Arnold of Winkelried
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Arnold of Winkelried. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a Swiss hero, who, at the battle of Sempach, in 1386, sacrificed himself to insure victory to his countrymen. The Austrian knights, dismounted, had formed themselves into a phalanx, which the Swiss vainly strove to pie pierce; when Arnold, rushing on the spear points of the enemy, and burying several in his breast, thus opened a gap in the fence of steel. The Swiss rushed in through the opening, and routed the Austrians with great slaughter. ARNOLD, RALPH, a geologist and engineer, born in Marshalltown, Ia., in 1875. He was educated at the Throop Polytechnic Institute and the Leland Stanford, Jr., University. Graduating the latter in 1889, he was assistant from in geology at that institution until 1903. After serving in various capacities he became, in 1908, geologist of the United States Geological Survey. From 1911 he was consulting petroleum engineer of the United States Bureau of Mines and engaged also in private practice. He took charge of many investigations in petro- States and leum fields in the United foreign countries, was special lecturer on petroleum at the University of Chicago and other universities and colleges, a member of many scientific societies, and contributed many papers on geological subjects to the United States Geological reports and professional periodicals. ARNOLD, THOMAS, an English clergyman and historian, born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, June 13, 1795. He entered Oxford University in 1811, and was elected a fellow of Oriel College in 1815. In 1828, Arnold was elected to the head-mastership of Rugby School, which office he held until his death, and raised it, by the enlightened system of education he inaugurated, to the highest public schools of rank among the great England. In politics he was an advanced Liberal, so much so, indeed, that he was at one time denounced by some of the clergy for what they termed the Jacobinism of his views. In 1841 he was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, and died June 12, 1842. As a writer, Arnold's works consisted mainly of a "History of Rome," completed to the end of the Punic War; a "Commentary on the New Testament," and a "Treatise on Church and State." His life has been written by Dean Stanley, one of his old pupils.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a heroic peasant of Switzerland. According to Swiss tradition he was a native of Unterwalden. At the battle of Sempach, 1386, the Austrians formed in a solid phalanx against the Swiss, who were unable to break through the forest of spear points. Arnold, seeing no other way, rushed up and gathering an armful of spears in his own breast, bore them aside. His countrymen rushing in through the gap thus formed put the Austrians to flight. Switzerland was again safe from foreign invaders. Mothers taught their children to honor the name of Arnold. For centuries the Swiss sentry pacing his lonely round called out at the appointed hour of his watch, "All is well, remember Arnold of Winkelried." As in the case of William Tell, historians reject the story as legendary. There is no more reason for believing in the Swiss Winkelried than in the Greek Hercules. See Tell ; Switzerland
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The two accounts here already disagree, and modern scholarship sides with the later one: Collier's told the spear-gathering story in 1921 as plain fact, while Aiton's in 1910 warned that "historians reject the story as legendary." That remains the position — the battle of Sempach in 1386 is solidly documented, including the death of Duke Leopold III of Austria, but no contemporary source mentions Winkelried's sacrifice, which surfaces only in chronicles and battle-songs of the later 15th century, roughly a hundred years after the event. Winkelried families are attested in Unterwalden, so a man of the name may well have lived; the deed is what dissolves under examination. Switzerland kept the hero anyway: he still stands in bronze at Stans and still turns up in school books as the emblem of dying to open a way for others.
Written for this edition, 2026.