Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/440

 320 General History of Europe broken. In 1499 they were finally freed from the jurisdiction of the emperor, and Switzerland became a practically independent country. Although the original union had been made up of German-speaking people, considerable districts had been annexed HOLY R/OMAN THE Swiss CONFEDERATION IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY in which Italian or French was spoken. 1 The Swiss did not, therefore, form a compact, well-defined nation, and consequently for some centuries their confederation was weak and ill-organized. 542. Zwingli leads Revolt against the Old Church. In Switzerland the first leader of the revolt against the Church was a young priest named Zwingli, who was a year younger than Luther. He lived in the famous monastery of Einsiedln, near 1 This condition has not changed ; all Swiss laws are still proclaimed in three languages.