Schweizer Gebrauchsgeschichte

The book brings together essays in five parts on central elements of Swiss historical consciousness and self-understanding: Switzerland as a special case, Wilhelm Tell, Winkelried, the Swiss peasants, and the Alps. With the concept of usage history, the author distills the essence of his decades-long engagement with the topic. He concludes that the identity-forming historical images and myths—like a utility object—were significantly shaped by their time-bound purpose and use at the moment of their creation. Furthermore, the author notes that these images and myths are repeatedly available for various, even opposing, purposes and interests, and that it is solely the use of these historical images that ensures their continued existence. It does not matter whether they are historically accurate or not. The aim of the book is not to falsify the prevailing historical images through historical critique, but rather to capture their important societal significance and understand their function. In this sense, the use of history is traced from the emergence of individual traditions to the present day. The underlying understanding of the medieval Confederation, the workings of collective memory, and national historiography are addressed. The focus is on the analysis of late medieval and early modern foundations. The publication unites some of the most relevant contributions from the author in this field, as well as unpublished works. The contributions complement each other to create a book that clearly goes beyond a mere collection of essays through the new contextual interplay of texts and illustrations. The various contributions have been revised and adapted for the book publication.