Kappel, Wars of

Kappel, Wars of

 

two wars fought in 1529 and 1531 in Switzerland between the Protestant cantons, primarily Zurich, and the Catholic cantons of Schwyz, Uri, Unterwaldern, Zug, and Luzern. The wars of Kappel reflected the bitter social and political struggle in Switzerland during the Reformation. H. Zwingli, the leader of the Swiss Reformation, died in the second war of Kappel, in which the forces of Zurich were crushed near the town of Kappel on October 11. According to the peace concluded in November 1531 the league of Protestant cantons was disbanded and Catholicism was restored in some of them.

REFERENCE

Sprüngli, B. Beschreibung der Kappelerkriege. Edited by L. Weisz. Zurich, 1932.