Background
He is popularly believed to have been born in the canton of Uri in the latter part of the 13th century.
He is popularly believed to have been born in the canton of Uri in the latter part of the 13th century.
The central incidents of the Tell story are supposed to have occurred in 1307, when one Gessler is said to have been tyrannically abusing his office as Austrian governor of Uri. According to the accounts, William Tell, a native of the district, refused to make obeisance to Gessler's hat which had been displayed publicly as the symbol of Austrian authority. In punishment, Tell was reputedly forced to shoot an arrow through an apple resting on the head of his son. Tell is said to have performed the feat but to have been thrown into chains upon his confession that, had he harmed his son, he would have sped a second arrow through the governor's heart. The story continues to relate that while Tell was being taken across Lake Luzern, a violent storm allowed him to escape. The story ends with a final meeting between the Swiss hero and the governor in which Gessler was killed by Tell's arrow.
This story, which furnished the theme of Schiller's famous poetic drama Wilhelm Tell (1804) and of Rossini's opera Guillaume Tell (1829), is interwoven with the legendary history of the origin of the Swiss Confederation and the medieval Austro-Swiss struggles. It was first found in a ballad written before the 16th century. Early historians of the Swiss Confederation accepted the historical existence of Tell. Efforts were made by Aegidius (or Gilg) Tschudi and others to eliminate the inconsistencies and complete the story. According to Tschudi's Schweizer Chronik (1734 - 1736), Albert of Austria sent bailiffs to Uri and Schwyz to deprive them of their freedom; this produced an uprising on Nov. 8, 1307, and among the instigators was William Tell. The events of the Tell story took place on Nov. 18, 1307, and were followed by a general rising on Jan. 1, 1308.
Since Joseph Kopp wrote a historical critique in 1835, historians have largely rejected the legends because of contradictions to known historical facts and the lack of agreement among the chroniclers themselves. Attempts were made as late as the 1930's, however, to use documentary sources to substantiate the existence of William Tell.