SAEHRÍMNIR

Saehrimnir the Boar
Source: TorUlf Dunder

After having peregrinated to the North of Europe in the early 1960s, I became fascinated by the lore of Nordic mythicism. The tale of Saehrímnir the Boar, in particular, is a favourite of mine. This juicy swine is dished up to the noble warriors in the great hall of Walhalla, its bones being thrown to the floor to be gnawed on by Oden's hounds Geri and Freki. Miraculously, the morning after, the boar is resurrected from the bones, so that it can be feasted on again in the following evening.

Who wouldn't want to own such a never ending pig? Understandably, such a treasure is out of reach for us mere mortals. But, in rare circumstances, one could have access to a treasure coming pretty close to the original. For instance, let's have a look at the County of Tirol in the 15th century.

This domain consisted then mainly of the range of present day Tyrol in Austria, with yet another third added to it to the South. In the beginning of the century, its center lay in Meran to the South, but was later moved Northward to Innsbruck. Lying mostly between high mountains, agriculture was not its main merit, even if those days' feodal system depended on territorial ownership and land rents. Rather, it thrived through its facilitation of transit from the Northern regions of Bavaria to the rich provinces of Lombardy and Veneto in the South.

All of this did not distinguish it from other regions, to the East and West, that straddled the Alps and had similar agriculture and transport conditions to offer. But, to its great fortune, it also enjoyed an abundance in mineral treasures to be lured out of its mountain slopes. Above all, it grew rich through owning its own Sæhrímnir, large and numerous silver deposits, eagerly sought after by Tyrol's Overlords and constituting a major source of their wealth.

Minting silver coins in Hall, Tyrol
Lässl, L (1556), Das Schwazer Bergbuch      Source: Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck

At the outset, silver was found and mined mostly in Tyrol's Southern parts around Meran. The Count of Tyrol had as of old the right to one tenth of all silver produced in mines in his territory. The production costs had to be born by the operators, mostly small local miners. Since the Count "printed" his own money in the mint of Meran, the enormous seignorage thus gained from the silver was the main source of his income and wealth.

During the reign of the Habsburg Count Frederick IV (somewhat inappropriately named "Friedel mit der leeren Tasche" (Frederick with Pockets Empty), new silver veins were found hiding in the mountains of Northern Tyrol, which the Count hastened to develop and deploy. This became the famous silver hoard of Schwaz.

Frederick (1382-1439) proved a frugal and diligent overlord, who put his treasures to good use and managed, despite numerous serious drawbacks to his reign, to regain all his domains lost in 1415 (On the Edge) and even to keep augmenting his wealth until, upon his death, barrels full of silver were handed over as a good start in reign to his son, Siegmund der Münzreiche (Siegmund the Rich in Coins).

Frederick IV                                         Siegmund I
Two Counts of Tyrol, frugal father and not so frugal son

At the outset, Siegmund (1427-1496) proved to be as valiant as his father in consolidating and augmenting the reach of his rule. Unfortunately, he put no limits on his lavish court living and, furthermore, became rather senile in his fifties. Fully in the hand of treacherous counsellors, he was led to start a hapless war against Venice, which cost him his fortune. Forced to pawn all his possessions in Further Austria (West of Tyrol and the Alpine Rhine) to the Dukes of Bavaria, and even preparing a transfer of his County to those Northern neighbours, he finally was forced to resign, in 1490, and leave the County to his nephew, Maximilian I (1459-1519).

By Maximilian's times, Sæhrímnir had finally reached maturity, with Schwaz becoming the largest silver mine in Europe. The immense treasures, thus obtained, enabled this vigorous Ruler to engage in muscular efforts to strengthen his dynasty's power base and create (albeit with scant success) a unified Empire of the Romans. Although he managed to solidify the Habsburger's grip on the crown, his numerous ill-conceived and -executed military campaigns more than exhausted Sæhrímnir's potential.

Maximilian I. Commemorative Coin (1505)
Source: Národni Museum Prague      Artist: Benedikt Burkhart

At his death, he was indebted to the tune of 6 million Gulden, a debt it took a century for his heirs to repay; in particular, since even the rich silver veins of Schwaz were getting depleted by the time his successor, Charles V, had assumed the throne, his crown having been bought with the last coins scraped from the bottom of the barrels.

As the Tyrolian Counts rose from close to destitution to Imperial splendour, so did the Emser Knights. They chose from the outset to be a steadfast ally to the Counts, served them in various ways, as court administrators, governors of Habsburg domains and, last but not least, as mercenary commanders of regiments in the wars organised by the rulers. Their destiny mirrored that of the Habsburger, although their coffers kept getting filled with silver at the rate the Habsburgers' was being emptied. Their domains were enlarged and enriched pari passu with the Habsburger obtaining ever increasing dominions.

Also their failures corresponded to those of the Habsburger. The latter managed to buy the crown to the Empire of the Romans, with the silver gained from the Tyrolean mountains, but they never managed to create a unified Empire. Despite their efforts to reach this goal, it kept eluding them, until the great upheavals of the Thirty Years' War put a definite end to their grand vision. In the same period, the Emser rose to Imperial rank, as Counts of Hohenems and appeared for a while to rise further and create a moderate Principality within the Empire, but were also ultimately thwarted in their aim by the Thirty Years' War.

A grand vision thwarted by destiny
The Triumphal Arch of Maximilian (1515)
Source: National Gallery of Art, Wash. D.C.     Artist: Albrecht Dürer

I could stop here in my tale about the Emser, since the broad brush strokes have been delivered. But, a host of interesting personalities remains yet to be presented and stories to be told, within this broad framework. So, stay tuned, Dear Readers, more is to come.