Agnes of Habsburg (1281–1364) was one of the many children of the German king Albrecht I of Habsburg. She married the Hungarian king Andrew III, of the House of Árpád, and was widowed early. She subsequently directed the affairs of Königsfelden, the Habsburg memorial monastery, without formally entering the convent.

The Ancien Régime (French for ‘old order,’ ‘former government’) refers, in the case of Bern, to the patrician rule that lasted from the late Middle Ages until the invasion of French troops in Bern in 1798.

A devotional panel with religious depictions, used for personal devotion with no fixed liturgical function.

Andrew III of Hungary (c. 1265–1301) was the son of a Venetian patrician woman and the youngest son of the Hungarian king Andrew II. From 1290 to 1301, he was the last king of Hungary from the House of the Arkaden. In his second marriage, he was wed to Agnes of Habsburg.

An antependium is an ornament often made of cloth that adorns the front of an altar.

Banner’ designates a cloth or fabric object which — unlike a flag — is typically hung horizontally or vertically from a crossbar, and which originally served as the heraldic emblem of a nobleman, an ecclesiastical dignitary, or an institution. The banner is closely bound up with medieval heraldry: it bears the coat of arms of its owner and marks his presence on the battlefield, at tournaments, or in ceremonial contexts.

Battle of 2 March 1476, fought before the gates of Grandson between the Burgundian troops under Duke Charles the Bold and the Confederates and their allies. Rich war booty fell into the hands of the latter.

Decisive battle of 22 June 1476, fought before the gates of the Swiss town of Murten, between the troops of Duke Charles the Bold and the Confederates with their allies.

According to legend, Berchtold V von Zähringen founded the city of Bern in 1191, building on his father’s expansion of power in the region. He prevailed militarily over the Burgundian nobility and the Bishop of Lausanne. His death without descendants was a fundamental precondition for the relative independence of the city of Bern and its rise to prominence. Particularly in the 16th century, the lords of Bern staged their childless founding father in numerous works of art and theatrical presentations.

The city of Bern is a municipality and the capital of the canton of the same name. As the ‘federal city,’ it fulfills the function of capital for Switzerland. As the seat of the municipal administration and of large parts of the cantonal and federal administration, Bern is the country’s largest center of public administration. In the 15th century, the city-state of Bern was a leading instigator of the Burgundian Wars.

In the aftermath of battles, booty items were recorded in lists called “Beuterödel”. Especially after the Battle of Grandson, it became clear that the authorities found it difficult to enforce control over the distribution of booty. Increasingly, therefore, spoils-masters (Beutemeister) were appointed, and further lists were compiled recording the interrogation of soldiers about their booty.

A bombard is a cannon made of iron or bronze, used to fire stone projectiles. Bombards were frequently deployed in sieges. The (Donnerbüchse, ‘thunder-gun’) was made of forged iron. The powder charge was loaded at the lower end, the so-called breech. This opening was sealed with metal and wooden wedges. The ball was inserted at the upper end of the barrel.

The terms we use to designate objects violently appropriated are ambiguous and changeable. ‘Booty’ or ‘war booty’ implies a culturally and legally grounded appropriation of objects as part of a military victory. In late medieval and early modern German, the term ‘Beute’ was often used for this. The English word ‘loot,’ which has become a general term for violently, usually illegally, captured objects, first came into use in the late 18th century.

Our contemporary view of museum objects fundamentally raises the question of violent appropriation in ways that go beyond historical notions of booty. What of religious objects confiscated or destroyed in conflicts such as the Reformation? Can one speak of ‘confessional’ plundering? The ethical questions and judgments we hold today regarding the capture of objects in the context of war did not necessarily apply to earlier historical periods. Nevertheless, it is important to understand how objects appropriated under force were frequently turned into cultural heritage.

In the battles of Grandson and Murten, the Burgundian duke lost a large part of his military camp to the victorious Confederates and their allies. Alongside weapons and provisions, his camp had also contained magnificent furnishings made of the most precious materials, including fabulous cloths and silks, clothing, religious objects, banners, plate, gems, and other magnificent courtly items. .

Between 1474 and 1477, there were several armed conflicts between the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold (1433–1477), the leading prince of Europe, and the Swiss — that is, the eight Confederate cantons of the time and their allies.

Charles the Bold sought to expand his territories, and in doing so came into conflict with towns in the area of present-day Switzerland, above all with the powerful city of Bern, which was also looking to expand its influence and territorial possessions. In 1475, the Bernese and further allies moved plundering through the region of the Vaud, capturing numerous towns and castles, bringing them into direct conflict with the Burgundians. Three major battles took place between Charles the Bold and the Confederates: the Battle of Grandson (2 March 1476), the Battle of Murten (22 June 1476), and the Battle of Nancy (5 January 1477).

Kunst- und Wunderkammern [cabinets of art and curiosities] were, in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, encyclopedically arranged collections that brought together precious works of art (‘Artificialia’), rare natural specimens (‘Naturalia’), scientific instruments (‘Scientifica’), objects from foreign worlds (‘Exotica’), and wondrous things (‘Mirabilia’). They also included objects associated (or captured) with war.

Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1476; the wealthiest prince of Western Europe at the time, an ambitious military commander who lost his life fighting against the Confederates and their allies in the Burgundian Wars.

A confession (from Latin ‘confessio,’ meaning profession of faith) designates a subgroup within a religion. Its adherents share common articles of faith, rites, and forms of organization. During the Reformation, a distinction was drawn between the ‘Altgläubige’ [those of the old faith] — that is, adherents of the old, previous faith — and the ‘Neugläubige’ [those of the new faith], the adherents of the new, reformed faith.

Measures for the physical preservation of a work of art. In contrast to “restoration”, conservation prioritizes reversible techniques and does not attempt to recreate the prior, or purportedly original, appearance of an object.

Courtault (French), or curtall/curtal (English), derives from the Latin curtus, meaning simply ‘short.’ It was a short, large-caliber cannon of the late 15th and 16th centuries, used especially in siege warfare and naval artillery. Its strength lay not in range, but in maneuverability and heavy firepower at close range.

A pictorial device (Bilddevise) is a sign composed of various elements, with which noble families — and later also esteemed families more broadly — marked documents, buildings, or other objects, thereby designating them as their property.

Diebold Schilling the Elder (c. 1436/39–1486) was a city clerk, chronicler, and one of the most significant author-illustrators of late medieval Swiss illustrated chronicles. He took part in the Burgundian Wars — among other engagements, at the battles of Grandson and Murten (1476) — an experience that decisively shaped his chronicle writing. Commissioned by the Bern city council, his principal work, the three-volume ‘Amtliche Berner Chronik’ [‘Official Bern Chronicle’], was produced between 1474 and 1483. In addition, he wrote the ‘Grosse Burgunderchronik’ [‘Great Burgundian Chronicle’] (also known as the ‘Zürcher Schilling’) as well as the ‘Spiezer Chronik’ [‘Spiez Chronicle’]. His nephew, Diebold Schilling the Younger (before 1460–1515), wrote the ‘Luzerner Chronik’ [‘Lucerne Chronicle’].

An object comprised of two panels; either a relief or a painting. The two panels are joined in the middle by hinges.

A donor of valuables or building funds to an ecclesiastical institution. In return, the church granted intercessory prayer for the salvation of the donor’s soul.

A 15th-century dynasty descended from a cadet branch of the French kings. The dynasty ended with the death of Charles the Bold on the battlefield at Nancy. His only daughter Mary of Burgundy married Maximilian von Habsburg.

The term ‘Eidgenossen’ [Confederates], in the Swiss context, dates back to the 13th century. It originally designated the shifting alliances of old towns and rural districts in the area of present-day Switzerland. The Eidgenossen were only retroactively declared the founding fathers of modern Switzerland. A term that for a long time stood for the political alliance of separate territories eventually acquired the meaning of a unified Swiss people and its mythic history in the modern era.

“Fahne” [flag] designates a cloth or fabric object attached to a pole, originally serving as a military or ceremonial sign. Unlike the flag [Flagge] — which represents primarily a political-territorial symbol and is hoisted on a fixed mast — the Fahne is a mobile, body-bound object: it is carried, borne along, and embodies the identity and cohesion of a specific community — a regiment, a guild, a city, or a prince. Fahnen therefore possess a markedly ritual and material character: they are consecrated, buried, captured, and preserved as trophies. The loss of the Fahne in battle was regarded as a severe defeat and a diminishment of honor; its capture, as visible proof of victory. Fahnen are often furnished with inscriptions, coats of arms, and embroidery marking their history and affiliation.

“Flagge” [flag] designates a cloth or fabric object hoisted on a mast or pole, functioning primarily as a political-territorial symbol. Unlike the Fahne — which represents a mobile, body-bound, and ritually charged object — the Flagge is a more abstract sign of state or institutional affiliation: it represents a country, a nation, or an organization, without being bound to a specific community or a particular material bearer.

Bernese patrician, 1759–1835, active as a clerk at the Burgerspital, member of the library commission and the censorship commission; engaged in the early 19th century in the development of Bern’s exhibition practices in the arts as well as industry and crafts.

Geistige Landesverteidigung’ [spiritual/intellectual national defense] designates a political-cultural movement in Switzerland that lasted from the 1930s into the 1960s, aiming to strengthen values declared to be ‘Swiss,’ as well as to resist fascism, National Socialism, and communism. From around 1932 onward, it was actively carried by Swiss authorities, institutions, scholars, the press, and cultural figures, and aimed at forging solidarity across boundaries of language, class, and party.

Guillaume de la Baume (c. 1430–before 1501) was a nobleman with holdings in the Vaud and the County of Bresse, who served as a politician, diplomat, and military commander — first in the service of the Burgundian dukes, and later of the Habsburgs and the French king.

Gustav Gull (1858–1942) was a Swiss architect and professor at ETH Zurich. He was the architect of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich (1898).

The Habsburgs are a European princely dynasty, named after their ancestral castle in the Swiss canton of Aargau — where Agnes of Hungary founded the Königsfelden monastery in 1308. From the late Middle Ages onward, they ranked among the most powerful ruling dynasties in Europe: they furnished 21 Holy Roman Emperors, as well as the Emperors of Austria (1804–1918), and for a time ruled over an empire that encompassed Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, parts of Italy, the Netherlands, and the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires in America, Africa, and Asia. The Burgundian inheritance passed to the Habsburgs upon the death of Charles the Bold — Maximilian I having married Charles’s daughter, Mary of Burgundy.

The Old Swiss Confederacy experienced revolutions at the end of the 18th century, as well as occupation by French troops. Between the spring of 1797 and that of 1803, French soldiers were quartered in many places, in support of the new republican government. The ‘Helvetic Republic,’ installed by France, gave its name to this period — the ‘Helvetik.’ French officials and officers requisitioned money, goods in kind, and, among other things, war matériel, to fund Napoleon’s wars. Burgundian booty was also affected by this: some pieces were carried off to Paris as trophies and collection objects, while others were destroyed or lost.

Parisian goldsmith who made the ‘Drei Brüder’ jewel for Philip the Bold in 1398.

Jahrzeitfeiern [annual memorial observances] are church commemorative ceremonies with masses held for the salvation of a deceased person’s soul. Battle victories, too, were commemorated with such Jahrzeitfeiern.

The especially wealthy representative (1459–1525) of an Augsburg merchant family expanded his political influence and business opportunities through connections to the imperial family. Because of his relationship to the Habsburgs — the heirs to Burgundian rule — the purchase of the Burgundian jewels from the Basel booty was, for him, not merely a financial but also a political investment.

akob Stammler (1840–1925) was a Catholic clergyman and art historian. From 1876, he served as a priest in Bern. In 1906, he was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Basel-Lugano.

Jenny Schneider (1924–2004) was a Swiss art historian, conservator, and museum director. She studied art history at the universities of Basel and Leiden and completed her doctorate in 1954. From 1956, she worked as an assistant, and from 1961 as conservator for the fields of stained glass and textiles at the Swiss National Museum, before rising to deputy director in 1971. In 1982, she was appointed by the Federal Council as director of the National Museum — the first female director of the institution, and, at the same time, the first woman ever to head a federal office.

Karl Silvan Bossard (1846–1914) was a successful antiques dealer and silversmith from a family in Zug. His works in historical styles, and his activity as a restorer and expert, were highly esteemed not only in his own time, but also led to lasting confusion regarding the originality of certain objects in historical collections, and the extent of his interventions in restorations.

Katharina Bühler (1828–1905) was a trained seamstress and embroiderer from Nesslau, in the canton of St. Gallen. She lived with a sister, a whitework seamstress, and her brother Christian Bühler — the graphic artist, heraldist, coat-of-arms painter, and conservator of the Bernese painting collection — in Bern.

An officeholder of a monastery who conducted its secular legal business and administered its finances and properties.

The site where the Habsburg memorial monastery of Königsfelden was founded in 1308. On 1 May 1308, the Habsburg king Albrecht I was murdered on the site.

The term ‘Lafette’ [gun carriage] designates a frame for cannons, on which they were mounted — usually on wheels — and by means of which they were transported. Gun carriages assist in aiming the cannon and help absorb its recoil.

The totality of the liturgical observances and rites of a religious community, associated with the mass held in church.

Defective waste paper produced during printing or manuscript bookmaking.

Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482) was the only child of Duke Charles the Bold, and therefore the sole heiress of the Burgundian territories.

Maximilian of Habsburg (1459–1519), son of the German Emperor Frederick III, married Mary of Burgundy in 1477, thereby securing part of the Burgundian territories for the Habsburg realm. In 1486, he was elected Holy Roman Emperor.

Mechthild Flury-Lemberg (born 21 February 1929 in Hamburg) is a textile restorer and one of the most significant representatives of textile conservation in the 20th century. After studying textile design in Hamburg and art history in Kiel and Munich, she spent three decades as head of the textile department at the Abegg-Stiftung in Riggisberg, an institution she substantially built up and shaped. Flury-Lemberg is the author of several standard works on textile conservation, including ‘Textile Conservation and Research’ (Abegg-Stiftung, 1988).

Milan is a city in northern Italy, today regional capital of Lombardy and the largest city in Italy by urban population and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. Milan is the economic capital of Italy, one of the economic capitals of Europe and a global financial centre. In the early modern period, it was associated with the production of fine textiles and also armor.

A chivalric order founded in 1430 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Members of the order wore a golden chain with a ram fleece pendant.

An ecclesiastical reform movement of the early 16th century that led to a division of Christianity into Catholics (‘Altgläubige,’ those of the old faith) and Protestants (‘Neugläubige,’ those of the new faith).

Relics (from Latin ‘reliquiae,’ remains) are the venerated remnants of a holy person.

A vessel or container in which relics are kept.

René II of Lorraine (1451–1508), Duke of Lorraine and Bar, as well as (titular) King of Naples and Jerusalem, was one of the central political and military figures in Western Europe at the close of the Middle Ages. René II experienced his decisive historical moment at the Battle of Nancy (1477), in which he defeated and killed Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The victory secured Lorraine’s independence against Burgundian expansionism and prevented the territorial connection of the Burgundian Netherlands with the southern possessions.

Restoration refers to the active treatment of a work of art or cultural artifact with the aim of restoring its original condition or repairing visible damage. Unlike conservation, which primarily aims at stabilizing and preserving the existing state, restoration intervenes deliberately in the object — for instance through retouching losses, consolidating paint layers, or reconstructing missing parts. Since the 20th century, conservation has been recognized as an independent scientific discipline, committed to ethical principles such as reversibility, the recognizability of interventions, and respect for the original substance.

The withdrawal of ecclesiastical rights of sovereignty, ownership, and use by the state, without the consent of the church concerned.

Since the late 15th century, members of the Strübin family in Liestal had been part of the local elite, and thus part of the town council.

The Swiss National Museum (SNM) - also called the Landesmuseum - is the most significant institution for cultural history in Switzerland. The founding debate was set in motion in 1883 by the Zurich National Councillor Salomon Vögelin; after a competition over location between Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne, Zurich prevailed in 1891. The main building — a historicist castle-style structure by Gustav Gull — opened in 1898. The collection comprises over 870,000 objects across 14 collection areas, including archaeology, weapons and militaria, textiles, furniture, coins, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present.

Until 1848, the Tagsatzung [Federal Diet] was the regularly recurring assembly of the delegates of the cantons in the Confederacy.

A wall hanging produced using the technique of tapestry weaving [Wirktechnik], a special weaving method.

The Greek tropaion designated an arrangement of war booty. Weapons and other objects taken from the enemy were erected on the battlefield and displayed in temples. As a publicly visible sign of victory, the tropaion carried a religious and political significance that distinguished it from booty as a general category. In situations of conflict, however, objects were also captured that could not be unambiguously grasped by existing categories or terms such as ‘booty.’

The versatile and prolific artist (c. 1485–1528) himself experienced various theaters of war as a mercenary, and drew on these experiences in his depictions of war.

A votive offering is an object presented to God or to a saint. It is typically left in churches or places of pilgrimage, often following the answering of a prayer — for instance, after recovery from an illness or deliverance from a dire situation. Such objects could be of very different kinds — from precious silver chains, paintings, and sculptures to simple wax casts.

The thread that runs crosswise through the warp threads in a woven fabric. In a tapestry, it determines the visible colors and motifs.