The Peace of Basel and Its Aftermath 41
For its part, Konstanz was unwilling to accept the terms of the treaty as they
applied to the territorial court.217 For the next two years the city found itself pulled
in different directions by a mixture of blandishments and threats from the Swiss and
Maximilian. The Swiss declared that they would withhold dues and rents in the
Thurgau until Konstanz handed over the territorial court.218 In riposte, the city
claimed that it would suffer greatly if it had to cede the Landgericht. What that
meant in practice is not altogether clear. The Bernese negotiator, the long-serving
city secretary Dr Thüring Fricker, reported that highly discrepant figures about its
revenues were being bandied about among the Swiss: some said it brought in a mere
80 fl a year (is this a scribal error for 8,000 fl?), others 30,000 fl. Fricker himself
estimated the income as not less than 18,000 fl.219 This latter figure has some plausi-
bility since it echoes the total of 20,000 fl which Galeazzo Visconti had originally
suggested as compensation during the treaty negotiations.220 The same figure was
also mentioned in the bishop of Konstanz’s efforts at mediation in May 1500.221
If no agreement could be reached, the Konstanz council suggested retaining
an area of the Thurgau under its control and adding 8000 fl to the imperial
mortgage to reflect its increased value.222 The Swiss envoys were not impressed by
this proposal.223 Any such division of the Thurgau would not last, they (plausibly)
asserted. Nor would the matter be resolved if Konstanz were to join the
Confederation, for that would only cause Fribourg, Solothurn, and Schaffhausen
to complain (at discriminatory treatment).224 When the Confederates met to
consider the situation at Schaffhausen in mid-May no consensus was achieved.225
The Konstanz magistrates were themselves cautious, instructing their envoys to
refer back any Swiss proposal.226
A year later the city magistrates repeated their insistence that any formal alliance
with the Swiss must include either retention of the territorial court or a guarantee
of a reduced territory in the Thurgau north of the Thur. At the same time they
indicated their willingness to undertake military campaigns with the Swiss, sharing
the spoils proportionately, as should likewise happen with any pensions from
217 EA III, 1, 649–52 (no. 670: n) (1499). Before the Schaffhausen meeting the draft of an alliance
between Konstanz and the Swiss had sought to regulate judicial appeals whereby those falling within
the competence of the Landgericht should be heard in the appellant’s place of residence. SAZH, Akten
205/1, 26, 7 April 1500, a solution unlikely to satisfy either side!
218 StAKN, Ratsbuch I, 20, p. 160.
219 StAKN, Ratsbuch I, 20, p. 315. The council book calls him simply Dr Thüringer.
220 See the discussion of Galeazzo Visconti and the payment of 20,000 fl in Chapter 6.
221 StAKN, Akten C V 5, 48, 1 May 1500.
222 StAKN, Ratsbuch I, 20, p. 260, 7 March 1500. The bishop of Konstanz even drew up proposals
on how the district should be treated in the event of a military emergency: Ratsbuch I, 20, p. 285,
n.d. (circa 21 March 1500).
223 StAKN, Ratsbuch I, 20, p. 313, n.d. (early May 1500).
224 StAKN, Ratsbuch I, 20, pp. 316–17, 30 April 1500. See EA III, 2, 109–10 (no. 51: h) (1501);
112–15 (no. 53: e) (1501). There ensued long wrangling over seating precedence at the diets, exacer-
bated after the admission of Schaffhausen and Basel.
225 StAKN, Akten C V 5, 48, 19 May 1500: Abschid von den Eidgnossen zů Schaufhusen.
226 StAKN, Akten C V 5, 48, 20 May 1500: Fertigung vnd instruction... vff den tag der aidgnosen
zü schaffhusen.