Anne of Geierstein, or The Maiden of the Mist (1829) is a novel by Sir
Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet, popular throughout Europe during his time....
. It is set in
Central EuropeCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
, mainly in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, shortly after the
YorkistThe House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented Edward's...
victory at the
Battle of TewkesburyThe Battle of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which took place on 4 May 1471, completed one phase of the Wars of the Roses.It put a temporary end to Lancastrian hopes of regaining the throne of England...
(1471). It covers the period of Swiss involvement in the
Burgundian WarsThe Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France, later involving the Old Swiss Confederacy, which would play a decisive role. Open war broke out in 1474, and in the following years, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated thrice on the...
.
Two exiled
LancastrianThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
s are on a secret mission to the court of
Charles the BoldCharles the Bold or Charles the Rash , baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477....
, Duke of
BurgundyThe Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory in Medieval Europe. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne, although it grew to have considerable possessions in the Low Countries as well...
, hoping to gain his help in regaining the English crown from the Yorkist
Edward IVEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 2 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. The two Englishmen get into difficulties in the Swiss mountains.
Anne of Geierstein, or The Maiden of the Mist (1829) is a novel by Sir
Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet, popular throughout Europe during his time....
. It is set in
Central EuropeCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
, mainly in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, shortly after the
YorkistThe House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented Edward's...
victory at the
Battle of TewkesburyThe Battle of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which took place on 4 May 1471, completed one phase of the Wars of the Roses.It put a temporary end to Lancastrian hopes of regaining the throne of England...
(1471). It covers the period of Swiss involvement in the
Burgundian WarsThe Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France, later involving the Old Swiss Confederacy, which would play a decisive role. Open war broke out in 1474, and in the following years, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated thrice on the...
.
Plot introduction
Two exiled
LancastrianThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
s are on a secret mission to the court of
Charles the BoldCharles the Bold or Charles the Rash , baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477....
, Duke of
BurgundyThe Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory in Medieval Europe. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne, although it grew to have considerable possessions in the Low Countries as well...
, hoping to gain his help in regaining the English crown from the Yorkist
Edward IVEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 2 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. The two Englishmen get into difficulties in the Swiss mountains. They meet Countess Anne and her family, who are involved in the politics of the newly independent
Swiss ConfederationThe growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy began as an alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains...
and plan to confront Charles with complaints about his conduct towards the Swiss nation. The two groups decide to travel together. Anne may have inherited magical skills from her grandmother, enabling her to perform feats which defy explanation. The travellers also encounter a shadowy organization known as the
VehmgerichtThe Vehmic courts, Vehmgericht, holy vehme, or just the Vehm, also spelt Feme, are names given to a tribunal system of Westphalia active during the later Middle Ages, based on a fraternal organisation of lay judges called francs-juges or Freischöffen . The principal seat of the courts was in...
or Secret Tribunal.
Plot summary
As the merchant John Philipson and his son Arthur were travelling towards
BaselBasel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 830000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area....
they were overtaken by a storm, and found themselves at the edge of a precipice caused by a recent earthquake. Arthur was making his way towards a tower indicated by their guide Antonio, when he was rescued from imminent danger by Anne, who conducted him to her uncle Bierderman's mountain home. His father had already been brought there to safety by Biederman and his sons. During their evening games Rudolph, who had joined in them, became jealous of the young Englishman's skill with the bow, and challenged him; but they were overheard by Anne, and the duel was interrupted. The travellers were invited to continue their journey in company with a deputation of Switzers, commissioned to remonstrate with Charles the Bold respecting the exactions of Hagenbach; and the magistrates of Basel having declined to let them enter the city, they took shelter in the ruins of a castle. During his share in the night watches, Arthur fancied that he saw an apparition of Anne, and was encouraged in his belief by Rudolph, who narrated her family history, which implied that her ancestors had dealings with supernatural beings. Hoping to prevent a conflict on his account between the Swiss and the duke's steward, the merchant arranged that he and his son should precede them; but on reaching the Burgundian citadel they were imprisoned by the governor in separate dungeons. Arthur, however, was released by Anne with the assistance of a priest, and his father by Biederman, a body of Swiss youths having entered the town and incited the citizens to execute Hagenbach, just as he was intending to slaughter the deputation, whom he had treacherously admitted. A valuable necklace which had been taken from the merchant was restored to him by Sigismund, and the deputies having decided to persist in seeking an interview with the duke, the Englishman undertook to represent their cause favourably to him.
On their way to Charles's headquarters father and son were overtaken by Anne disguised as a lady of rank, and, acting on her whispered advice to Arthur, they continued their journey by different roads. The elder fell in with a mysterious priest who provided him with a guide to the "Golden Fleece," where he was lowered from his bedroom to appear before a meeting of the Vehmic court or holy tribunal, and warned against speaking of their secret powers. The younger was met and conducted by Annette to a castle, where he spent the evening with his lady-love, and travelled with her the next day to rejoin his father at Strassburg. In the cathedral there they met
Margaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471 and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453....
, who recognised Philipson as the
Earl of OxfordThe Earl of Oxford was one of the older titles in the English peerage, and was held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141. It finally became dormant in 1703 with the death of the 20th Earl...
, a faithful adherent of the
house of LancasterThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
, and planned with him an appeal to the duke for aid against the Yorkists. On reaching Charles's camp the earl was welcomed as an old companion in arms, and obtained a promise of the help he sought, on condition that Provence was ceded to Burgundy. Arthur was despatched to
Aix-en-ProvenceAix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city in southern France, some north of Marseille...
to urge Margaret to persuade her father accordingly, while the earl accompanied his host to an interview with his burghers and the Swiss deputies.
King René of Anjou's preference for the society of troubadours and frivolous amusements had driven his daughter to take refuge in a convent. On hearing from Arthur, however, the result of the earl's mission to the duke, she returned to the palace, and had induced her father to sign away his kingdom, when his grandson Ferrand arrived with the news of the rout of the Burgundian army at
NeuchâtelNeuchâtel is the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel.The city has approximately 32,600 inhabitants , by and large French-speaking, although the city is sometimes referred to historically by the German name , which has the same meaning, since Prussia ruled the area until...
, and Arthur learned from his squire, Sigismund, that he had not seen Anne's spectre but herself during his night-watch, and that the priest he had met more than once was her father, the Count Albert of Geierstein. The same evening Queen Margaret died in her chair of state; and all the earl's prospects for England being thwarted, he occupied himself in arranging a treaty between her father and the King of France. He was still in Provence when he was summoned to rouse the duke from a fit of melancholy, caused by the Switzers having again defeated him. After raising fresh troops, Charles decided to wrest
NancyNancy is a city in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France, and formerly the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, and then the French province of the same name.The city is the head of the department...
from the young Duke of Lorraine, and during the siege Arthur received another challenge from Rudolph. The rivals met, and, having killed the Bernese, the young Englishman obtained Count Albert's consent to his marriage with Anne, with strict injunctions to warn the duke that the Secret Tribunal had decreed his death. By the treachery of the Italians the Swiss were enabled the same night to gain another victory, Charles was slain, and their independence was established. Being still an exile, the earl accepted the patriot Biederman's invitation to reside with his countess at Geierstein, until the battle of Bosworth placed
Henry VIIHenry VII was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty.Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the political upheavals of the Wars...
on the throne, when Arthur and his wife attracted as much admiration at the English Court as they had gained among their Swiss neighbours.
Characters
- John Philipson, an English merchant, afterwards Earl of Oxford
- Arthur de Vere, his son
- Antonio, their young Swiss guide
- Arnold Biederman, a magistrate of Unterwalden
Unterwalden is the old name for what is now two cantons in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne. It consists of two half-cantons, an upper part, Obwalden, and a lower part, Nidwalden....
- His sons: Rudiger, Ernest and Sigismund
- Anne of Geierstein, his niece
- Annette Veilchen, her attendant
- Rudolph of Donnershugel, a Bernese
- Count Albert of Geierstein, Anne's father
- Ital Schrechwald, his steward
- Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
- Count Archibald von Hagenbach, his steward
- Swiss deputies to the duke
- Nicholas Bonsteteen
- Melchior Sturmthal
- Adam Zimmerman
- Dannischemend, a Persian sorcerer
- Hermione, his daughter
- Jan Mengs, landlord of the "Golden Fleece" in Rhenish Prussia
- Knights and burghers of the Vehmic court
- Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471 and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453....
, widow of King Henry VIHenry VI was King of England 1422–1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realms were governed by regents. Contemporaneously, he was described as a peaceful and pious man, not suited for the harsh nature of the struggles facing him...
- King René of Provence, her father
- Ferrand de Vaudemont
René II was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 1480–1493 and as King of Naples and Jerusalem 1493–1508...
, Duke of Lorraine, his grandson
- Count Campo Basso, commander of Italian mercenaries
External links