View source for William Tell

{{short description|Folk hero of Switzerland}}
{{Other uses|William Tell (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Landesmuseum Zürich 2010-09-20 14-38-14 ShiftN.jpg|thumb|upright 1.2|Tell is arrested for not saluting Gessler's hat (mosaic at the [[Swiss National Museum]], [[Hans Sandreuter]], 1901)]]
'''William Tell''' ({{langx|de|Wilhelm Tell}}, {{IPA|de|ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈtɛl|pron|De-Wilhelm Tell.ogg}}; {{langx|fr|Guillaume Tell}}; {{langx|it|Guglielmo Tell}}; {{langx|rm|Guglielm Tell}}) is a [[folk hero]] of [[Switzerland]]. 
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a [[crossbow]] who assassinated [[Albrecht Gessler]], a tyrannical [[Vogt (Switzerland)|reeve]] of the [[Duchy of Austria#House of Habsburg|Austrian dukes of the House of Habsburg]] positioned in [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]], in the [[canton of Uri]]. Tell's defiance and [[tyrannicide]] encouraged the population to [[Burgenbruch|open rebellion]] and to make a [[Rütlischwur|pact]] against the foreign rulers with neighbouring [[Schwyz]] and [[Unterwalden]], marking the [[foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy|foundation of the Swiss Confederacy]]. Tell was considered the father of the Swiss Confederacy.
 
Set in the early 14th century (traditional date 1307, during the rule of [[Albert I of Germany|Albert of Habsburg]]), the first written records of the legend date to the latter part of the 15th century, when the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] was gaining military and political influence. Tell is a central figure in [[Historiography of Switzerland#Building a national history|Swiss national historiography]], along with [[Arnold von Winkelried]], the hero of [[Battle of Sempach|Sempach]] (1386). He was important as a symbol during the formative stage of [[Switzerland as a federal state|modern Switzerland]] in the 19th century, known as the period of [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland#Restoration|Restoration and Regeneration]], as well as in the wider history of 18th- to 19th-century Europe as a symbol of resistance against aristocratic rule, especially in the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|Revolutions of 1848]] against the [[House of Habsburg]] which had ruled [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] for centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Volume 2A: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries |publisher=[[Pearson Education, Inc.]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-321-33394-2 |location=United States |pages=671}}</ref>

== Legend ==
[[File:Stückelberg Tellensprung 1879.jpg|thumb|Tell's leap (''Tellensprung'') from the boat of his captors at the Axen cliffs; study by [[Ernst Stückelberg (painter)|Ernst Stückelberg]] (1879) for his fresco at the [[Tellskapelle]].]]
[[File:Weisses Buch von Sarnen 447.jpg|thumb|upright|Page of the ''White Book of Sarnen'' (p. 447, first page of the Tell legend, pp. 447&ndash;449).]]
The first reference to Tell, as yet without a specified given name, appears in the ''[[White Book of Sarnen]]'' (German: ''Weisses Buch von Sarnen''). This volume was written in c. 1474 by Hans Schriber,  state secretary (''Landschreiber'') [[Obwalden]]. 
It mentions the [[Rütlischwur|Rütli oath]] (German: ''Rütlischwur'') and names Tell as one of the [[Eidgenossen|conspirators]] of the Rütli, whose heroic [[tyrannicide]] triggered the [[Burgenbruch]] rebellion.<ref name="bergier_63">Bergier, p&nbsp;63.</ref>

An equally early account of Tell is found in the ''[[Tellenlied]]'', a song composed in the 1470s, with its oldest extant manuscript copy dating to 1501. The song begins with the Tell legend, which it presents as the origin of the Confederacy, calling Tell the "first [[Eidgenossenschaft|confederate]]". The narrative includes Tell's [[Shooting an apple off one's child's head|apple shot]], his preparation of a second arrow to shoot Gessler, and his escape, but it does not mention any assassination of Gessler.<ref name=autogenerated2>[[Rochus von Liliencron]], ''Historische Volkslieder der Deutschen'', vol. 2 (1866), no. 147, cited by Rochholz (1877), p. 187; c.f. Bergier, p.&nbsp;70–71.</ref>
The text then enumerates the cantons of the Confederacy, and says was expanded with "current events" during the course of the [[Burgundian Wars|Burgundy Wars]], ending with the death of [[Charles the Bold]] in 1477.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

[[Aegidius Tschudi]], writing c. 1570, presents an extended version of the legend. Still essentially based on the account in the ''White Book'', Tschudi adds further detail.
Tschudi is known to habitually have "fleshed out" his sources, so that all detail from Tschudi not found in the earlier accounts may be suspected of being Tschudi's invention.<ref name="eb11th">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle= Tschudi |volume= 27 | pages = 349&ndash;350 |last1= Coolidge |first1= William Augustus Brevoort |author-link= William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge |quote= ...Tschudi's historical credit is thus hopelessly ruined...}}</ref>
Such additional detail includes Tell's given name Wilhelm, and his being a native of [[Bürglen, Uri]] in the [[Schächental]],   the precise date of the [[apple-shot]], given as 18 November 1307 as well as the account of Tell's death in 1354.
 
It is Tschudi's version that became influential in [[early modern Switzerland]] and entered public consciousness as the "William Tell" legend. According to Tschudi's account, William Tell was known as a strong man and an expert shot with the [[crossbow]]. In his time, the [[House of Habsburg]] emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri, and Tell became one of the [[Rütlischwur|conspirators]] of [[Werner Stauffacher]] who vowed to resist Habsburg rule. [[Albrecht Gessler]] was the newly appointed Austrian ''[[Vogt]]'' of [[Altdorf, Switzerland]]. He raised a pole under the village [[Gerichtslinde|linden tree]], hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before it.

In Tschudi's account, on 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son. He passed by the hat, but publicly refused to bow to it, and was consequently arrested. Gessler was intrigued by Tell's famed marksmanship, but resentful of his defiance, so he devised a cruel punishment. Tell and his son were both to be executed; however, he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son Walter in a single attempt. Tell split the apple with a [[Crossbow#Projectiles|bolt]] from his crossbow. Gessler then noticed that Tell had removed two crossbow bolts from his quiver, so he asked why. Tell was reluctant to answer, but Gessler promised that he would not kill him; he replied that, had he killed his son, he would have killed Gessler with the second bolt. Gessler was furious and ordered Tell to be bound, saying that he had promised to spare his life, but would imprison him for the remainder of his life.

Tschudi's continues that Tell was being carried in Gessler's boat to the dungeon in the castle at [[Küssnacht]] when a storm broke on [[Lake Lucerne]], and the guards were afraid that their boat would sink. They begged Gessler to remove Tell's shackles so that he could take the helm and save them. Gessler gave in, but Tell steered the boat to a rocky place and leaped out. The site is known in the "White Book" as the "Tellsplatte" ("Tell's slab"); it has been marked by a [[Tellskapelle|memorial chapel]] since the 16th century. Tell ran cross-country to Küssnacht with Gessler in pursuit. Tell assassinated him using the second crossbow bolt, along a stretch of the road cut through the rock between Immensee and Küssnacht, which is known as the ''Hohle Gasse.''<ref>{{HDS|8792|Hohle Gasse}}</ref> Tell's act sparked a [[Burgenbruch|rebellion]], which led to the [[Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy#Nucleus|formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy]].<ref name="meyers">[[Meyers Konversations-Lexikon]], Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig und Wien, Fourth edition, 1885–1892, entry on "[http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=115594#Tell Tell], [http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=115595 Wilhelm]," pp. 576–77 in volume 15. In German.</ref> According to Tschudi, Tell fought again against Austria in the 1315 [[Battle of Morgarten]]. Tschudi also has an account of Tell's death in 1354, according to which he was killed trying to save a child from drowning in the [[Schächental]] River in Uri.<ref name="meyers" />

==Early modern reception==
=== Chronicles ===
[[File:Tell Deutsch Münster 1554.jpg|thumb|A depiction of the [[apple-shot]] scene in [[Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster)|Sebastian Münster's ''Cosmographia'']] (1554 edition).]]
There are a number of sources for the Tell legend later than the earliest account in the ''White Book of Sarnen'' but earlier than Tschudi's version of ca. 1570.

These include the account in the chronicle of [[Melchior Russ]] from [[Lucerne]]. Dated to 1482, this is an incoherent compilation of older writings, including the ''Song of the Founding of the Confederation'', [[Conrad Justinger]]'s ''[[Bernese Chronicle]],'' and the ''Chronicle of the State of Bern'' (in German, ''Chronik der Stadt Bern'').<ref name="bergier_76">Bergier, p.&nbsp;76.</ref>
Another early account is in [[Petermann Etterlin]]'s ''[[Chronicle of the Swiss Confederation]]'' (German: ''Kronika von der loblichen Eydtgenossenschaft'') of 1507, the earliest printed version of the Tell story.<ref name="bergier_77">Bergier, p.&nbsp;77.</ref>

The ''[[Chronicon Helveticum]]'' was compiled by [[Aegidius Tschudi]] of [[Glarus]] in the years leading up to his death in early 1572. 
For more than 150 years, it existed only in manuscript form, before finally being edited in 1734–1736. Therefore, there is no clear "date of publication" of the chronicle, and its date of composition can only be given approximately, as "ca. 1570", or "before 1572". It is Tschudi's account of the legend, however, which became the major model for later writers, even prior to its edition in print in the 1730s,<ref name="bergier_16">Bergier, p.&nbsp;16.</ref>

=== Popular veneration ===
[[File:Hohle Gasse.jpeg|thumb|upright|The ''Hohle Gasse'' between [[Immensee (village)|Immensee]] and [[Küssnacht]], with a second ''Tellskapelle'' (built in 1638).]]
A widespread veneration of Tell, including sight-seeing excursions to the scenes of his deeds, can be ascertained for the early 16th century.
Heinrich Brennwald in the early 16th century mentions the chapel (''Tellskapelle'') on the site of Tell's leap from his captors' boat. Tschudi mentions a "holy cottage" (''heilig hüslin'') built on the site of Gessler's assassination. [[Peter Hagendorf]], a soldier in the [[Thirty Years' War]], mentions a visit to 'the chapel where William Tell escaped' in his diary.<ref>Helfferich, Tryntje, The Thirty Years' War: A Documentary History (Cambridge, 2009), p. 279.</ref>

The first recorded [[Tellspiel|Tell play]] (''Tellspiel''), known as the ''[[Urner Tellspiel]]'' ("Tell Play of Uri"),<ref name="head_528">Head, p.&nbsp;528.</ref> was probably performed in the winter of either 1512 or 1513 in [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]].<ref name="bergier_76"/>

The church of Bürglen had a bell dedicated to Tell from 1581, and a nearby chapel has a fresco dated to 1582 showing Tell's death in the Schächenbach.<ref name="befreiungstradition">{{HDS|17474|Liberation myths|author=Kaiser, P.|date=2002-05-20}} URL last accessed 6 November 2006.</ref>

=== The Three Tells ===
The Three Tells (''die Drei Tellen'', also ''die Drei Telle'') were symbolic figures of the [[Swiss Peasant War]] of 1653. They expressed the hope of the subject population to repeat the success story of the rebellion against Habsburg in the early 14th century.

By the 18th century, the Drei Tellen had become associated with a [[sleeping hero]] legend. They were said to be asleep in a cave at the [[Rigi]]. The return of Tell in times of need was already foretold in the Tellenlied of 1653 and symbolically fulfilled in the impersonation of the Three Tells by costumed individuals, in one instance culminating in an actual assassination executed by these impersonators in historical costume.

Tell during the 16th century had become closely associated and eventually merged with the [[Rütlischwur]] legend, and the "Three Tells" represented the three conspirators or ''[[Eidgenossen]]'' Walter Fürst, [[Arnold von Melchtal]] and [[Werner Stauffacher]].

In 1653, three men dressed in historical costume representing the Three Tells appeared in [[Schüpfheim]]. Other impersonations of the Three Tells also appeared in the [[Freie Ämter]] and in the [[Emmental]].

The first impersonators of the Three Tells were Hans Zemp, Kaspar Unternährer of Schüpfheim and Ueli Dahinden of [[Hasle, Lucerne|Hasle]]. They appeared at a number of important peasant conferences during the war, symbolizing the continuity of the present rebellion with the resistance movement against the Habsburg overlords at the origin of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]]. Unternährer and Dahinden fled to the [[Entlebuch]] alps before the arrival of the troops of general Sebastian Peregrin Zwyers; Zemp escaped to the [[Alsace]]. After the suppression of the rebellion, the peasants voted for a [[tyrannicide]], directly inspired by the Tell legend, attempting to kill the Lucerne [[Schultheiss]] Ulrich Dulliker.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{HDS|14515|Drei Tellen}}</ref>

Dahinden and Unternährer returned in their roles of Tells, joined by Hans Stadelmann replacing Zemp. In an ambush, they managed to injure Dulliker and killed a member of the Lucerne parliament, Caspar Studer. The assassination attempt — an exceptional act in the culture of the Old Swiss Confederacy — was widely recognized and welcomed among the peasant population, but its impact was not sufficient to rekindle the rebellion.<ref name=autogenerated3 />

Even though it did not have any direct political effect, its symbolic value was considerable, placing the Lucerne authorities in the role of the tyrant (Habsburg and Gessler) and the peasant population in that of the freedom fighters (Tell). The Three Tells after the deed went to mass, still wearing their costumes, without being molested. Dahinden and Unternährer were eventually killed in October 1653 by Lucerne troops under Colonel Alphons von Sonnenberg. In July 1654, Zemp betrayed his successor Stadelmann in exchange for pardon and Stadelmann was executed on 15 July 1654.<ref name=autogenerated3 />

The Three Tells appear in a 1672 comedy by Johann Caspar Weissenbach.
The "sleeping hero" version of the Three Tells legend was published in ''[[Deutsche Sagen]]'' by the [[Brothers Grimm]] in 1816 (no. 298).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/?id=5&xid=970&kapitel=300#gb_found|title=von - Text im Projekt Gutenberg|first=SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg|last=Germany}}</ref> It is also the subject of [[Felicia Hemans]]'s poem ''The Cavern of the Three Tells'' of 1824.
{{wikisource|Felicia Hemans in The New Monthly Magazine Volume 11 1824/The Cavern of the Three Tells|'The Cavern of the Three Tells', a poem by Felicia Hemans}}

== Modern reception ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2018}}<!--many paragraphs have no citations-->
[[File:Dunker Tell 1798.jpg|thumb|An allegorical Tell defeating the [[Chimera (mythology)|chimera]] of the [[French Revolution]] (1798).]]
[[File:Siegel Helvetische Republik Kleiner Rath.svg|thumb|Official seal of the "smaller council" (kleiner Rath) of the [[Helvetic Republic]].]]
[[File:Wilhelm Tell Denkmal Altdorf um 1900 Detail.jpg|thumb|Detail from the [[Tell Monument|Statue of William Tell]] and his son in [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]] ([[Richard Kissling]], 1895).]]

Throughout the [[long nineteenth century]], and into the [[World War II]] period, Tell was perceived as a symbol of rebellion against tyranny both in Switzerland and in Europe.

[[Antoine-Marin Lemierre]] wrote a play inspired by Tell in 1766 and revived it in 1786. The success of this work established the association of Tell as a fighter against tyranny with the history of the [[French Revolution]].
The French revolutionary fascination with Tell was reflected in Switzerland with the establishment of the [[Helvetic Republic]]. Tell became, as it were, the mascot of the short-lived republic, his figure being featured on its official seal. The [[French Navy]] also had a {{sclass|Tonnant|ship of the line}} named {{ship|French ship|Guillaume Tell|1795|2}}, which was captured by the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]] in 1800.

[[Benito Juarez]], President of Mexico and national hero, chose the alias "Guillermo Tell" (the Spanish version of William Tell) when he joined the Freemasons;<ref>{{cite journal |last=Vázquez Semadeni |first=María Eugenia |issn=1405-4558 |year=2006 |pages=55–62 |publication-place=Mexico |title=Juárez y la masonería |volume=46 |issue=10 |editor-last=Covarrubias González |editor-first=Israel |language=es |journal=Metapolítica |publisher=Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla |location=Puebla}}</ref> he picked this name because he liked and admired the story and character of Tell whom he considered a symbol of freedom and resistance.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vázquez Mantecón |first=María del Carmen |chapter=Juárez ¿Masón practicante? |year=2006 |title=Muerte y vida eterna de Benito Juárez: El deceso, sus rituales y su memoria |pages=33–38 |publisher=Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas |isbn=970-32-4290-1 |location=Mexico City |language=es |url=http://www.historicas.unam.mx/publicaciones/publicadigital/libros/470/470_04_07_JuarezMason.pdf |access-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref>

Tschudi's ''[[Chronicon Helveticum]]'' continued to be taken at face value as a historiographical source well into the 19th century, 
so that Tschudi's version of the legend is not only used as a model in [[Friedrich Schiller]]'s play ''[[William Tell (play)|William Tell]]'' (1804)
but is also reported in historiographical works of the time, including [[Johannes von Müller]]'s ''History of the Swiss Confederation'' (German: ''Geschichte Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft'', 1780).<ref name="bergier_16" />

[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] learned of the Tell saga during his travels through Switzerland between 1775 and 1795. He obtained a copy of Tschudi's chronicles and considered writing a play about Tell, but ultimately gave the idea to his friend [[Friedrich von Schiller]], who in 1803–04 wrote the play ''[[William Tell (play)|Wilhelm Tell]],'' first performed on 17 March 1804, in [[Weimar]]. 
Schiller's Tell is heavily inspired by the political events of the late 18th century, the [[French Revolution|French]] and [[American Revolution|American revolution]]s, in particular. Schiller's play was performed at [[Interlaken]] (the ''[[Tellspiele]]'') in the summers of 1912 to 1914, 1931 to 1939 and every year since 1947. In 2004 it was first performed in [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]] itself.

[[Gioachino Rossini]] used Schiller's play as the basis for his 1829 [[opera]] ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]].''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/06/21/william-tell-fact-or-legend/|title=William Tell: Fact Or Legend?|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en}}</ref> The ''[[William Tell Overture]]'' is one of his best-known and most frequently imitated pieces of music; in the 20th century, the [[Finale (music)|finale]] of the ''[[overture]]'' became the theme for the radio, television, and motion picture incarnations of [[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|The Lone Ranger]], a fictional [[American frontier]] hero.

Around 1836 the first [[German playing cards#William Tell|William Tell patterned playing cards]] were produced in Pest, Hungary. They were inspired by Schiller's play and made during tense relations with the ruling Habsburgs. The cards became popular throughout the [[Austrian Empire]] during the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|Revolution of 1848]]. Characters and scenes from the opera William Tell are recognisable on the court cards and Aces of [[William Tell cards]], playing cards that were designed in Hungary around 1835. These cards are still the most common [[German-suited playing cards]] in that part of the world today. Characters from the play portrayed on the [[Ober (playing card)|Obers]] and [[Unter (playing card)|Unters]] include: Hermann Geszler, Walter Fürst, Rudolf Harras and William Tell.<ref>[https://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/tell-1.html ''Pattern Sheet 90 - Tell pattern Type I''] at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 29 Nov 2019.</ref>

In 1858, the Swiss Colonization Society, a group of Swiss and German immigrants to the United States, founded its first (and only) planned city on the banks of the Ohio River in [[Perry County, Indiana]]. The town was originally dubbed Helvetia, but was quickly changed to [[Tell City, Indiana|Tell City]] to honor the legendary Swiss hero. The city became known for its manufacturing, especially of fine wood furniture. William Tell and symbols of an apple with an arrow through it are prominent in the town, which includes a bronze statue of Tell and his son, based on the one in Altdorf, Switzerland. The statue was erected on a fountain in front of city hall in 1974. [[Tell City High School]] uses these symbols in its crest or logo, and the sports teams are called "The Marksmen." The William Tell Overture is often played by the school's pep band at high school games. Each August since 1958, Tell City's centennial year, the town has held "Schweizer Fest," a community festival of entertainment, stage productions, historical presentations, carnival rides, beer garden, sporting events and class reunions, to honor its Swiss-German heritage. Many of the activities occur on the grounds of City Hall and Main Street, at the feet of the Tell statue.

[[John Wilkes Booth]], the assassin of [[Abraham Lincoln]], was inspired by Tell. Lamenting the negative reaction to his action, Booth wrote in his journal on 21 April 1865 "with every man's hand against me, I am here in despair. And why; For doing what [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] was honored for and what made Tell a Hero. And yet I for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew am looked upon as a common cutthroat."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Jbg7Xbrb8EC&q=John+Wilkes+Booth+was+inspired+by+william+Tell+and+Brutus&pg=PA216|title=Perspectives on Politics in Shakespeare|last1=Murley|first1=John Albert|last2=Sutton|first2=Sean D.|date=2006|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9780739116845|language=en}}</ref> (He himself was shot to death, without standing trial, days later.)

Following a national competition, won by [[Richard Kissling]], Altdorf in 1895 erected a monument to its hero. Kissling casts Tell as a peasant and man of the mountains, with strong features and muscular limbs. His powerful hand rests lovingly on the shoulder of little Walter, but the apple is not shown. The depiction is in marked contrast with that used by the Helvetic Republic, where Tell is shown as a [[landsknecht]] rather than a peasant, with a sword at his belt and a feathered hat, bending down to pick up his son who is still holding the apple.

[[File:Hodler Tell 1897.jpg|thumb|''Wilhelm Tell'' by Ferdinand Hodler (1897)]]
The painting of Tell by [[Ferdinand Hodler]] (1897) became iconic. Tell is represented as facing the viewer, with his right hand raised, the left holding the crossbow. The representation was designed as part of a larger scene showing "Gessler's death", one of seven scenes created for the [[Swiss National Museum]] competition. 
Hodler's depiction of Tell was often described as sacral, and compared to classical depictionons of God Father, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, or the Archangel Michael. In Tell's bearded face, Hodler combines self-portrait with allusion the face of Christ.<ref>Stückelberger, J. (1996). Hodlers Weg zum Nationalmaler am Beispiel seines "Wilhelm Tell". In: ''Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte'' 53/4 (1996), {{doi|10.5169/seals-169495}}.</ref>

The first film about Tell was made by French director [[Charles Pathé]] in 1900; only a short fragment survives.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}<br />
A version of the legend was retold in [[P.G. Wodehouse]]'s ''[[William Tell Told Again]]'' (1904), written in prose and verse with characteristic Wodehousian flair.
The design of the Federal [[Swiss Franc|5 francs coin]] issued from 1922 features the bust of a generic "mountain shepherd" designed by [[Paul Burkard]], but due to a similarity of the bust with Kissling's statue, in spite of the missing beard, it was immediately widely identified as Tell.

[[Adolf Hitler]] was enthusiastic about Schiller's play, quoting it in his ''[[Mein Kampf]],'' and approving of a German/Swiss co-production of the play in which [[Hermann Göring]]'s mistress [[Emmy Sonnemann]] appeared as Tell's wife. However, on 3 June 1941, Hitler had the play banned. The reason for the ban is not known, but may have been related to the failed assassination attempt on Hitler in 1938 by young Swiss [[Maurice Bavaud]]<ref name="dpa_2004_05_11">[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur|dpa]]: ''[http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2004/05/11/293445.html Hitler verbot Schillers "Tell"],'' news agency announcement of a speech by [[Rolf Hochhuth]], May 11, 2004. In German. URL last accessed 11 February 2008.</ref> (executed on 14 May 1941, and later dubbed "a new William Tell" by [[Rolf Hochhuth]]), or the subversive nature of the play.<ref name="ruppelt">Ruppelt, G.: ''[http://www.mediaculture-online.de/fileadmin/bibliothek/ruppelt_tellverbot/ruppelt_tellverbot.html Hitler gegen Tell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022212433/http://www.mediaculture-online.de/fileadmin/bibliothek/ruppelt_tellverbot/ruppelt_tellverbot.html |date=2007-10-22 }},'' Hannover, 2004. In German. URL last accessed 11 February 2008.</ref><ref name="sapan">Sapan, A.: ''[http://referateguru.heim.at/Tell.htm Wilhelm Tell (Friedrich von Schiller)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420072110/http://referateguru.heim.at/Tell.htm |date=2010-04-20 }}.'' In German. URL last accessed 11 February 2008.</ref> Hitler is reported to have exclaimed at a banquet in 1942: "Why did Schiller have to immortalize that Swiss sniper!"<ref name="ruppelt" />

[[Charlie Chaplin]] parodies William Tell in his famous 1928 silent movie ''[[The Circus (1928 film)|The Circus]].''
[[Salvador Dalí]] painted ''[[The Old Age of William Tell]]'' and ''[[William Tell and Gradiva]]'' in 1931, and ''[[The Enigma of William Tell]]'' in 1933.
Spanish playwright [[Alfonso Sastre]] re-worked the legend in 1955 in his "Guillermo Tell tiene los ojos tristes" (William Tell has sad eyes); it was not performed until the [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] regime in Spain ended.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}
[[File:Wilhelm Tell na igraćim kartama.jpg|thumb|William Tell depicted on [[Tell pattern playing cards]]]]
In Switzerland, the importance of Tell had declined somewhat by the end of the 19th century, outside of [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]] and [[Interlaken]] which established their tradition of performing Schiller's play in regular intervals in 1899 and 1912, respectively. 
During the [[Switzerland during the World Wars|World Wars]], Tell was again revived, somewhat artificially, as a national symbol. 
For example, in 1923 the [[Swiss Post]] introduced horns for their [[PostBus Switzerland|coach service]] based on the overture of Rossini's ''Tell'' opera, 
and in 1931, the image of a crossbow was introduced as a logo indicating [[Swiss made|Swiss products]]. The ''Tell-Museum'' in [[Bürglen, Uri]], opened in 1966.<ref>de Capitani (2013)</ref>

After [[Protests of 1968|1968]], with ideological shift of academic mainstream from a [[classical liberal|liberal]]-[[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] to a [[Deconstruction|deconstructivist]] [[leftist]] 
outlook, [[Historiography of Switzerland|Swiss historians]] were looking to dismantle the foundational legends of Swiss statehood as unhistorical [[national myth]].
[[Max Frisch]]'s "William Tell for Schools" (1971) deconstructs the legend by reversing the characters of the protagonists: Gessler is a well-meaning and patient administrator who is faced with the barbarism of a back-corner of the empire, while Tell is an irascible simpleton.<ref>[[Adolf Muschg]], [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43144412.html Apfelschuß war nicht verlangt], ''Spiegel'' 9 August 1971.</ref>
Tell still remains a popular figure in Swiss culture. According to a 2004 survey, a majority of Swiss believed that he actually existed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.search.ch/wirtschaft/2004-04-27/hat-tell-tatsaechlich-gelebt|title=According to a 2004 survey of 620 participants performed by the ''LINK-Institut'' of Lucerne for ''Coopzeitung.'' 58% of those asked held that Tell was historical, compared to 29% who held that Tell was unhistorical.|accessdate=February 27, 2023|archive-date=2012-07-13|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713092707/http://news.search.ch/wirtschaft/2004-04-27/hat-tell-tatsaechlich-gelebt|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Schweizer Helden'' ("Swiss Heroes", English title ''Unlikely Heroes'') is a 2014 film about the performance of a simplified version of Schiller's play by asylum seekers in Switzerland.<ref name=AsylumSeekers>{{cite web | title = ''Schweizer Helden'' (''Unlikely Heroes'') | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3907212/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_2 | work = [[IMDb]] | access-date = December 3, 2015}}. Winner of Prix du Public UBS at [[Locarno International Film Festival]] 2014. {{cite web | title = Past winners of Prix du Public UBS | url = http://www.pardolive.ch/pardo/festival-del-film-locarno/sponsors-and-partners/main-sponsors/ubs/Prix-du-Public-UBS/Prix-du-Public-UBS-winners.html | work = [[Locarno International Film Festival|Festival del Film Locarno]] official website | access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref>

The Japanese historical fantasy manga series ''[[Wolfsmund]]'', written and illustrated by Mitsuhisa Kuji and published by [[Enterbrain]], is a retelling of the rebellion started by William Tell. The story revolves around the oppression that took place during the Middle Ages in the middle [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] of [[Switzerland]].

In the 2019 Spanish comedy film ''[[The Little Switzerland]]'', a Spanish town ({{lang|es|Tellería}}) discovers the tomb of Tell's son and tries to become a Swiss canton ({{lang|de-ES|Tellstadt}}), affecting a Swiss identity.<ref name="RTVE">{{cite news |last1=Jiménez |first1=Jesús |title='La pequeña Suiza', Berlanga inspira una comedia sobre los nacionalismos |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20190426/pequena-suiza-berlanga-inspira-comedia-sobre-nacionalismos/1927981.shtml |access-date=15 February 2022 |work=RTVE.es |date=26 April 2019 |language=es}}</ref>

== Historicity debate ==
[[File:Schranktür 1782 Tell.jpg|thumb|A 1782 depiction of Tell in the [[Schweizerisches Landesmuseum]], Zürich.]]

The [[historicity]] of William Tell has been subject to debate. François Guillimann, a statesman of [[Fribourg]] and later historian and advisor of the Habsburg Emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]], wrote to [[Melchior Goldast]] in 1607: "I followed popular belief by reporting certain details in my ''Swiss antiquities'' [published in 1598], but when I examine them closely the whole story seems to me to be pure fable."

In 1760, Simeon Uriel Freudenberger from [[Luzern]] anonymously published a tract arguing that the legend of Tell in all likelihood was based on the Danish saga of [[Palnatoki]]. A French translation of his book by [[Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller]] (''Guillaume Tell, Fable danoise''), published under Haller's name to protect Freudenberger, was burnt in [[Altdorf, Uri|Altdorf]].<ref name="troxler">Troxler, J. ''et al.'': ''Guillaume Tell'', pp.&nbsp;43–46; Ketty & Alexandre, Chapelle-sur-Moudon, 1985, {{ISBN|2-88114-001-7}}. See also "[http://www3.dfj.vd.ch/~latin/Textes-recreations/guillaume-tell2.htm#pamphlet Le pamphlet de von Haller] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314050913/http://www3.dfj.vd.ch/~latin/Textes-recreations/guillaume-tell2.htm#pamphlet |date=2009-03-14 }}" (in French).</ref>

The skeptical view of Tell's existence remained very unpopular, especially after the adoption of Tell as depicted in [[Friedrich von Schiller|Schiller's]]  [[Wilhelm Tell (play)|1804 play]] as national hero in the nascent Swiss patriotism of the [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|Restoration and Regeneration period]] of the [[Switzerland as a federal state|Swiss Confederation]]. In the 1840s, Joseph Eutych Kopp (1793&ndash;1866) published skeptical reviews of the folkloristic aspects of the foundational legends of the [[Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy|Old Confederacy]], causing "polemical debates" both within and outside of academia.<ref>{{HLS|5150|Joseph Eutych Kopp|author=Heidi Bossard-Borner|date=2008}}</ref> 
De Capitani (2013) cites the controversy surrounding Kopp in the 1840s as the turning point after which doubts in Tell's historicity "could no longer be ignored".<ref>De Capitani (2013): 
"From this time [late 18th century] the debates surrounding Tell took place 
on two separate levels: The historicity question was left to experts, who increasingly doubted the existence of Tell as historical figure, because it could not be reconciled with the documentary tradition regarding the origin of the Confederacy. This circumstance could no longer be ignored, at the latest, with the post-1845 publications by Joseph Eutych Kopp, who in contrast to  [Johannes von] Müller relied on documentary evidence and consequently rejected the folkloristic elements of the liberation tradition such as Tell or the Rütli oath."
''"Von nun an liefen die Diskussionen um T. auf zwei Ebenen: Die Frage nach der Historizität blieb den Fachleuten vorbehalten, die immer mehr an der hist. Figur T. zweifelten, weil sie nicht mit der urkundl. Überlieferung zur Entstehung der Eidgenossenschaft in Einklang gebracht werden konnte. Spätestens mit den Arbeiten Joseph Eutych Kopps nach 1845, der sich im Gegensatz zu von Müller auf urkundl. Überlieferungen stützte und entsprechend die volkstüml. Elemente der Befreiungstradition wie T. oder den Rütlischwur verwarf, liess sich dieser Sachverhalt nicht mehr ausblenden."''
</ref>

From the second half of the 19th century, it has been largely undisputed among historians that there is no contemporary (14th-century) evidence for Tell as a historical individual, let alone for the apple-shot story.
Debate in the late 19th to 20th centuries mostly surrounded the extent of the "historical nucleus" in the chronistic traditions surrounding the early Confederacy.

The desire to defend the historicity of the ''Befreiungstradition'' ("liberation tradition") of Swiss history had a political component, as since the 17th century its celebration had become mostly confined to the Catholic cantons, so that the declaration of parts of the tradition as ahistorical was seen as an attack by the urban Protestant cantons on the rural Catholic cantons. 
The decision, taken in 1891,  to make [[1 August]] the [[Swiss National Day]] is to be seen in this context, an ostentative move away from the traditional ''Befreiungstradition'' and the celebration of the deed of Tell to the purely documentary evidence of the [[Federal Charter of 1291]]. In this context, [[Wilhelm Oechsli]] was commissioned by the federal government with publishing a "scientific account" of the foundational period of the Confederacy in order to defend the choice of 1291 over 1307 (the traditional date of Tell's deed and the [[Rütlischwur]]) as the foundational date of the Swiss state.<ref>Wilhelm Oechsli, ''Die Anfänge der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft''. Zürich, 1891.</ref>
The canton of Uri, in defiant reaction to this decision taken at the federal level, erected the [[Tell Monument]] in Altdorf in 1895, with the date 1307 inscribed prominently on the base of the statue.

Later proposals for the identification of Tell as a historical individual, such as a 1986 publication deriving the name ''Tell'' from the placename ''Tellikon'' (modern [[Dällikon]] in the [[Canton of Zürich]]), are outside of the historiographical mainstream.<ref>Arnold Claudio Schärer, ''Und es gab Tell doch'' (1986). Schärer cites the historical record of one ''Wilhelm Gorkeit'' of ''Tellikon'' and argues that ''Gorkeit'' is equivalent to ''Armbruster'' ("crossbow maker"). Historians were not convinced, but the theory was welcomed in part of the nationalistic right in Switzerland, being referenced by Rudolf Keller, at the time president of the [[Swiss Democrats]], on 1 August 2004 in a speech in Basel. 
Keller, R.: [http://www.schweizer-demokraten.ch/1.AugustRedeR.Keller.pdf Speech held on August 1, 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628155800/http://www.schweizer-demokraten.ch/1.AugustRedeR.Keller.pdf |date=June 28, 2007 }}.</ref>

== Comparative mythology ==
{{Main|Shooting an apple off one's child's head}}
The Tell legend has been compared to a number of other myths or legends, specifically in [[Norse mythology]], involving a magical marksman coming to the aid of a suppressed people under the sway of a tyrant.
The story of a great outlaw successfully shooting an apple from his child's head is an [[archetype]] present in the story of [[Agilaz|Egil]] in the [[Thidreks saga]] (associated with the god [[Ullr]] in Eddaic tradition) as well as in the stories of [[Adam Bell]] from [[England]], [[Palnatoki]] from [[Denmark]], and a story from [[Holstein]].

Such parallels were pointed out as early as 1760 by Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller and the pastor Simeon Uriel Freudenberger in a book titled "''William Tell, a Danish Fable"'' (German: ''Der Wilhelm Tell, ein dänisches Mährgen'').<ref name="bergier_80f">Bergier, p.&nbsp;80f.</ref> This book offended Swiss citizens, and a copy of it was burnt publicly at the Altdorf square. Von Haller underwent a trial, but the authorities spared his life, as he made abject apologies.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-search-of-william-tell-2198511/|title=In Search of William Tell|last=Wernick|first=Robert|work=Smithsonian|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en}}</ref>

Rochholz (1877) connects the similarity of the Tell legend to the stories of Egil and Palnatoki with the legends of a migration from Sweden to Switzerland during the Middle Ages. He also adduces parallels in folktales among the Finns and the Lapps (Sami). From pre-Christian Norse mythology, Rochholz compares [[Ullr]], who bears the epithet of ''Boga-As'' ("bow-god"), [[Heimdall]] and also [[Odin]] himself, who according to the ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' (Book 1, chapter 8.16) assisted [[Haddingus]] by shooting ten bolts from a crossbow in one shot, killing as many foes. Rochholz further compares Indo-European and oriental traditions and concludes (pp.&nbsp;35–41) that the legend of the master marksman shooting an apple (or similar small target) was known outside the Germanic sphere (Germany, Scandinavia, England) and the adjacent regions (Finland and the Baltic) in India, Arabia, Persia and the Balkans (Serbia).

The [[Denmark|Danish]] legend of [[Palnatoki]], first attested in the twelfth-century ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' by [[Saxo Grammaticus]],<ref name="bergier_82">Bergier, p.&nbsp;82.</ref> is the earliest known parallel to the Tell legend. As with William Tell, Palnatoki is forced by the ruler (in this case King [[Harald Bluetooth]]) to shoot an apple off his son's head as proof of his marksmanship.<ref name="keightley_293">see e.g. Keightley, Thomas. ''Tales and Popular Fictions: Their Resemblance and Transmission from Country to Country''. London: Whittaker, 1834, p.&nbsp;293.</ref> 
A striking similarity between William Tell and Palnatoki is that both heroes take more than one arrow out of their quiver. When asked why he pulled several arrows out of his quiver, Palnatoki, too, replies that if he had struck his son with the first arrow, he would have shot King Harald with the remaining two arrows.<ref name="bergier_82" /> 
According to Saxo, Palnatoki later joins Harald's son [[Swein Forkbeard]] in a rebellion and kills Harald with an arrow.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zeeberg|first1=Peter|title=Saxos Danmarkshistorie|date=2000|publisher=Gads Forlag|location=Denmark|isbn=978-87-12-04745-2|page=909}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Arnold Winkelried]], Swiss cultural hero
* [[Stauffacherin]], Swiss cultural hero
* [[Tell City, Indiana]]

'''Non-Swiss figures:'''
* [[Punker of Rohrbach]]
* [[Robin Hood]]
* [[Toni Bajada]]
* [[William Wallace]], (historical) medieval Scottish hero

'''General:'''
* [[Historiography of Switzerland]]

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
*Bergier, Jean-François. ''Wilhelm Tell: Realität und Mythos''. München: Paul List Verlag, 1990.
*{{HLS|17475|Tell, Wilhelm|author=de Capitani, François |date=2013}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Tell |volume= XXII |last= Coolidge |first= William Augustus Brevoort |author-link= William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge | pages = 155&ndash;156 |short=1}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Tell, William |volume= 26 |last= Coolidge |first= William Augustus Brevoort |author-link= William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge | pages = 574&ndash;576 |short=1 }}
*[[William Everdell|Everdell, William R.]] "William Tell: The Failure of Kings in Switzerland," in ''The End of Kings: A History of Republics and Republicans.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-226-22482-1}}
*Fiske, John. ''Myths and Myth-Makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology'', 1877. Ch. 1: ([https://web.archive.org/web/19991002222157/http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/literarystudies/MythsandMyth-Makers/chap1.html On-line]) Quotes [[Saxo Grammaticus]], the ballad of William of Cloudeslee, and instances other independent occurrences.
*Head, Randolph C. "William Tell and His Comrades: Association and Fraternity in the Propaganda of Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Switzerland." in ''The Journal of Modern History'' 67.3 (1995): 527–557.
*Marabello, Thomas Quinn (2023). "The Origins of Democracy in Switzerland," ''Swiss American Historical Society Review'', Vol. 59: No. 1. Page 95-97. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss1/4
*Rochholz, Ernst Ludwig, ''Tell und Gessler in Sage und Geschichte. Nach urkundlichen Quellen'', Heilbronn, 1877 ([https://archive.org/details/tellundgessleri02rochgoog online copy]).
*[[Jean Rudolf von Salis|Salis, J.-R. v.]]: ''Ursprung, Gestalt, und Wirkung des schweizerischen Mythos von Tell'', Bern, 1973.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Wilhelm Tell}}
*[http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/william-tell-switzerland-hero.html ''The Legend of William Tell''] by Markus Jud.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130501010851/http://www.swissworld.org/en/history/middle_ages/the_birth_of_the_swiss_confederation/ ''The birth of the Swiss Confederation''].
*[http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2010_04_25_archive.html Translation of Grimm's Saga No. 298 "The Three Tells"]
*[http://www.tellcityindiana.com/ Tell City, Indiana]
*[http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2010/07/oath-against-tyranny.html Translation of Grimm's Saga No. 517 "Wilhelm Tell"]
*[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/08/01/William-Tell-Switzerlands-legendary-national-hero-is-in-trouble/2711523252800/ "The Contradiction"]
*[http://www.wilhelmtell.org Wilhelm Tell Festival, New Glarus]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141113072515/http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/eu/ch/Tell/Sablonier-Coopzeitung2004-Tell-Gessler-oath-of-Ruetli-lie-ENGL.html William Tell is a lie]; [[:de:Coopzeitung|Coopzeitung]] 28/2004, interview with historian [[Roger Sablonier]], Zurich, translated
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120925065749/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/specials/tell/index.html William Tell, Swissinfo special]

{{William Tell}}
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[[Category:People whose existence is disputed]]
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[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
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