Tschudi

Tschudi, or Schudy, the name of one of the most distinguished families of the land of Glarus, Switzerland.

Related Topics:
Glarus - Switzerland

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It can be traced back as a peasant, not a noble, race to 1289, while after Glarus joined the Swiss Confederation in 1352 various members of the family held high political offices at home, and were distinguished abroad as soldiers and in other ways.

Related Topics:
1289 - Swiss Confederation - 1352

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In literature, its most eminent member was Aegidius Tschudi, who, after having served his native land in various offices, in 1558 became the chief magistrate or Landammann, and in 1559 was ennobled by the emperor Ferdinand, to whom he had been sent as ambassador.

Related Topics:
Aegidius Tschudi - 1558 - The emperor Ferdinand

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Other prominent members of the family:

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• Dominic (1596-1654) was abbot of Muri and wrote a painstaking work, Origo et genealogia gloriosissimorum comitum de Habsburg (1651)
• Joseph, a Benedictine monk at Einsiedeln, wrote a useful history of his abbey (1823)

The family, which became divided in religious matters at the Reformation, also includes several Protestant ministers:

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• John Henry (1670-1729), who wrote Beschreibung des Lands Glarus (1714)
• John Thomas (1714-1788), who left behind him several elaborate manuscripts on the local history of Glarus
• John James (1722-1784), who compiled an elaborate family history from 900 to 1500, and an account of other Glarus families

Distinquished naturalists:

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• John Louis Baptist (d. 1784), who settled in Metz and contributed to the Encyclopedia Britannica
• Frederick (1820-1886), the author of Das Thierleben der Alpenwell (1853).

Soldiers:

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• Christopher (1571-1629), a knight of Malta and an excellent linguist, who served in the French and Spanish armies
• the brothers Louis Leonard (1700-1779) and Joseph Anthony (1703-1770) were in the Neapolitan service.

Religion:

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• Valentine (1499-1555), the cousin of Giles, was, like the latter, a pupil of Huldrych Zwingli, whom he afterwards succeeded as pastor of Glarus, and by his moderation gained so much influence that during the thirty years of his ministry his services were attended alike by Romanists and Protestants.

The best-known member of the family in the 19th century was Iwan (1816-1887), author of an excellent guide-book to Switzerland, which appeared first (1875) under the name of Schweizerführer, but is best known under the title (given in 1872 to an entirely recast edition) of Der Tourist in der Schweiz.

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