Emperor Barbarossa vs. the Lombard League

Written by Don Giovanni Bosco

(Extracted from “A Compendium of Italian History From the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Don Giovanni Bosco.)

Thirty years had passed without the German emperors attempting to interfere in the affairs of Italy, when the famous Frederick, surnamed Barbarossa, ascended the imperial throne. He was young, handsome, brave, and prudent, and had not yet abandoned himself to those impulses of pride which afterwards made him abhorred throughout the whole of Italy. Frederick considered that his predecessors had acted a cowardly part in yielding to the pretensions of Gregory VII., and in allowing the reins of the government in Italy to slip from their hands; and now determining, at whatever cost, to regain his right, he made a descent upon Lombardy (in the year 1154) with a numerous army. But becoming aware that the Italians were prepared to offer resistance, he thought it better only at first to seize upon the small cities which were incapable of making any vigorous defence, while those amongst them which had the courage to shut their gates in the face of his army were sacked and burned. This fate fell to the lot of Chieri, Asti, Tortona, and Spoleto.

The Roman pontiff, hearing of the devastation which Frederick was making in Italy, attempted to calm his fury by a friendly treaty, and even offered to place the imperial crown on his head. This condescension of the Pope appeased Frederick for a time, so that he at once left Rome unmolested, and returned to Germany.

The Milanese, on the contrary, had known how to keep their rights intact, for all the young men had flown to arms; and when the war preparations had emptied the public purse, they supplied whatever was necessary from their own resources. In this way the Milanese not only provided for their own safety, but were also in a condition to give aid to the neighbouring places.

The resistance which several of the Italian cities made to the emperor might have induced him not to return, but he was too obstinate in his desire not to subjugate those cities at whatever cost. Three years after, accordingly, he again made a descent upon Lombardy with an immense army, threatened Milan, and obliged the citizens to agree to a treaty in his favour. But soon after he disregarded the terms of the treaty so made, and claimed for himself the power of appointing the governor. This violation of so recent a convention greatly irritated the Milanese, and in their fury they drove away the governor he had appointed, and flew to arms, prepared to face the anger of the emperor or to die for the salvation of their country.

On hearing this, Barbarossa marched against the city with all his forces, but the brave citizens again barred his entrance. The besiegers, repelled from the town, now despoiled the crops in the country, barked the trees, and committed all kinds of depredations. This destructive war inspired the neighbouring inhabitants with great dread; but nevertheless the city of Crema, being in alliance with the Milanese, would not abandon their brethren in the evil day.

Frederick insisted on the inhabitants separating themselves from the Milanese, and putting themselves under his authority ; but they courageously replied that they would rather be buried under the ruins of their houses than fail in their plighted faith to these their brethren. This courageous reply irritated the emperor all the more, and after an heroic defence, Crema was obliged to surrender, not indeed conquered, but betrayed by one of its own citizens. The inhabitants, worn out with famine, got permission to retire to Milan, where they were received with due honour by their allies, while Crema itself was given over by Frederick to be sacked and burned. This took place in the year 1160.

Having reduced the city of Crema to a heap of ruins, the soldiers of Barbarossa invested Milan anew, desiring to reduce it by famine. To that end, besides destroying the produce of the fields, the barbarians cut off the hands of all the countrymen who attempted to introduce grain or fruit into the city. Not less was the horror which prevailed inside the city, where man and beast lay alike perishing in the streets and squares.

The people, thus reduced to despair, refused to obey the magistrates, and demanded that the city should be given up; the consuls vainly urged the citizens to the defence, by describing the revenge which an implacable enemy would now take upon them. Every counsel was vain; the masses, seeing resistance to be impossible, broke out into mutiny, and threatened the lives of the consuls if they persisted any longer in the defence. It was then resolved to make submission to Frederick.

On the 7th of March 1162, the Milanese went out to Lodi to swear fealty to the emperor. The people went in companies, corresponding with the different quarters of the town, the one following the other in silence, and in the midst of the whole procession they conducted the car. This car was a vehicle something like the ark of the Hebrews. A bishop of Milan named Aribert invented it in 1039 to be a centre of union, and to hold together the militia in time of war. The car was heavy, drawn by oxen covered with trappings, on which were worked the arms of the city. It was surmounted by a mast-yard, on the top of which was a gilt apple with two standards, so that it could be seen by the whole army; and in the middle there was erected a crucifix. On the top of the car was seated a trumpeter, who gave the signal for attack or retreat. A company of the bravest soldiers stood round the car to keep guard, and every soldier felt the safety of the car to be a matter of honour. Whether on the move or in the field of battle, the car stood in the midst of the combatants, and the honour of the car was safe as long as it did not fall into the hands of the enemy.

The sacred car, then, having arrived before Frederick, the trumpets sounded for the last time, the flag was lowered before the imperial throne, and the car together with ninety-four standards was given over to the conqueror; whilst all the multitude prostrated themselves, and asked for pardon.

Count Biandrante, one of the Italian lords of Frederick's court, moved with love for his fellow-countrymen, with the hope of calming the indignation of the monarch, took the crucifix in his hand, went forward, and kneeling on the steps of the throne, prayed the emperor in God's name to have pity on the city and the citizens. All were moved to tears; Frederick answered nothing, but without giving any sign of emotion, received the oath of fidelity, chose out four hundred hostages, and then commanded the people to return and throw down the walls and fortifications.

The Milanese, uncertain as to their future destiny, returned trembling to their abodes. Nine days had already passed and they saw nothing of Barbarossa, so that they began to indulge some hope that the emperor had pardoned them, when an order came to the consuls to make all the inhabitants go forth without the walls. It is impossible to express with what tears and cries this fatal sentence was received; but to the conquered they were useless!

They were all thus forced to leave their native place, and you might have seen men, women, and children wandering about like beasts in the fields for many days. Then, as every one was constrained to study his own welfare, and mitigate his own sufferings, they found a retreat, some in Pavia, some in Bergamo, some in Tortona. The city of Milan accordingly became a solitude and a mere heap of ruins.

In the meantime the emperor arrived at Milan with his army, and condemned the city to total destruction, and the very name to be blotted out. Six whole days the work of destruction continued. Milan became a heap of stones. It is even said that the plough was passed over it, and salt sprinkled around in sign of sterility and malediction. The soldiers taken by Frederick from the allied Italian cities aided to complete this cruel vengeance, and took occasion to give vent in this way to their hatred against a city which years before had ruined Lodi and Como.

I may here remark that these Italians were both wicked and foolish to lend themselves to the work of destruction, through hatred of their brethren. Vengeance is always blameable, but this was a terrible example to men not to abuse their power and authority to oppress the weak; because there is a Divine Providence which disposes the lot of mankind, and mostly causes the oppressor to pay dearly in the end for the iniquity perpetrated against the poor and oppressed.

Last Actions of Frederick Barbarossa — League of Verona — League of Lombardy

 

After the defeat of Milan, Italy suffered more and more from the oppression of Frederick and the imposts of his ministers. But this state of violence could not last. The cities of Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and Trevigi began to unite themselves in a league to oppose the progress of Frederick. In order to stamp out this first symptom of rebellion, he quitted Pavia with a large number of soldiers; but no sooner did he approach Verona than he saw a confederate army, more numerous than his own, drawn up against him. Fearing therefore to give battle, he withdrew his troops, and after a while left for Germany. The example of the Veronese infused courage into all the other cities. Cremona, Bergamo, Mantua, Brescia, and Ferrara came into the league, swearing to defend themselves against the imperial tyranny, and determining to rebuild Milan and bring back the dispersed citizens to their former home. In this way the city again arose out of its ruins, and that in a comparatively short period.

It was during the absence of the emperor that an army, led by his lieutenant, besieged Ancona, then placed under the protection of the Eastern Empire. But Ancona having received reinforcements, the besiegers, after a long effort, were obliged to raise the siege, just when the valorous inhabitants were being reduced to the very extremity of famine. While all these cities were associating themselves with the Lombard league, Pavia kept faith with the emperor. In order to spite this city, the confederates determined to build another within a short distance and surround it with every kind of military defence. For this purpose they chose a beautiful site surrounded by three rivers, and obliging the neighbouring population to remove there, they erected in 1168 a city termed Alessandria, so named from Pope Alexander III., the then head of the league. As the hurry was great, and the materials scanty, the roofs of the houses were covered with straw, from which circumstance the city was called Alessandria della Paglia. It was at the same time fortified with excellent bastions and deep trenches, and so great was the concourse of people who came to live there, that within a short time they were able to furnish 15,000 armed men.

Frederick, advised of the formation of the Lombard league and the preparations for war which were being made, collected a very numerous army and marched once more into Italy. All the passes were valiantly contested by the Italians, and none remained open except that of Susa. Accordingly, he passed over Mont Cenis, burned the city of Susa, conquered Asti, which was already rising from its ruins, and marched upon Alessandria. The new city defended itself four months without receiving any succour from the other allies. But at last, the league sent a powerful subsidy to the besieged, and Frederick was obliged to raise the siege. For five long years he carried on the war, and endeavoured to bring the Italians into subjection; but they were too many and too obstinate to be easily subdued. Often it came to pass that on one day he conquered and on the next was himself discomfited. Finally, a new army of Germans arrived to the emperor's assistance. Then the Milanese, aided by a number of select troops, went out to meet him at Legnano, on the road which leads from Milan to Lake Como. The brave Italians, seeing the enemy advance, knelt down to pray for victory, and rose up determined to conquer or to die. After an obstinate combat, victory declared itself for the allies; Frederick himself fell from his carriage fighting, and with difficulty escaped to Pavia, where he was believed to have been killed.

These strokes of adverse fortune proved to Frederick that all his efforts would be useless, so that he determined at all costs to reconcile himself with the Roman pontiff, and to come to treaty with the Lombard league. For this purpose he sent deputies to the Pope to beg for peace and absolution, promising that he would disown the Antipope whom he had so foolishly set up.

The Pope being assured of the sincerity of the emperor, went voluntarily to Benevento, where the king of Sicily sent a good detachment of soldiers to defend him, and in case of need to give him an honourable escort to Venice, where the conference between the emperor and the allies was to take place. The Pope refused to make any provisions without the other cities of the league participating in them, and for this purpose he proceeded to Ferrara. There he called together the patriarch of Venice, the archbishops of Ravenna and Milan, with many other bishops, marquises, counts, and all those who held any civil or ecclesiastical authority. The Pope having thus brought all these together into the church of St. George, together with an immense crowd of people, pronounced the following discourse :—My dear sons, you are well aware of the persecution which the Church has suffered on the part of the very prince who above every one was bound to defend it, and you doubtless lament over the rapine, the destruction of churches, the incendiaries, the homicides, and the deluge of crime—all which are the inevitable results of discord and impiety. Heaven has allowed free course to these fearful disasters for the space of eighteen years; but now, at length, it has calmed the storm, has touched the heart of the emperor, and has induced him to sue for peace. Can we fail to recognise in all this a miracle of the divine omnipotence, especially when we see a priest, disarmed, and bent down as I am under the weight of years, triumphing over the German obstinacy, and conquering a formidable prince even without making war?' He then explained that he would not accept any conditions of peace without the participation of the allies, and praised the religious courage with which they had defended the Church.

The allies, excited by the eloquent words of the Pope, broke out into lively and prolonged applause, praising his desire to bring peace to the country, and promising to second him in everything. From Ferrara the Pope returned to Venice, where he established a truce for six years, after which a treaty of peace was concluded in the city of Custanza, in which the emperor ceded to the communes the right of levying armies, of confederation for mutual defence, of administering justice, and of electing consuls.

Then the emperor, having rendered due honour to the Pope, publicly declared that, led astray by evil counsels, he had combated the Church in the belief of defending it; that he thanked God for having brought him to see his error; that he, therefore, most sincerely abandoned the Antipope and his followers, and recognised Alexander as the legitimate pontiff, successor of St. Peter, and vicar of Jesus Christ. Frederick was accordingly absolved from excommunication and from his other sins, and received the communion from the hands of the Pope. Things being thus settled, Frederick returned into Germany.

The Political State of Italy Under the Ottonian Emperors

Written by Don Giovanni Bosco

(Extracted from “A Compendium of Italian History From the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Don Giovanni Bosco.)

Before proceeding further with our history, it is necessary to take a brief glance at the political state of Italy at the accession of the German emperors as lords paramount of the country. It must not be imagined that when Italy came nominally under the power of the Empire, the country was really governed from the imperial court. The great vassals (dukes, counts, marquises) had made themselves practically independent, and each ruled his own dominions according to the feudal laws, merely doing homage to the emperor as the supreme authority. The principal of the great vassals who had established themselves firmly in their respective governments were the duke of Benevento in the south, the duke of Tuscany in Central Italy, and the duke of Spoleto on the Adriatic, with the marquises of Ivrea, Susa, and Friuli in the north. The country around Rome was under the direct rule of the Pope, himself a vassal of the Empire. Apulia and Calabria in the extreme south were still under the rule of the Emperors of the East. Amalfi and Naples were self-governed in the form of small republics, and Salerno and Capua each had its own prince.

Of all the princes of the Empire, the dukes of Spoleto, Tuscany, and Benevento were the most important, as they held a large part of the Italian territory under their sway, and generally guided and determined by their local influence the election of the Popes. With regard to the Popes themselves, the holy office of supreme head of the Church had sunk to its lowest degree of turpitude. Virtue, piety, learning, moral influence, had nothing whatever to do in their election. Political considerations were far stronger than religious motives. Mere boys were sometimes chosen to be vicars apostolic; and as it was thought no disgrace for the Pope to rear up a family, so sons were put forward to succeed their fathers. Female influence prevailed over that of the bishops, and it is said that the infamous Theodora and her daughter disposed of the chair of St. Peter at their pleasure. Whilst Italy was thus ruled by vassals of the Empire, Sicily had fallen entirely into the hand of the Saracens.

Another important point to notice in respect to the political condition of Italy is the growth of the large cities and the influence they soon began to exert upon the country generally. These towns were originally simply portions of the territory governed by the counts; but the German emperors, when they obtained authority in Italy, separated the towns from the surrounding territory, and the power of the count or the bishop, or whoever might be the vassal of the province, was then chiefly confined to the towns themselves, whilst the country was more directly under the government of the dukes. This led to constant feuds and contests between the vassals and their superiors, in which the towns usually sided with their own governor and opposed all interference from the higher powers.

By degrees the towns became more and more powerful. The counts were obliged to govern according to the will of the citizens; and when the vassal was a bishop, he was elected by the people, and made often a mere tool to do their pleasure.

When the cities had thus become powerful and the townspeople well-nigh independent, they often obtained a charter from the emperor which acknowledged and confirmed that independence, and gave them the power of regulating their own affairs and deciding all questions of peace and war as to their own more immediate surroundings. Armed with these powers, they reclaimed the territories which had been separated from them, besieged the castles of the nobles, and compelled them to reside in the towns. Thus the nobles became virtually citizens, and being men more used to power and authority than the rest, they often got the highest municipal offices placed in their hands.

This brief sketch may give some approximate idea of the political condition of the country under the first German emperors, and may also account for the bitter wars and animosities which so often arose between the great towns, and which in later times form one of the chief features in the history of the country.

The Fall of Italy and Rise of the Holy Roman Empire

Written by Don Giovanni Bosco

(Extracted from “A Compendium of Italian History From the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Don Giovanni Bosco.)

After the dissolution of the Western [Carolingian] Empire, several kingdoms arose, some smaller, some larger; and while these states were growing up out of the ruins of the Frankish empire, every kingdom divided itself into little states, entitled dukedoms or countships, according as they were governed by dukes or counts. At first, these feudal lords were simply military chieftains, to whom the kings or the emperors had entrusted the government of provinces, and who had taken possession of them by the consent of their superiors. Then, again, there were bishops or abbots of monasteries, who in the name of the Church took possession of the lands or castles which the princes of that time were accustomed to present as alms to the churches or convents, mostly in expiation of their sins. But, in short, all who possessed a little castle, built on a mountain, surmounted by towers, and surrounded by thick walls and a deep moat, became lords of the territory, and regarded themselves as veritable sovereigns of the surrounding country. A habitation of this kind sufficed to render a noble formidable for the space of ten leagues round, because from it he could devastate at his pleasure, by means of his soldiers, all the neighbouring places. The cultivators of the soil, accordingly, in order to make friends with so formidable a neighbour, often went to offer a portion of their produce, on condition that they should not be molested, and that others should be hindered from wasting their fields and crops, or burning their houses.

In this way the husbandmen, too ignorant or incapable to become heads of squadrons, submitted themselves easily to the dominion of the counts, dukes, or marquises, who were possessors of some city or castle defended by armed men. In like manner the weaker, having recourse to the stronger arm, which in case of need could give them protection, confirmed more and more the title of Suzerain which was introduced by Charlemagne; the whole system being termed by him feudalism or vassalage.

While the feudal customs were thus taking root, a fact occurred which proved very calamitous to Italy. Troops of barbarians, descendants of the Huns, who now went by the name of Magiars or Hungarians, invaded Germany and Italy, making frightful devastations. All the endeavours made to repulse them were vain, and they had advanced as far as the Ticino when the lords and vassals offered to bribe them to retire by presenting them with riches of every kind. The barbarians accepted the presents, but ceased none the less from their devastations. But in addition to these invasions, there were also intestine broils throughout Italy. Charlemagne, as we before showed, had appointed generals, to whom he committed the guardianship of the frontiers, with the title of marquis, the lands themselves being termed marches.

Now the lords of Italy, that is, the counts, marquises, and barons, with a view of having some head who could lead them in their wars against the barbarians, and allay the discords which were increasing on every side, held an assembly at Pavia, and elected (A.D. 888) a descendant of Charlemagne called Berengarius, duke of Friuli, to the title of emperor of Italy. But he had scarcely been crowned at Monza with the iron crown, when another king and an intrepid warrior named Guido, duke of Spoleto, was also proclaimed emperor.

It was Berengarius, however, who came into conflict with the Hungarians, on the banks of Brenta, and gained a great victory. Upon this the Hungarians repassed the Adige and asked permission to return quietly to their country; but the Italian barons, proud of their victory, would not permit Berengarius to allow it. The Hungarians then offered anew to retire, restoring all the prisoners and the booty; but this was not enough. They were thus driven to despair, and threw themselves upon the Italians, determined to conquer or to die. The Italians, taken unaware, were cut to pieces, and from that moment never succeeded in keeping the enemy out of the country.

The Italians ought to have shown gratitude to Berengarius, who had done so much to liberate them from the oppression of the barbarians; but instead of this, he was treated by them in a most unworthy manner. The lords conspired against him and constrained him to take refuge with the king of Germany. But new disasters soon recalled him to the throne. As the welfare of the country, however, was at stake, he overlooked all the outrage he had suffered, returned to Italy, and fought victoriously against the Frankish king, Louis. Sixteen years of peace now succeeded, after which he had to struggle with another Frankish king, Rudolph, by whom he was defeated and obliged to shut himself up in Verona.

Berengarius was a valiant and accomplished general, generous in disposition, and ready to pardon injuries. In one of his battles against Rudolph, a certain chief, who had conspired against him, fell into the hands of his soldiers, who brought him before the king, half naked and all smeared with the blood of his murdered countrymen. Berengarius pardoned him, had him re-clothed, and let him free without requiring any oath. But although the generosity of Berengarius redounded to his honour as a Christian man, it was met with the basest ingratitude, as we shall see by the following narration.

A gentleman of Lombardy, called Flambert, who had been loaded with favours by Berengarius, was bribed by his enemies, and in the excess of his wickedness and ingratitude plotted against his life. The emperor, being made cognisant of his designs, might justly have condemned him to death, but thinking he might be able to gain him over by generous conduct, not only pardoned him, but invited him to his palace in Verona, and there having reminded him of the many favours with which he had been loaded, showed him how horrible the deed was which he had plotted against him. He then presented him with a golden cup, which he begged him to accept, saying: ‘Let this cup be the pledge of a sincere reconciliation; every time you use it let it remind you of the affection of your emperor and of the pardon which he has granted you.’ Flambert stood confused before him, but was too wicked to esteem as he ought to have done such goodness. The same evening the emperor, instead of retiring as he was wont to his chamber where he slept surrounded by guards, wished to pass the night in an isolated pavilion in the middle of his garden, removing even the, accustomed guards, to show that he did not experience the least apprehension. Just at daybreak, when Berengarius was leaving the pavilion to go to the church, Flambert appeared accompanied by a number of armed men; and whilst the prince was advancing to salute him kindly, the wretch stabbed him with a dagger, and stretched him dead on the ground. This crime did not long go unpunished, for the assassin soon after perished miserably.

In place of Berengarius, Hugo, duke of Provence, was now elected king of Italy in 926. He had promised the Italians to bring back the golden age, but the event was very different. The iniquities he committed, the tyranny of his government, his avarice in aggravating the burdens laid upon the people, his want of confidence in the Italians, and his preference for foreigners, excited the minds of all against him. Another Berengarius, marquis of Ivrea, descended from Trebbia into Italy with only a few followers, which were afterwards increased by many of the Italians joining them. Hugo, not being able to resist his numerous enemies, returned to Provence, where he died in 947. His son Lothaire dying soon after, Berengarius II. succeeded without opposition to the throne, and was crowned at Pavia in 950, associating his son Adalbert with him in the kingdom. But the barbarous manner in which he treated Adelaide, widow of Lothaire, shutting her up in a tower, excited the compassion of Otho I., emperor of Germany, who really was aspiring to become lord paramount of Italy. Actuated by these different motives, Otho made a descent upon the country, liberated Adelaide, married her, and having assumed the title of king of Italy, returned to Germany.

In the meantime, Berengarius II. had taken refuge in his own marquisate of Ivrea; but wishing to bring about a reconciliation with Otho, he went into Germany with his son Adalbert, and kneeling down before Otho in the presence of the German and Italian lords, acknowledged him as the true and only lord of Italy, yielding him the homage due to a superior, and receiving from him the investiture of the Italian kingdom. By this act Italy again became feudatory, and dependent upon the German crown. Berengarius returning to Italy, soon repented of what he had done, and raising the standard of rebellion against the emperor, prepared an army of 60,000 men. But on the arrival of Otho, they all deserted him, so that Otho advanced without the slightest resistance. Arriving at Milan, he was crowned king of [Italy] by Pope John XII., and afterwards was invested in Rome with the imperial dignity, which from that time forward was never disconnected from the crown of Germany. In this way, Otho was recognised king of Italy by the Italians themselves; and in this way also Italy, which from the end of the Carlovingians in 888 down to the year 961 had been ruled by her own native kings, fell once more under the sceptre of the imperial government.

The Myth of the “Masonic Risorgimento”

Written by an unknown author

A mythology based on predictable and stereotyped canvases would like to depict the Risorgimento as the result of an inevitable “Masonic plot”.

The nineteenth century was one of those centuries in which accusations of obscure plots and conspiracies abounded. Political opponents frequently accused each other of being supported or backed by secret underground networks: the liberals spoke of a “Jesuit conspiracy”, the reactionaries of a “Masonic plot”, and so on.

But beyond all the polemics and propaganda, how much truth is there in the claim that the Risorgimento was a “Masonic plot”? Virtually none.

Among the four Fathers of the Fatherland, only one was a Freemason. Vittorio Emanuele II and Cavour, both of whom were practicing Catholics, refused any contact with the Masonic lodges. Moreover, it was only in 1859 that the prohibition against membership in Freemasonry was relaxed in the Kingdom of Sardinia: previously this prohibition had always remained in force. Even Mazzini was not a Freemason; indeed he explicitly criticized Freemasonry. Garibaldi was a Freemason, however his membership in the association never translated into “internal” political activity; instead it mainly had symbolic value.

The bulk of the ruling class of the Historical Right had nothing to do with Freemasonry; most of them were liberal monarchists, Catholic and quite conservative. Among the Republicans however there were some Freemasons, but even in this case one cannot speak of a movement dominated by the Masonic lodges.

The great historian Gioacchino Volpe (very Catholic, incidentally) in “Italia moderna” affirmed that after the fall of Napoleon in Italy:

“Freemasonry had fallen asleep almost completely; there was no relationship or very little relationship between Freemasons and Carbonari; many Carbonari clearly refused to be considered Freemasons.”

Freemasonry:

“...began to rise again in the 1860's and only then began to once again weave its web. In those intermediate 40 years, its action in relation to the Italian Risorgimento was insignificant or nothing. Many, indeed most of the patriots, were not Freemasons. Many of them were fierce enemies of Freemasonry.”

Gaetano Salvemini, a socialist and southernist, wrote that:

“The legend that the Italian Risorgimento was the work of Freemasonry was created by the clericals. ... All Masonic forces were in a state of complete inertia between 1830 and 1870.”

(Alessandro Luzio, La Massoneria e il Risorgimento italiano, vol. 2, p. 239)

The greatest Italian scholar of Freemasonry, Professor Aldo Alessandro Mola, in his “Storia della massoneria in Italia”, states bluntly that the Masonic lodges were practically inactive throughout the period between 1830 and 1870, with very few members and very little activity.

The best overall study on the relationship between Freemasonry and the Risorgimento probably remains that of Alessandro Luzio, “La Massoneria e il Risorgimento italiano”, divided into two ponderous volumes with very extensive documentary references. Luzio spoke very firmly of the “Masonic Risorgimento” as being a myth created by the Freemasons and the clergy, who were both interested—albeit for opposite reasons—in attributing to the Masonic lodges a role in Italian Unification which in reality they did not have.

A similar conclusion was reached also by another important historian of Italian Freemasonry, Fulvio Conti, professor of contemporary history at the University of Florence, in “Gli Italiani in guerra. Conflitti, identità, memorie dal Risorgimento ai nostri giorni”.

Marco Meriggi, in his study “Il regno Lombardo-Veneto” (Turin 1987), describes Freemasonry after 1815:

“The Masonic lodges no longer presented themselves as rays of a secret society of revolutionary inspiration, but rather as harmless meeting places for a professional class who, even on the ritual level, had their own reason for joining the regime.” (p. 12)

It should also be added that Freemasonry as a single organization does not exist: there are various branches of Freemasonry, quite different from each other and even having very little coordination with each other, sometimes none at all. In fact, the Freemasons were divided between those in favor of Italian Unity and those against it. For example, Cardinal Antonelli, the foreign minister and éminence grise of Pope Pius IX, and Francesco Saverio Del Carretto, the minister of police for two Bourbon sovereigns, were both Freemasons. Antonelli, moreover, dined with Baron von Rothschild, with whom he had a regular correspondence.

Another well-known Freemason, politically supported by the Masonic lodges, was Napoleon III, who sent a military expedition to crush the Roman Republic and to restore Pius IX back to the throne; later they prevented Garibaldi from marching on Rome in 1860, impeded him again at the time of the Battle of Aspromonte, and opposed him yet again at the Battle of Mentana. In short, the French emperor, the great protector of the Papal States, was a Freemason.

Joseph de Maistre, the ultra-Catholic thinker and father of the reactionary political movement, whose writings are the basis of all Catholic political and philosophical thought known as “reactionary” or “traditionalist”, was also a Freemason. The irony is that Catholic conservatism is anti-Masonic, but has a Freemason as its undisputed founder and teacher. A Masonic circle also surrounded the ultra-reactionary queen Maria Carolina of Bourbon, the wife of Ferdinand I. In light of these cases, it can hardly be said that all the Freemasons were de facto liberals, patriots, anti-clericals, etc.

In the period between 1815 and 1870, Freemasons in Italy were very few and lacked any capacity to conduct “conspiracies” or “plots”. In short, Freemasonry in the years of the Risorgimento was weak and played only a minor role among the very large number of men and parties involved in the national movement.

In conclusion, the idea that the Risorgimento was a Masonic creation is pure mythology without any foundation.

The Myth of Freemasonry and the Risorgimento

Written by an unknown author

The theory of the "Masonic Risorgimento" is mythological. The best overall study on the relationship between Freemasonry and the Risorgimento probably remains that of Alessandro Luzio, "La Massoneria e il Risorgimento italiano", divided into two ponderous volumes with very extensive documentary references. Luzio spoke very firmly of the "Masonic Risorgimento" as being a myth created by the Freemasons and the clergy, who were both interested—albeit for opposite reasons—in attributing to the Masonic lodges a role in Italian Unification which in reality they did not have.

The pro-unitary monarchists were almost never Freemasons, starting with Vittorio Emanuele II and Cavour, who both refused any contact with the Masonic lodges. Even Mazzini was not a Freemason and in fact he criticized Freemasonry, as did his main disciple. Joining the Carbonari did not mean being a Freemason: these were two distinct organizations. However, the vast majority of Mazzinians were not Freemasons at all. Garibaldi was a prominent Freemason, but he was an exception to the rule.

The greatest Italian scholar of Freemasonry, Professor Aldo Alessandro Mola, in his "Storia della massoneria in Italia", states bluntly that the Masonic lodges were practically inactive throughout the period between 1830 and 1870, with very few members and very little activity.

The great historian Gioacchino Volpe (very Catholic, incidentally; he was a Fascist and a conservative) in "Italia moderna" affirmed that after the fall of Napoleon in Italy:

"Freemasonry had fallen asleep almost completely; there was no relationship or very little relationship between Freemasons and Carbonari; many Carbonari clearly refused to be considered Freemasons."

Freemasonry:

"...began to rise again in the 1860's and only then began to once again weave its web. In those intermediate 40 years, its action in relation to the Italian Risorgimento was insignificant or nothing. Many, indeed most of the patriots, were not Freemasons. Many of them were fierce enemies of Freemasonry."

Moreover, it was only in 1859 that the prohibition against membership in Freemasonry was relaxed in the Kingdom of Sardinia: previously this prohibition had always remained in force.

A similar conclusion was reached also by another important historian of Italian Freemasonry, Fulvio Conti, professor of contemporary history at the University of Florence, in "Gli Italiani in guerra. Conflitti, identità, memorie dal Risorgimento ai nostri giorni".

In the period between 1815 and 1870, Freemasons in Italy were very few and lacked any capacity to conduct "conspiracies" or "plots". Marco Meriggi, in his study "Il regno Lombardo-Veneto" (Turin 1987), describes Freemasonry after 1815:

"The Masonic lodges no longer presented themselves as rays of a secret society of revolutionary inspiration, but rather as harmless meeting places for a professional class who, even on the ritual level, had their own reason for joining the regime." (p. 12)

In short, during the years of the Risorgimento Freemasonry was very weak and played a minor role, that is to say marginal.

The Forced Germanization of the Val Venosta

Written by an unknown author

One of the last Ladin areas to pass to the German language was the Upper Val Venosta (Vinschgau). It was not a voluntary transition from Ladin to a new language, but a forced assimilation which is not often cited or discussed in Tyrolean historiography; indeed, it is often ignored. In the past, Tyrolean historiography was mainly focused on attempting to demonstrate the long history of German culture in South Tyrol from the conquest of the Bavarii onward. Even today, this attitude does not seem to have changed much among German authors.

However, in the 14th and 15th centuries Romansh was the only language used in the court of Glorenza (Glurns). This is an irrefutable sign that the population was exclusively Romansh and monolingual. Up to that time there were many cultural, social and economic contacts with the neighboring people of Müstair and the Engadine, who spoke the same language, which has left an impact on the local culture (architecture, toponymy). The Val Venosta, moreover, belonged to the diocese of Chur.

Around 1600, Romansh in the Val Venosta was in a position very similar to that of Ladin in the Val Gardena today, in other words quite strong. Until about 1620 the Abbey of Monte Maria (Marienberg) called upon the Capuchins of Müstair to preach to the people in Romansh. This demonstrates that the population of the Val Venosta was hardly bilingual at that time.

In 1898 a German historian wrote:

“The Val di Mazia (near Malles Venosta) was still Romansh in the 1600's, and even a century later Romansh was still very common in the Val Venosta. It has already been mentioned that Tubre in the Val Monastero passed to the German language only about 70 years ago, while in nearby Müstair (in Switzerland) Ladin is still spoken today, and even in Stelvio at the beginning of the 19th century there were still people who spoke Ladin.” [1]

“Tubre was cleansed of the Romansh language only after 1750”, says an old history book. [2] The use of the term ‘cleansed’ (German: geräumt) demonstrates quite well the attitude of the Germans at that time. Indeed, the Romansh language was wiped out as a result of a prohibition against using the language. The German language was required for meetings, while the Ladin language was prohibited. Likewise the employment of Romansh maids and servants was prohibited, Romansh customs were prohibited, and even marriages with Romansh people were prohibited. The main promoter of these prohibitions was the abbot of Marienberg Abbey, Mathias Lang, infamous for his fanaticism.

The motive or excuse for this Germanization was the Reformation: it was feared that Protestant ideas could penetrate Catholic Tyrol through the Romansh language (“barbaric Romansh”, as it was also called), since the inhabitants of the neighboring Grisons are partly Protestant. It is of little importance that the prohibition of the language was said to be motivated by these fears. The truth is that when the leader does not understand the language of his subjects, the use of this language is criminalized.

Thus the Upper Val Venosta was Germanized. Despite the methods adopted — methods which anticipated those later used for the assimilation of minorities in the 20th century — the extinction of the Ladin language did not have such a rapid success. According to glottologists, Romansh-speakers still lived in the Upper Val Venosta in the 1820's. Today there are still many testimonies of Ladin heritage in the region: it can be observed in the local dialect, as well as in many toponyms.


References

1. Wilhelm Rohmeder, Das deutsche Volkstum und die deutsche Schule in Südtirol, Wien 1898.

2. Des P. Alois Faller, Benedictiners zu Marienberg Notizen von dem ehemaligen Gebrauche der romaunschen Sprache im Vinschgau, mit Urkunden, von ehemaligen Hexenprozessen in jener Gegend, u.d.g., 212r: “Taufers ward erst nach 1750 von der romaunschen Sprache geräumt”.

The Germanization of the Grisons: From the 13th Century to Today

Introduction

The Grisons (Grigioni in Italian; Grischun in Romansh; Graubünden in German) is a canton in southeastern Switzerland which is divided between three groups: Germans, Italians and Romansh.

Until the end of the 13th century, Italian (in the form of Lombard dialect) and Romansh (a group of Western Ladin dialects) were the only languages spoken in the Grisons. In fact, until that time there was not a single German village in the entire region. Aside from the Germanic feudal lords and some foreign-born clergy, the entire population was Latin. Beginning in the late 13th century, however, a gradual Germanization of some areas began to take place. Despite this, at the beginning of the 19th century the Romansh-speakers and Italian-speakers still formed two-thirds of the population. And yet today these ancient indigenous groups of the Grisons are facing extinction. How did this come to be? What follows is a brief overview which is incomplete but sufficient to get a general idea of what occurred.

For the sake of brevity we will have to omit any discussion of the political, administrative, institutional and ecclesiastical changes which took place between the 9th and 12th centuries, which enabled and facilitated the subsequent ethno-linguistic transformation. Instead we will concentrate only on the ethnic and demographic changes themselves.


The Walser Migration

The first German infiltrations took place between the 13th and 14th centuries as a result of the Walser migrations. Needles to say, the Walsers were neither invited nor welcomed by the Romansh population. They were invited to settle by the Germanic feudal lords and progressively expanded into other nearby Romansh territories. Although in some cases the Walsers lived alongside the Romansh and absorbed them, in many cases the lands in which they settled were confiscated from the Romansh, who were forced to renounce and abandon the territory.

Unlike the Romansh, moreover, the Walser colonists obtained special rights and privileges from the feudal lords. In exchange the Walsers agreed to defend the feudal lords' interests, making themselves the military instruments of the feudal lords. They were also theoretically responsible for police activities and for suppressing any potential peasant revolts by the Romansh. The relationship between the free Walsers and the feudal lords was one of willing servants and patrons, whereas the relationship between the Romansh and the feudal lords was one of serfs and masters. Therefore, from the outset, the Walsers represented a foreign class whose interests were in direct opposition to those of the Romansh.

Overall, from the demographic point of view, the Walser migration in the Grisons was not as intense as it may seem at first glance, because the affected areas in general remained sparsely populated.

The following is a brief town-by-town summary of the Walser colonization:

• The Rheinwald (Valrain), although scarcely populated, belonged to the Romansh area until the arrival of the Walsers, who came from the Val Formazza in northern Piedmont around the year 1270. Some believe Hinterrhein (Valragn) — located in the Rheinwald Valley — to be the first Walser colony in the Grisons.

• Obersaxen (Sursaissa), a linguistic island located in the middle of the Surselva Valley, was founded in the late 13th century by Walser immigrants in an area previously inhabited by a Romansh population. Together with Hinterrhein, it is believed to be the oldest Walser colony in the Grisons.

• Avers (Avras), another linguistic island and previously a Romansh town, was occupied by the Walsers after 1280.

• Davos (Tavate) was a Romansh town until the year 1280 or 1284 with the arrival of the Walsers, who used the town as a base of expansion into other nearby Romansh areas.

• Splügen (Speluca), located in the Rheinwald Valley, belonged to the Romansh area until 1290 when it was colonized by Walser immigrants.

• Sufers (Subere), located in the Rheinwald Valley, was inhabited by the Romansh until being occupied around 1300 by Walser immigrants from Nufenen and Hinterrhein.

• The Safien Valley (Stossavia) consisted of several Romansh villages until the 14th century with the arrival of Walser colonists from the Rheinwald Valley.

• Vals (Val) was inhabited by the Romansh until the 14th century with the arrival of the Walsers.

• Mutten (Mut), a Walser linguistic island in the Viamala region, was inhabited by the Romansh until the 14th century.

• Tschappina (Tschupegna), which still belonged to the Romansh area in the 14th century, became a Walser colony around the year 1396.

• Says, a hamlet of Trimmis, in the Landquart region, was inhabited by Romansh — albeit sparsely — until the 14th century.

• Valzeina, a sparsely-populated Romansh area, was occupied by Walsers in the 14th century.

• Arosa, formerly a pasture or farmland belonging to the Romansh, was taken over by Walsers in the 14th century.

• Praden (Prada) belonged to the Romansh region before being colonized by Walser immigrants at the beginning of the 14th century.

• Langwies (Prauliung) was a hinterland belonging to the Romansh village of Prada and to the parish church of Son Peder. Beginning in 1307 it was colonized by Walser immigrants from Davos, who occupied Fondei, Medergen (Mederi) and Sapun (Samponi), before occupying the entire area later in the 14th century.

• Schmitten (Ferrera), formerly Romansh, was colonized by Walsers from Davos between the 14th and 15th centuries; however the Romansh presence was never completely extinguished: still today the Romansh remain a minority in the town.

• Igis (Eigias), a hamlet of the newly-formed municipality of Landquart, was inhabited by the Romansh until the 15th century when they were forced to move south due to a migration of Walsers.

• Mastrils, once part of the former Romansh village of Zizers, today a hamlet of Landquart, was colonized by Walsers from Valzeina e from the Tamina Valley in the Canton of St. Gallen between the 15th and 16th centuries (although the first documented presence of Walsers in Mastrils dates only to the year 1515).

• Furna (Fuorn), Jenaz (Gianatsch), Fideris (Fidrisio) and Conters im Prättigau (Cunter en il Partenz) were all Romansh areas before being colonized by Walsers between the 14th and 15th centuries.

• St. Antönien (S. Antönia), composed of the former towns of Ascharina, Castels and Ruti, was uninhabited but belonged to the Romansh region and was used as agricultural land by the local Romansh villagers. The valley was gradually occupied by Walsers from the Davos-Klosters area between the 14th and 15th centuries.

• Saas im Prättigau (Sausch), today a hamlet of Klosters-Serneus, was a Romansh village colonized by Walsers from St. Antönien and Klosters between the 14th and 15th centuries, which led to the disappearance of the Romansh language and the Germanization of the local Romansh population.

• Klosters (Claustra) was a Romansh area that was colonized by Walsers from Davos beginning in the 14th century. Towards the end of the 15th century it was undergoing a process of Germanization but still had a strong Romansh population roughly equal in number to the German one. In 1489 it was half German; by the 16th century the area was predominantly German-speaking.

• Valtanna, a hamlet of Trimmis previously belonging to the Romansh region, was occupied by Walsers from Valzeina in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Quite often disputes arose between the Romansh and the Walser populations. Emblematic is the struggle between Laax (a Romansh town) and Valendas (a former Romansh town called Valendano, which by the 16th century had become Germanized by Walsers from the nearby villages of the Safien Valley). In the 16th century, the German population of Valendas began to agitate for independent courts in the German language, which were opposed by the Romansh population of Laax.

Another example is that of the struggle between the Romansh and Germans at Klosters in 1489: a dispute over who should occupy the office of Ammann (first magistrate) — since both parties wished to elect an Ammann from their own ethnic group — resulted in murder and bloodshed. It was later decided by Sigismund, Duke of Austria, that the office should alternate each year between Romansh and German candidates, meanwhile the right to hold elections was abolished.

Courting traditions provide yet another example. For their part, young Walser men from the Grisons would often travel as far as Italy to find potential brides among the Walser villages of Piedmont, rather than seeking spouses among the women of the much closer Romansh communities.

The expansion of the Walsers in the Surselva Valley was halted in 1457 by the Romansh of the Lumnezia Valley, whose count issued a decree imposing restrictions on property rights and mixed marriages between Romansh and Walsers. The Walsers of Vals belonged politically to Lumnezia, which always remained Romansh. The Romansh denied the Walsers of Vals the right to vote in public assemblies until the 17th century.


The Alemannian Migration

Almost contemporaneous to the Walser colonization, a very small migration of Alemanns — today called Bündnerdeutsche — to the Landquart region began. Two examples:

• Fläsch (Fiasca), formerly a Romansh town, was Germanized in the 14th century by Alemannian immigrants.

• Malans (Mellanze) was Germanized by Alemannian immigrants between the 15th and 16th centuries. There was still a Romansh presence until the mid-16th century.

Germanization of Other Romansh Areas

Some other Romansh areas were also Germanized between the 14th and 16th centuries, although they were never colonized by Germans. Some examples:

• Haldenstein (Lantsch sut) was formerly a Romansh village. Towards the end of the 15th century, between about 1470 and 1500, it switched to the German language.

• Jenins (Gianin), Trimmis (Termin), Untervaz (Vaz sut) and Zizers (Zizure) were all Romansh-speaking villages in the 15th century. In the same century the Germanization process was already underway, and by the 16th century the villages all appear to be completely Germanized, despite there being no documented migratory movement, apart from some very small nearby hamlets which had been colonized by Walsers.

• Maienfeld (Maiavilla), capital of the old Grisons Lordship (Bündner Herrschaft), was at one time a Romansh town. In the 14th century several villages were founded near the town by Walser immigrants: Sturfis, Rofels, Guscha and others. In the 16th century, as a result of the combined influence of these villages and the neighboring Alemannians, the town switched to the German language, thus becoming Germanized. The Walsers, however, did not obtain citizenship until the 18th century, and the villagers of Grusha not before 1897.

• Felsberg (Villa Fagonio) and Tamins (Tumein) were Romansh towns which at an unknown date and without any known causes abandoned the Romansh language and adopted German. Some think that the towns were already Germanized in the 15th century, but according to Prof. Pieder Cavigelli the transition occurred in the 16th century in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.

Germanization During the Protestant Reformation

In most cases the spread of the German language among the Romansh in the 16th century — favored by the German administrators and by the Walsers of the League of the Ten Jurisdictions — also coincided with the spread of Protestantism, which however was not accompanied by any mass migration of Germans. These cases, therefore, just like those previously mentioned, generally constituted a linguistic rather than ethnic substitution. Some examples:

• Rongellen (Runtgaglia) and Urmein (Urmino) were Romansh villages which, under the influence of the nearby Walser colony of Tschappina, switched from Romansh to German between the 14th and 16th centuries. Some think that Rongellen may have been a Walser colony which expelled or displaced the native Romansh, however there is no documentation proving the existence of a Walser colony in Rongellen.

• Churwalden (Curvalda) and Parpan (Parpaun) were Romansh towns Germanized between the 15th and 16th centuries, mainly due to the influence of the Abbey of Churwalden, which was linked to Roggenburg Abbey in Bavaria.

• Grüsch (Crusa), Küblis (Convalle), Luzein (Lucegno), Schiers (Sceria), Seewis im Prättigau (Sausch) and Serneus — towns located in the Prättigau Valley — were all inhabited by the Romansh. Indeed in the mid-15th century the Romansh language was still dominant throughout the valley. The Germanization of the Prättigau Valley, spreading from the nearby Walser municipalities, began in the 15th century and was completed by the second half of the 16th century. The Romansh chronicler Durich Chiampell reported that around 1540 many inhabitants of the Prättigau Valley used the Walser dialect of Davos in public but spoke Romansh in private; only Seewis and Serneus continued the public use of Romansh. Around 1577 or 1582 the inhabitants of these two towns also switched to German but were openly mocked for their poor mastery of the German language. In some towns such as Luzein there was a migration of some Walser families who mixed with the local Romansh, thus contributing to the Germanization. However, the surnames demonstrate that even after the 16th century most of the population was still Romansh, albeit Germanized.

• Calfreisen (Chiaunreis-Cafrassino), Castiel (Castello), Lüen (Leone), Maladers (Maladro), Molinis (Molinas), Pagig (Pagiai), Peist (Peste), St. Peter (Son Peder) and Tschiertschen (Cercene) — villages located in the Schanfigg Valley — were all Romansh villages until the end of the 16th century. The first of these to adopt the German language were Maladers and Peist, while Calfreisen, Castiel and Lüen for some time remained bilingual. In Maladers, Molinis, Peist and St. Peter the Romansh continued to exist but already in 1577 they were reduced to a minority in the face of German-speakers. It is said — without any conclusive documentation however — that the last Romansh-speakers in the latter four villages died of the plague and were replaced by German immigrants.

• Malix (Umbligo), a hamlet of Churwalden, underwent Germanization in the second half of the 16th century, passing from the Romansh language to German.

• Thusis (Tosana) and Masein (Mazegno) were Romansh villages which, under the influence of Tschappina, passed to the German language between the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Germanization of Chur

Then there is the unique case of Chur.

Chur (Coira) was a Romanic city until the 16th century. In 1464, following a terrible fire that nearly destroyed the entire city, a large number of German artisans and workers arrived from Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein to help rebuild the city. These workers remained permanently in Chur, which later led to the unintended suppression of the Romansh language.

From the late 15th to the 16th century the newly-rebuilt city and its surroundings were inhabited by both Romansh and Germans. Towards the middle of the 16th century Romansh was still spoken but was already eclipsed by German. The city was definitively Germanized — at least in its public acts — by the end of the 16th century in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.

In this way the Romansh lost their only urban center and from that moment onward became exclusively a rural population. As a result, from that moment until today, being urban means being Germanized.

Romansh-speakers continued to inhabit that quarter outside the city walls still today called Welschdörfli, which means 'Italian village' or 'Romansh village' (from 'Welschen', a term used by the Germans to refer to Latin peoples), the last remaining vestige of old Romansh Chur. However, over time these inhabitants also became Germanized.


The Extent of Germanization Before and After the Reformation

These Germanic penetrations between the 13th and 16th centuries, in the grand scheme of things, compared to what would occur later, were more or less minor cases of Germanization, substantially affecting only the Landquart, Plessur, Rheinwald and Prättigau-Davos regions. The areas colonized by the Walsers — with the exception of Davos, which became the largest Walser center — in general remained sparsely inhabited by just a few families. Meanwhile, the Germanization of Chur, although a severe blow from the point of view of urbanism, did not lead to the Germanization of the entire territory of the Grisons. Despite the storm, most of the Grisons was still Latin (that is, Romansh and Italian) and remained so until the 19th and 20th centuries.

Let's briefly examine the situation before and after the Reformation:

At the beginning of the 15th century Chur, Churwalden, the Schanfigg Valley, the Prättigau Valley, Maienfeld and the Fünf Dörfer district (the Five Villages) in Landquart were still largely Romansh, indeed almost exclusively Romansh, as evidenced by the language of the tribunals. During that century some of these areas began to undergo various degrees of Germanization. The most affected were Chur, Maienfeld, the Five Villages, Klosters and the south-western villages of the Prättigau Valley (Furna, Jenaz, Fideris, Conters). The total Germanization of all these regions, however, was completed only by the end of the following century, after the Reformation.

At the dawn of the 16th century — shortly before the Protestant Reformation in the Grisons and prior to the process of Germanization of South Tyrol initiated by the Habsburgs in the wake of the apostasy of the neighboring Romansh valleys — the Romansh of the Grisons and the Ladins of western South Tyrol still constituted a geo-linguistic bloc which extended from the Uri-Surselva border and the Chur Rhine Valley (Churer Rheintal) to the Val di Non in northwestern Trentino. However, it should be noted that the Landquart, Klosters and Chur areas were by now divided between Romansh-speakers and German-speakers, thus increasingly isolating the villages of the Prättigau Valley which at this time were still Romansh.

It should be noted also that by this time the geo-linguistic link with the current Ladin area of South Tyrol had already been broken — at least partially — by a wedge of Italian-speakers and German-speakers in the Oltradige-Bassa Atesina (Überetsch-Unterland), the Bolzano area (Bozner Land), the Merano area (Meraner Land), the Passiria Valley (Passeiertal), the Ultimo Valley (Ultental), the Sarentino Valley (Sarntal), and the Renon Plateau (Ritten), which formed a trilingual zone and isolated the western Ladins (the Romansh and the inhabitants of the Venosta Valley) from the central and eastern Ladins (the Dolomite Ladins and the Friulians).

This wedge interrupted an otherwise perfect geographical continuity which would have extended from the Rhine Valley to Julian Venetia, since at that time the Lower Val Monastero (Val Müstair), the Val Venosta (Vinschgau), the Val di Non, the Val di Sole, the Lower Isarco Valley (Eisacktal), the Lower Pusteria (Unterpustertal), the valleys of Luson and Tires (Lüsental-Tierser Tal), Castelrotto (Kastelruth), the Agordino, the Cadore, the Zoldano Valley, Eastern Friuli (Trieste, Gorizia, Caporetto/Kobarid, Tolmino/Tolmin, Postumia/Postojna, Vipacco/Vipava, Idria/Idrija, Circhina/Cerkno, Canale/Kanal, etc.), Istria, Imboden, the Surselva region, the Viamala region, the Albula region, the Engadin, the Prättigau Valley, four of the Five Villages in Landquart, the city of Chur and neighboring municipalities were all still inhabited by Rhaeto-Romance populations, thus forming the aforementioned Ladin bloc from the Chur Rhine Valley to the Val di Non, as well as a second bloc from the Lower Isarco and Lower Pusteria to the Quarnaro Gulf and Julian Alps.

By the end of the 16th century, in the aftermath of the Reformation, the German and Germanized areas in the Grisons were still limited to the following: Landquart; Prättigau; Schanfigg; Rheinwald; isolated Walser villages such as Avers, Mutten, Obersaxen, Vals and those of the Safien Valley; Davos and neighboring towns such as Klosters; Chur and neighboring towns such as Churwalden and Haldenstein, and a few other small towns like Felsberg and Tamins, in addition to the other towns and villages mentioned earlier.

The rest of the Grisons remained compactly Latin (Romansh and Italian). Finally, unlike South Tyrol and Eastern Friuli, the ethno-linguistic boundaries of the Grisons remained quite stable from the post-Reformation period until the 19th century.


Germanization During the 19th and 20th Centuries

For the most part the Germanization of the Grisons dates back only to the 19th and 20th centuries, and in recent times it has proceeded very rapidly. It occurred through all the various familiar means: the migration of German-speakers; the imposition of the German language; the creation of German schools in the Romansh areas; compulsory education in German; the refusal of the German ruling class to recognize the Romansh language in public life; the influence of the mass media; the cultural, political and economic prestige of the German language, etc.

To these one could also add other factors such as the lack of Romansh urban centers, the absence of a standardized language and therefore a lack of national literature, religious division, regional rivalries, and finally the failure of the Romansh to unite their cultural and political interests with those of the neighboring Italic populations in Ticino, the Italian Grisons and Trentino-Alto Adige.

And this despite the fact that Romansh literature was born in Italy in the 19th century among Engadin emigrants known as Randulins: Gian Battista Sandri, Conradin de Flugi, Gian Fadri Caderas, Simeon Caratsch, Zaccaria Pallioppi, Giovanni Mathis, Gian Singer, Gian Pitschen Balastèr, Alexander Balletta, Clementina Gilli, Peider Lansel, etc. These Italo-Engadin poets were among the founders of Romansh poetry. What could have been a very important step towards Italian-Romansh solidarity, both during and immediately after the Risorgimento, in the end amounted to a missed opportunity.

As for the attitude of the Swiss authorities towards the Romansh population, it is sufficient to recall that it was only in 1938 that the Romansh language received nominal recognition by the Swiss government (and this with the express purpose of countering growing irredentism and of alienating the Romansh from the Italians) and it was only in 2004, when it was already on the verge of death, that Romansh finally became an official language with equal legal status as German.

As previously mentioned, the major Germanization process dates back only to the 19th and 20th centuries. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Romance or neo-Latin peoples — that is to say the Italian-speakers and Romansh-speakers — formed the absolute majority of the population in the Grisons. Here are the precise figures:

In 1803 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins c. 64% (36,700 Romansh-speakers; c. 10,276 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized c. 36% (c. 26,424 German-speakers)

In 1850 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 60% (42.439 Romansh-speakers; 11,956 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 39% (35,500 German-speakers)

In 1880 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 54% (37.794 Romansh-speakers; 12,976 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 46% (43,664 German-speakers)

In 1910 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 49,3% (37.662 Romansh-speakers; 20,689 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 50,6% (56,944 German-speakers)

In 1950 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 42% (40,109 Romansh-speakers; 18,079 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 56% (77,096 German-speakers)

In 1980 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 35% (36,017 Romansh-speakers; 22,199 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 59% (98,645 German-speakers)

In 2015 the population of the Grisons was thus divided:
- Latins 28% (29,826 Romansh-speakers; 25,033 Italian-speakers)
- Germans/Germanized 73% (142,378 German-speakers)

According to official statistics, it was only in 1880 that German-speakers constituted the relative majority for the first time in history, and it was not until 1910 that they became the absolute majority. Since that time, the percentage of German-speakers has rapidly increased with each passing decade.

Thus, in the span of about 200 years, the Latin population, from an absolute majority in 1803, has became a minority in its own land, although it should be noted that the vast majority of today's German-speakers are in fact recently-Germanized Romansh peoples, as is demonstrated by the surnames and by historical linguistic data. To these one could add also those German-speakers of Romansh origin in the Landquart Valley and in the Prättigau Valley, who were already Germanized several centuries ago.

More than the Germanization of a region, what has taken place is the near total Germanization of the Romansh themselves, both culturally and linguistically, so much so that in some cases the Germanized Romansh have become more Swiss than the Swiss, manifesting a sort of Stockholm syndrome towards their old masters, not dissimilar to the attitude of certain Germanized Ladins in South Tyrol.


The Germanization of St. Mortitz, Samnaun and Bivio

The Germanization of the Grisons is not an ancient event which dates back to the barbarian invasions; on the contrary the phenomenon has largely occurred during the our parents and grandparents lifetime, and today it is still occurring. Emblematic in this regard are the cases of St. Moritz, Samnaun and especially Bivio, whose Germanization took place before our very eyes.

St. Moritz (San Maurizio) was a majority Romansh village until the late 19th century. By 1880, following a wave of German immigration and the transformation of the small village into a major tourist resort, those who spoke Romansh as a first language decreased to 50% of the population. The figure fell to 20% in 1941, to 8% in 1970%, to 6.23% in 1990 and to 4.72% in 2000. In 1900 Italian was spoken by 31% of the population. The figure fell to 22.83% by the year 2000. Today German is the only official language in schools and administration. Romansh — the indigenous language spoken here at least since 1137 AD — today is taught only as a secondary foreign (!) language.

Samnaun (Samignone), for geographical reasons, was for many years reachable only from Austrian territory. In spite of this, for a thousand years, up until the 19th century, all the inhabitants spoke Vallader, a Romansh dialect closely related to Dolomitic Ladin. In the 19th century this language was replaced by a Bavarian-Tyrolean dialect. The last native Romansh Vallader-speaker died in 1935.

Bivio was founded in the 9th century by Italian farmers from the Bregaglia Valley who spoke a Lombard dialect. In 1860 the Italians of Bivio amounted to 83% of the population (47 Italian families; 9 Romansh families). In 1870 the percentage remained static although the number of families increased to 82 Italian families and 16 Romansh families. By 1980 Italian was spoken by only 42% of the village. By 1990 the figure had fallen to 34.08%, and by 2000 it had fallen to 29.41%. In 2005 German became the new official language, replacing Italian.


The Germanization of Other Romansh Towns

The following is a list of some other towns that were still completely Romansh in the 19th and 20th centuries, but which today are predominantly German-speaking:

• Albula/Alvra
• Andeer
• Bergun/Bravuogn
• Bever
• Bonaduz/Panaduz
• Cazis
• Celerina
• Domat/Ems
• Fledern/Flearda
• Filisur/Filisour
• Flims/Flem
• Ilanz/Glion
• Lantsch/Lenz
• Paspels
• Pontresina
• Rhäzüns/Razen
• Samedan
• Scharans/Scharons
• Sils im Engadin/Segl
• Sils im Domleschg/Seglias
• Silvaplana
• Trin
• Tumegl/Tomils
• Vaz/Obervaz
• Zillis-Reischen/Ziran-Reschen
• Zuoz

The list could go on.


The Latin Population in the Grisons Today

Today in the Italian-speaking valleys there are fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, of which only approximately 85% are Italian, while in 2015 the Romansh-speakers amounted to only 29,826 people or 15.4% of the total population of the Grisons. Overall the Italian-speakers and Romansh-speakers are almost equal in number. Both however are now in the minority from the linguistic point of view.

Ever since the fall of Rome the Latins of the Alps have been in retreat; their territory has become increasingly smaller over the centuries, completely surrounded by the ever-expanding Germanic and Slavic peoples. In the canton of the Grisons, the Latins are now an endangered species and threatened with extinction due to the ever increasing influence of the Germans.

This much-vaunted trilingual canton of Switzerland is in reality dominated by the German-speaking element. Without knowledge of German one cannot survive, neither economically, nor politically, nor culturally: the resulting consequences have already been enumerated. Unless there is a radical change in culture and politics, the ancient Roman and Latin character of the Grisons will die and the entire canton will inevitably be swallowed up by the Germanic world.


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Durich Chiampell [Ulrich Campbell], Raetiae alpestris topographica descriptio (1573)

• Valentin Bühler, Davos in Graubünden (Heidelberg, 1872)

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• Carlo Salvioni, Ladinia e Italia (Pavia, 1917)

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