your works in me.
It is my last memory of my father.
Before he died, he put it in my hand.
At least give me back a few guilders.
Me, change?
Yes, am I a changer?
What despicable barbarians you are!
Cruel animals!
Raging wolves!
Two guilders.
Then I won't have enough to eat!
If you have no money,
then stay at home in future, dude!
If I'm still alive and we have the upper hand in this country, I'll pull your pants tight, you robber!
Good morning, Winkelried!
Already awake again?
Makes two guilders as always!
Today I'll give you double.
Yes, what is that?
My last memory of my mother.
What are you doing there?
There are two reasons for this:
When I'm on my deathbed, I can't take all this with me.
Even the money in my bag won't help me then.
Only a clear conscience and peace of heart will count before God.
Secondly, I want to learn to help poor and deceived people.
Yes, and then why are you giving me your money and your necklace and not them?
That would only be a drop in the ocean.
I want to know their pain from the ground up until I find deeper resolution from God.
Let's tell each other tomorrow which of us slept better and which of us is happier as a result of today's encounter.
And I'll ask you, Arnold Winkelried, quite frankly: What is your secret?
It's no secret, brothers.
We have only returned to our federal foundations as a whole city.
It would do us good to memorize them:
We want to be one people of brothers.
In no need separate us and danger.
We want to trust in the highest God."
I used this when there was still a lot of unrest in our city.
But together we have found a new way to kill enemies.
Brothers, we defeat the masses of enemies at once by turning our enemies into friends!
What do we do now if Leopold III attacks us anyway?
Even on the battlefield, try to make him a friend!
Look how many of the Confederates have joined:
In the first year, 22 residents of Meggen, 11 of Adligenswil, 36 of Kriens and 5 of Horw joined our association.
But then also 10 from Weggis, a total of 112 Ausburger!
Stop in the next two years! How long have you been on the road?
Four hours.
Paid the path toll?
Yes, a while ago.
Two expensive guilders!
No, no, no.
We do not mean the transit duty.
We mean the path toll.
This is newly introduced.
And if you are already on the road for four hours, that makes just eight guilders for the gentlemen.
This world belongs to all of us equally! Who gives you the right?
to exploit us for ways and paths that we have made with our own hands,
have built in the sweat of their own brow?
Give me the travel money!
After all, we have to repair it if necessary!
We have always restored all slipped areas with our own hands!
Let's put them on trial!
Let's push them down the slope!
No!
Aaaah!
Don't let go of me!
I realize everything I've done wrong.
I lied, stole and cheated, abused girls and women, demanded money I was never entitled to!
And I, I have committed adultery and evaded money that did not belong to me; but I will give it all back.
I want to give it all back!
Oh, if he hadn't kicked me in the arm ...
Now I realize how good it can be that God does not always judge immediately.
Dad! Dad!
Dad, there's a war! War, Dad!
Leopold III is on the move.
You have to get to Maienfeld quickly.
You have to negotiate a peace treaty there.
Arnold, come on!
Arnold, come quickly, it's urgent!
Come on, Arnold, quick!
To King Leopold III - Long live his name!
Tomorrow we will atone for the disgrace my grandfather Leopold I brought upon him at Morgarten.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the wine and food of Sempach!
King!
Noble king!
Noble King,
Baron Hans-Ulrich von Hasenburg wishes to speak to you!
My Lord, return to Sursee!
Your plan is betrayed.
The farmers are not in Zurich, as you thought;
There are hundreds or even thousands of them in the forests above Sempach!
They are armed with halberds, swords and morning stars!
There are also crossbowmen and men with murder axes.
There are ditches and bushes everywhere!
This is no place for knights with timid steeds.
We would all perish.
Then we'll fight on foot!
I let the gentlemen dismount from the horses.
O Hasenburg, you have a rabbit's heart!
We will deliver these farmers to you boiled and roasted before nightfall!
Today we will see which of us is the more cowardly!
Oh, it's not a good sign!
Does Närrchen want to lecture us too?
My Lord, do not go against the Confederates.
Just as most of the skulls were cracked, only a few will come back from the battle in one piece.
Fool is your name, a fool you are!
Don't stand in the way of my fame!
Boldly draw your sword and cut them down!
Stop, we are friends!
Who are you?
Please, have mercy on us!
We come from the mountains, where we have been driven out.
Yes - then you are expelled?
Yes, but we have heard that you are in great distress.
We wanted to make up for our crimes.
Only those who have committed serious crimes are expelled from the country.
Either you are arsonists, thieves or even murderers.
We spent many years in the mountains reflecting on our sins.
We are all sorry!
We want to turn back and start a new life!
Murderer's blood is on your hands!
You cannot fight with us under the banner with the sign of the crucified!
Turn around, back to the mountains!
Too bad, let's turn back.
If we had listened to the spirit of peace in our hearts and not our minds, might we not
have sensed that God's mercy was upon them?
Perhaps we could have used them in battle.
Well, we, we can't tell the difference yet:
We still lack the sensitivity for this peace and the life of God that you always talk about.
But one thing is certain: we are fighting this battle alone!
Up ahead, grab the Swiss boys!
That could have backfired badly!
The Lord God still seems to have us in your plan after all,
even if you don't want us!
What do you think?
Yes, well, I ... I have nothing more to say.
Arnold Winkelried will instruct you on how to join the Confederacy.
But for this fight - come down first! We need you!
Where is Schultheiss Petermann?
Where is the Schultheiss Petermann von Gundoldingen?
Over at Meierholz, he gives the final instructions.
As always, he seems to have planned it perfectly.
left, right... !
Finally come up now!
Come on, we have to keep going!
You have to come up!
That's the direction we're heading in!
We have no other way!
Then get off the horse.
We continue to fight on foot!
How did you get up there?
Hey, look!
Hey, what are you doing?
This is roughly how you will fall in battle if you don't turn back!
Fool is your name, and a fool you are!
Don't stand in the way of my fame!
Forward, march!
Donner and Doria - I can't walk in these shoes.
I cut off my beaks.
Hey, look, it's Hermann Rhynach
always want to be the first!
Ahhhhhh!
Where is the aid for the wounded?
Where is the aid for the wounded? I'm bleeding to death!
Well, that's what he gets for it now, the nerd!
Listen, men, Swiss Confederates, beloved brothers:
I am Schultheiss Petermann von Gundoldingen, your commander in this battle!
I stand under this flag.
So obey my orders!
No one fights for themselves alone!
As ordered by our troop leaders, we attack our enemies in wedges.
This has the advantage that we don't have too many at the same time.
get involved in the fight!
We are trying to make a breach in the enemy's broadside!
Yes!
But be careful not to overrun each other!
Now we say a short prayer and then we storm our enemies before they get the idea to take off their deadly armor,
without which they would probably be far superior to us.
Schultheiss, you wanted to give me the opportunity to negotiate before we attack.
Now is the time to act and not to negotiate!
Yes! Yes!
Let us pray!
O God, help us in this great challenge!
Amen.
For wife, child and country! -
Men, are you ready?
Yes!
Go!
Back! Back to the Meierholz!
We are gathering! - Back!
You should have listened to me!
Here, here you need an iron can to break through!
And I say, you should have listened to me!
The agreement was that we would negotiate first and offer peace.
At least 60 men, brothers from our own ranks, have been brought down by this rash move.
Iron, iron box...
Do you think God would not be able to bring it out so gloriously for us, if only we would faithfully do our part?
Walter Stauffacher takes over the further leadership of the army.
Should anything happen to him, Werner Fürst will represent him.
Let us pray now!
Our God, who has given us a heart to be a people available to you like a man, hear us! You see our
enemies and oppressors who desire nothing but our death.
But we wish them eternal life!
They have come to take away our freedom.
But we are here to bring them true freedom!
Oh, act on us now, as you please.
And teach us in Your way so that we may learn to recognize You.
You Yourself, Your divine life and Your effective peace shall rule us as a whole people.
We do not desire anything else!
Brothers!
Stupid!
Before we bash each other's heads in ...
We don't beat you, we stab you boys!
How? Have you lost all respect for death as well?
Hear me out, because for the last time
we face each other in this life.
Too late, perhaps only wriggling in our blood, we will realize that we are all brothers.
Everything we rob from others, we ultimately rob from ourselves!
Oh, how greed drives us into the madness of gilding everything!
If we could, we would build our cities in gemstones.
I ask you, King Leopold:
Your chain mail is forged in gold - how does it feel to live in it? Freer? Happier?
No! You know it: Gold weighs more than iron.
All possessions only make us less free and more anxious.
We fight and argue over land; but with every inch, our concern for its preservation and management grows.
We are stealing the ground from under each other's feet and yet we could cultivate and plant it together.
We allow fences, ditches and embankments to separate us.
And yet, together we had a wisdom that would not be limited by anything.
True freedom is freedom of the heart.
True wealth consists solely of a contented soul.
True happiness lies only in peace with God and in walking together in the effects of His peace.
Flowing with these effects, governed, moved by that peace -
we could all be one body, one body for Christ!
Yes, we are the body and you are the asshole! Stab the boys!
Silence, mercenary!
Remarkable words.
So when you have finished preaching, I will be happy to take you up on my offer of 40 years of peace.
After this speech, I would even be prepared to double the peace offer to 80 years, provided you give me back
all the territories you have conquered, as requested.
For I will be the head of this body of nations you have named!
No, God alone must become head over everything, not a human being!
Ah, yes? And who will govern us then?
The effective peace of God.
His perceptible stream of life.
Everyone can feel it and experience it for themselves.
Furthermore, we can all experience the peace of God at the same time, as if we were all just one.
His effective stream of life can guide entire nations like a man.
Without this foundation, without this secret, there would be no Confederation of Confederates!
For 30 years I have dreamed of establishing a Habsburg principality.
One that stretches from Alsace via southern Germany and central Switzerland, Vorarlberg, Tyrol,
Styria, Carinthia to northern Italy and Trieste.
I will never let it go!
And I have been dreaming for 50 years of shaking off the diabolical rule of the money- and land-hungry Habsburgs
from us Confederates so that we can call the shots ourselves!
Please, Walter, God's peace must be our king and not some Swiss, German or Austrian!
In other words, you are saying 'no' to my peace treaty?
We say 'no'!
Men, let's go to battle!
Now we will show you who is master of the land!
We will not accept the rule of God and will drive your God out of your heads!
Lord Jesus, break a way to all hearts, that we may give ourselves to one another as you gave yourself for us on the cross!
Provide for my wife and child!
Lances up!
Lances down!
Then just ...
Come on, let go of me, I'm the king!
Then even more so!
That will bring me fame and honor.
Mr. King! Mr. King, the queen bee is looking for a king!
O king, do not go to Sempach!
This is a sign from heaven, and it does not mean good luck for you!
Do you think I fear your superstition?
Don't stand in the way of my victory any longer!
We have won!
We have won.
We are free!
Free, and yet we remain prisoners, prisoners of our hearts, as long as we do not recognize our inner, true freedom.
We have won.
We are free!
We have won Switzerland!
And yet we have lost the best thing about Switzerland, its heart.
The happy ending lies in the emergence of a free, independent and neutral Switzerland
So, have you finished the short version yet?
No, not yet.
Now she finally tears it up and remembers my words:
Many - and not just one - died on that memorable day.
What a shame, how much Arnold's life would have had to tell us. ...
We want to be free like our fathers were!
I would rather die than be in bondage!
Let us trust in the Most High God and be fearless before the power of men!
We want to be free like our fathers were!
I would rather die than be in bondage!
We want to trust in the highest God and be fearless
from the power of men!
We want to be free like our fathers were!
I would rather die than be in bondage!
Let us trust in the Most High God and be fearless before the power of men!
We want to be free like our fathers were!
I would rather die than be in bondage!
Let us trust in the Most High God and be fearless before the power of men!