Götz Schultheiss under the head

Götz Schultheiss unter dem Schopf , also Götz Schultheiss unterm Schopf (* 14th century ; † 1408 in Andelfingen ), was from 1405 to 1407 mayor of Winterthur . He was drowned in the Thur by the Austrian bailiff Hermann von Sulz because of a castle right with Zurich .

Life

Götz Schultheiss unter dem Schopf was probably born in Winterthur and was the son of Rudolf and Elisabeth Schultheiss unterm Schopf. He had a brother named Georg. His wife was Verena Heggenzer, who came from an important family in Schaffhausen . It can be assumed that Götz himself could have lived in Schaffhausen for a while; in any case, it is not listed in the harness instructions of 1405. However, it is also possible that he was staying with his mother at this time.

Götz was first mentioned in 1395 as a member of the Small Council in Winterthur, but was no longer listed as such in 1400. After the previous mayor Laurenz von Sal fell on June 17, 1405 as the leader of the Winterthur troops at the Battle of Stoss , Götz Schultheiss unterm Schopf was elected as the new mayor of Winterthur on June 28th. The first months of his term of office were mainly characterized by the settlement of the battle and the administrative matters surrounding it, and Winterthur also had to continue to provide troops. So there was another harness instruction in December. In addition, Götz achieved that judgments from the mayor's court could no longer be passed on to the Ammann and Council in Constance , and that this was the last instance of the mayor's court in Winterthur. Furthermore, the Winterthur rights and customs were once again confirmed in a document during his tenure. These expressions of favor on the part of Austria-Habsburg probably also had something to do with the threatening situation in Winterthur during the Appenzell Wars , in which the rulers were keen to bind Winterthur to themselves.

On July 31, 1407, the mayor was re-elected, with Heinrich von Hunzikon being elected as the new mayor. One can only speculate about the reasons why Götz had to hand over the mayor's office to Huntzikon. One possible reason could have been that Heinrich von Hunzikon was considered more bellicose in view of the threat posed by the Appenzell Wars. The fact that Götz continued to enjoy the reputation of the council can be seen from the fact that he was elected first member of the council in the same election.

In terms of foreign policy, things then became increasingly threatening for Winterthur. The Appenzell farmers and their allies roamed Thurgau in the spring of 1407 and came close to Winterthur. So they conquered many places in the vicinity of Winterthur: Wil , Elgg , Ossingen , Andelfingen and even Kyburg were visited by the farmers. This campaign of the Appenzell was only slowed down in Frauenfeld when the city withstood the siege and thus probably spared Winterthur as the next Austrian stronghold from a siege. Since the situation was also economically threatening for the Swiss Confederation and Zurich wanted to prevent a further expansion of power by Schwyz - an ally of Appenzell - the city concluded a castle law with Winterthur on September 2, 1407 .

This castle right, which was more of a necessity, was wrongly viewed by Austria as a change from Winterthur to the federal side. This misunderstanding then became Götz's undoing after the Appenzell defeat, even if it is not known to what extent he was involved in the conclusion of the castle law. Although he was no longer mayor, he was still the first member of the council and in this function probably also active as chief negotiator - possibly even as an initiator - of castle law and possibly jointly responsible for further democratic- guild developments in the city. Representatives of the craftsmen were able to check the city's bill again, and the accumulation of offices was suspended. In addition, the mayor was elected by the guarantee instead of the council and only for one year.

In any case, according to two different chronicles, Götz was captured by the Austrian provincial bailiff Hermann von Sulz in spring 1408 and drowned in the Thur near Andelfingen without a trial . Götz no longer appears in the council minutes when the council members are settled on March 7th. Hermann von Sulz also called early new elections in the city, which took place on March 25, 1408 instead of at the end of June; in the process, Schultheiss Heinrich von Huntzikon has already been replaced. With these new elections, the aforementioned democratic efforts in the city also suffered a defeat.

swell

• Kaspar Hauser : Winterthur at the time of the Appenzell War . Ed .: Historisch-Antiquarischer Verein Winterthur. Buchdruckerei Winterthur vorm. G. Binkert, Winterthur 1899, p. 29-82 .
• Werner Ganz : History of the City of Winterthur . Introduction to its history from the beginning to 1798. In: 292nd New Year's sheet of the Winterthur City Library . Winterthur 1960, p. 37-40 .

Web links

• Martin Lassner: Schultheiss under my head, Götz. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• "Winterthur at the time of the Appenzell wars" on Google Books (only freely available with American IP)