Swiss Guard or (Italian) Guardia Svizzera Pontificia.. The corps of military guardians of the Vatican was instituted by Pope Julius II, who agreed to pay the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Zürich to supply 250 guardsmen. The choice of Swiss troops was based on the belief that they were the finest soldiers in Europe and would remain neutral in Roman politics. The reputation for invincibility was to be tarnished by the battle of Marignano, but the Guard did not become involved in politics, and has survived in unbroken succession until the present day (there are now about 100 guards, mostly from Valais). The parade uniform of the Swiss Guard (tunic with puffed sleeves, breeches, and stockings striped in wide bands of red, yellow, and blue), which is still worn during daylight hours, was designed by Michelangelo. The French Gardes Suisses was a Swiss mercenary regiment raised to fight in the Wars of Religion. The distinguished service of the regiment in the battle of Arques (21 September 1589) led King Henri IV to incorporate it into his army, and in 1615 the regiment became one of the Gardes du Corps; its members remained loyal to the royal family at the Revolution, and were wiped out by the Marseillais and the mob on 10 August 1792. Bibliography P. Krieg, Die päpstliche Schweizergarde (1948). The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance Edited by GORDON CAMPBELL This is eBook and can be accessed via the catalog: opac.isu.edu.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:44:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015