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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Sempacherlied

song

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ2269444 ↗
Source-derived summary

Sempacherlied is the title of a number of patriotic songs celebrating the Swiss victory at the Battle of Sempach (1386).

The oldest versions are recorded in the late 15th to early 16th century, e.g. by Melchior Russ (1488), by Wernher Schodeler (1515) and by Aegidius Tschudi (1536). A version composed by one Hensli Halbsuter in the late 15th century, comprising a total of 63 verses, was printed in 1599 (incipit Im 1386 iar).

The modern song (incipit Lasst hören aus alter Zeit) was written ca. 1836 by Heinrich Bosshard (1811-1877), while visiting Highland, Illinois in the United States. It was set to music by Johann Ulrich Wehrli (1794-1839), in the context of the period of Regeneration, formative of the Swiss national identity which resulted in the foundation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848.

See also

Beresinalied

Winkelried

References

Kreis, K. Das Sempacherlied mit den Lebensbildern des Componisten I.U. Wehrli und des Dichters H. Bosshard. Zürich, Zürcherische Liederbuchanstalt, 1886.

Alois Lütolf, Luzerner Schlachtliederdichter im 15.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sempacherlied” as song. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1386, 1488, 1515, 1536—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Sempacherlied and song can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2269444. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1386, 1488, 1515 and 1536.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Sempacherlied”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Sempacherlied primary sources, Sempacherlied archive and Sempacherlied research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sempacherlied”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Sempacherlied” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.