Asterix with the Swiss

René Goscinny with the tape " Astérix chez les Helvètes "

Asterix with the Swiss (French original title Astérix chez les Helvètes ) is the 16th volume of the comic series Asterix . It was written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo and first appeared in the French magazine Pilote in 1970 (issue 557-578). In Germany, the volume did not appear until 1973. It is the follow-up to Streit um Asterix and the predecessor of the comic book Die Trabantenstadt .

action

The story leads Asterix and Obelix in search of an edelweiss in the Roman province of Helvetia . In a humorous way , she satirizes some Swiss peculiarities ( banking secrecy , cheese fondue , neutrality , numbered accounts , Red Cross , cleanliness, tourism , watches ). This is contrasted with the Roman decadence in the form of extravagant orgies .

The reason for the search for edelweiss is the poisoning of the quaestor Claudius Incorruptus by the governor Agrippus Virus in Condate , who wants to prevent the latter from checking his fraudulent accounts. Since Claudius Incorruptus has little confidence in the medical profession of the garrison of Condate, he lets the druid Miraculix come from the nearby Gallic village, known to him from Caesar's epileptic fits, to discover the poisoning. Because this can only be cured with one of his magic potions, for which he needs the edelweiss, he sends Asterix and Obelix to Switzerland and takes the quaestor as a “hostage” to prevent him from falling victim to another poison attack. He's threatening his execution if Asterix and Obelix don't come back.

To prevent a successful search, Agrippus Virus asks his friend Feistus Raclettus , the governor of Genava , for help. This makes the search difficult, and Asterix and Obelix not only have to cope with the Swiss characteristics, but also have to defend themselves against the Roman legion. Nevertheless, it comes to a happy end and with Claudius Incorruptus a Roman takes part for the first time in the traditional closing banquet of the Gallic village, while Agrippus Virus and Feistus Raclettus "celebrate" their next orgy in the circus in Rome .

Comic and history

The comic is set with the Celtic Helvetians , who represent today's Swiss, as shown by well-known customs such as blowing the alphorn . Today's Swiss, however, are not descendants of the Helvetii, the German-speaking Swiss, as the largest ethnic group, are the descendants of Alemannic tribes who later immigrated to the area. With Confoederatio Helvetica , as Switzerland has been officially called since 1848, the ancient people of the Helvetii were used. The Helvetic Republic created by Napoleon had already existed.

A running gag is not using the bridge over the lake - it is repeatedly emphasized that it has now been rebuilt. The historical Caesar, as he reports in De bello Gallico , actually had the bridge at Genava torn down to prevent the retreat of the Helvetii.

Remarks

In the introductory sequence, Asterix and Obelix are appointed by Majestix as chief bearers, which, due to their different sizes, leads to comical situations and a temporary fraternization of Automatix and Verleihnix. Your post will later be taken over by Automatix and Methusalix.

The orgy at the governor of Condate quotes a scene from the film Satyricon by the Italian director Federico Fellini . In the right foreground the actor Martin Potter can be seen in the role of Encolpius.

At the orgy taking place in Geneva, Gaius Infarctus loses his piece of bread in the cheese fondue three times and is finally sunk with a weight on his feet in Lake Geneva (from which he is rescued by Asterix and Obelix), an allusion to the "usual cheese fondue" Loser Customs ".

The name "Vreneli" of the banker, where Asterix and Obelix are hidden in the safe, is an allusion to the gold vreneli , the most famous gold coin in Switzerland. In the French original, the banker is called Zurix, a reference to Zurich, a city known for its banks. Tutankhamun's death mask and other objects from his grave can be seen in a safe . The Swiss commitment to neutrality is also mentioned in this scene.

The "International Conference of Tribal Chiefs" refers to the United Nations , the meeting of bards on the other side of the lake to the Montreux Jazz Festival .

In another scene, the apple shot from Friedrich Schiller's Wilhelm Tell is made comical. In the later brawl, a Swiss person uses first aid and indirectly cites Henri Dunant , the founder of the Red Cross.

In reference to the Swiss punctuality and also to the watch industry , hourglasses are distributed everywhere , which have to be turned each time a “cuckoo” is called - much to the annoyance of most guests, even at night. The famous cuckoo clocks are probably not a Swiss invention, but come from the Black Forest .

On pages 21 and 22 you can see a barrel next to the sign GALLIEN RÖMISCHES REICH - HELVETIEN AUCH RÖMISCHES REICH . (This cannot be seen in the picture on page 23.) On this barrel you can see the text Detritus (waste) in the picture on page 21 - an allusion to the stereotypical cleanliness of the Swiss - while in the picture on page 22 there is antiques . The French original does not contain this error; here it says “Detritus” on both pictures.

The Palais des Nations building complex was immortalized here as the "Palace of the Tribes".

publication

In France, the story first appeared in 1970 as a series in the French magazine Pilote in issues 557-578 and was published in 1970 as an album by Dargaud . In the German translation, the story was first printed by Ehapa-Verlag in 1971 in the MV-Comix magazine (issues 7-17) and published in 1973 as the 16th volume in the Asterix series. In 2002 this volume was reissued and received a new cover picture.

The volume was published in English, Spanish and Turkish, among others.

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