Lower Alsatia

Sources from old books

1635. Historia mundi: or Mercator's atlas. London. by Gerhard Mercator.

THE LOWER ALSATIA. (Book Lower Alsatia) ALsatia commonly called Elsasz,* 1.1 was so called as some suppose, as it were Edelsalz, that is, a Noble and famous seate: others thinke it was so named from the River Illa by changing a into i, as it were a seate by the River Illa; whence some doe affirme that it was called the Country of Illesass, and not Alsas. It is as fruitfull a Country as any that lyeth by the side of the Rhene; on the East it hath Helvetia, which parteth it from Rhene; on the West Lotharingia, where the Mountaine Vosagus is the bordering limit betweene Lotharingia and Germanie▪ on the South it hath part of Helvetia & Burgundie▪ on the North it is boundred with the Dukedom of Wiriemberg. It is nine Germaine miles long, and from Rhene to the Mountaines it is three Germaine miles broad, but towards Haganoa it groweth broader, betweene the Mountaines. But this Country is so fruitfull and there is such great plenty of all things, especially of Wine and Corne, in this little tract of Land: that it doth not onely serve the inhabitants, but other people also of Germanie, both farre and neere. Therefore Iames Wimphelingus in his Epitomy of Germany, doth call it the Store house and Nurse of Germanie. For, excellent Wines are continually brought out of this Country in Carts, and sometimes are convayd by shipping into Helvetia, Swethland, Bavaria, Lotharingia, and the Low Countries, and sometimes into England. In Sungoja there is great store of corne, and all over the plaine ground of Alsatia even to Argentina, there is every where great store of corne, so that the inhabitants of the Mountaines of Lotharingia, the Burgundians, and a good part of Helvetia, are sustained by it. It hath Mountaines which yeeld excell•nt good Wines, and in the plaine ground, it hath Corne, and divers kindes of fruite trees. It hath also on the Mountaines Woods of Chesnuts; and Mines of Silver, Brasse, and Lead, especially in the val• Leberthal I• hath also faire pastures both upon the Mountaines and valleyes, as appeareth by those excellent fat cheeses which are made in Munsterthall, so that there are great store of Kine and cattle bred in this Country. And it hath in some parts many wilde horses, also Leopards, Beares, Martines, and Harts, and innumerable other wilde beasts. Alsatia was heretofore under the Dominion of the Kings of France, as also a part of the Kingdome of Austria. Alsatia was held to be the chiefest Dukedome, which H•ldericke King of France, did honour with that title, and gave it to his Cosen Etico in the yeare •84. After Etico there succeeded his sonne Adelprechtus, who being slaine with an arrow, left two sonnes, Linfrid and Eberhard who were governours of Alsatia. Afterward their familie was expelled forth of Alsatia by Charles Martell, Palatine and Master of the Court in the Kingdome of France. But in the time of Otto the first, the Earles of Kyburg, who where allyed by consanguinitie to the Emperour, did governe Alsatia. Some say that they were made Landgraves of Alsatia, others say that Otto the third did divide it into Landgraveships, and that the higher Landgraveship which contayneth the Towne Einsheim, and the adjacent Townes did fall to the Earles of Habsburg. The other to the Earles of Ottingen to whom it descended from Henry Landgrave of Lower Alsatia, who dying without issue, did sell it to the Bishop of Argentine. But this small Country is so fruitfull and pleasant, that it hath 46 Citties and Townes in it, which are walled about. Fiftie Castels which are situated on Mountaines and Plaines, and an innumerable sort of Villages. Alsatia is two fold, the Lower which is described in this present Chart, and the higher which is painted forth in the Table following: the Tribocians did possesse them both. The chiefe Cittie is called by moderne writers, Argentina. Sextus Aurelius and Ptolomie doe call it Argentoratum, Reginus nameth it Strasburg, who writ five hundred yeeres before and more; Rob. Constantinus supposeth it to be the same with that which Aurelius Victor, and Diac•nus, doe call Angentaria. It is commonly called Strasburg from the number and capacity of the streetes. This Cittie is situated in a fertile soyle, and hath great store of Wine and Corne. And Munster writeth that there are in this Cittie above an hundred Gardiners, who make a great gaine out of Turnips, Onions, Radishes, Cabigges and the like. An arme of the River Rhene and three other Rivers doe run through this Cittie, and the severall Channells doe glide through the streetes as at Venice. It is well governed, and it hath a famous schoole, and a Church. On the West there are the Tabernae celebrated by Antoninus: Simler calleth them Zaborn: Frodoard nameth it Zabreni, Ortelius calleth them tres Tabernae, Concerning which Antoninus saith thus:

— Riguasque perenniFonte Tabernas —

But the Tabernae were a Fortresse of the Romanes, placed there to restraine the incuisions and inroades of the Almaines, into France, where now the Bishop of Argentoratum hath a Pallace. This Fortresse was razed by the Alemanes, but Ammianus writeth that Iulius Caesar did reedifie it. This place aboundeth with Wine, Corne, and al other things necessary for mans use. Not farre from the Tabernae, there is the Towne Maursmunster, with a monastery adjoyning to it: there is also another Monastery a little distant from Brocomagum, which is called Stephani Campus, or Stephens field, and corruptly Stetchfeldt. Hence Northward is Hagenoa. This Cittie was walled about in the yeare 1164, by Fredericke Barbarossa. The soyle round about the walls is sandy, but the fields that lye somewhat farther from the Cittie are very fertile and fruitefull. The next is Wissenburgum, commonly called Weissenburg, as it were the white Castell, being a very faire towne, at the foote of the Mountaine Vogesus, being pleasantly seated, and environed on every side with little hils, and on the West it hath Woods, and divers kinds of trees: the soyle is very fruitfull, and the Towne is fortified both by Nature and Art. The River Lutra, whose Fountaines do rise in the Mountaines somewhat more than seaven Miles from the Towne, doth runne through the middle of it, and so having glided by the walls of the Towne, it runneth in a narrow Channell, and with a hastie streame two miles, and so dischargeth it selfe into the Rhene. It is of so great antiquity, that the originall cannot be found out. There is also the Towne Hasla neere the River Bruschus: which Dagobert King of France, gave unto Florentius a Scot, with the adjacent fields, in which place Florentius built a Monastery. There are many Rivers, which water this Country, besides Rhene, and many other Rivulets as Kimsgus, Illa, Brusschus, Sorn, Mater, and Lauter. But the chiefe River of Alsatia is Illa, which runneth through all Alsatia, which riseth in Sungovia, above the Towne Altkirck, and so flowing by the Townes, Mulnhausen, Einsheim, Colmar, Selestadium, and Benfelden; it runneth straite forward to Argentina, where it entreth into the Rhene, having first received all the Rivulets which doe flow out of the Mountaine Vosagus, and it is very full of Salmons and other fish.

The Country is partly Mountainous, and partly plaine, and it is every where adorned with Woods and Forrests, some of which are full of Chesnuts, Almonds, and Nutts. The Country people lives very miserably; for they spend their provision every yeare, and doe keepe nothing for the future time, so that in times of warre, or when unseasonable weather does kill the fruites of the earth, they live very penuriously. Yet the poore are releeved out of publicke granaries.

This Countrie hath not many natiue inhabitants, for the greatest part consists of strangers, as Swethlanders, Bavarians, Burgundians, Sabaudians and Lotharingians, who having once entred into a Country, doe not soone remove from thence. The Swethlanders doe chiefely reside in it. Moreover the fifth circle of the Empire is that of the Rhene. It consists of three orders, first the Clergie, secondly the Princes, and thirdly the free Citties. In the first there are the Bishop of Wormes, of Spier▪ Straesburg, Basel, and Besancon; in the Countie of Burgundie, in the Province of Wallis, whose Metropolis is Selton; there are the Bishops of Geneve, Losanna, Metz, Toul, and Verdun. The Abbots of Hiersfe•d, Morbach, S. Gregoris Munster. In the second order are Princes, Earles, and secular Lords, as the Dukes of Lotharingia, and Saveye, the Count of Spanhein: the Marquesse of Baden, the Duke of Sweibrucke, the Count of Veldentz, the Landgrave of Hessen, the Prince of Calim, the Count of Nassaw in Sarbrucke, the Earles of Rhene; the Lords of Rapoitzkirchen, neere Rapoltstain, the Earles of Bitsch, Salm, Hanaw, Lichtenberg, Lemingen, and Falkenstain, the Lords of Morspurg, and Befort, of Rapolslain, of Hoen, Rechpurg, Blakenberg, and Blammont in Lotharingia: the Earles of We•baden, and I•stain, and Cuningstaine, the Lord Van Eppenstam: the Earles of Isenburg in higher Alsatia, of Solms, of Nassaw in Weilburg, of Sienvigen, of Havare, the Lord of Muntzinburg: the Earles of Westenburg, of Witgenstam, of Waldeck, of Flesse. The third order is of the free Citties, which are Mulhusen in Sundtgow of higher Alfatia, also Basel, Colmar, Kaisersperg, Turckbam, Saint Gregoris Munster, Ober Ebenhaim, Straesburg, Rosenhaim, Schletstat, Hagenaw, Weissenburg, Landow, Spier, Wermes, Francfort, Fridberg in Wederaw, Wetzlar, Metz, Toul, Vedtn, Kausmans Sarbruck, the Castle Besano, Fridberg, and the Castle Gleichhausen.