When most people think of Switzerland they think of a small country embedded in the Alps that makes fine chocolates, and is the home of the cuckoo clock.

They've been neutral in European conflicts for almost 500 years and they serve as the headquarters for several international organizations.

Yet it was the Swiss who during the Renaissance were some of the most feared and in demand of mercenary

fighters in Europe.

Learn more about the Swiss mercenaries and how they instilled fear into Europeans on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the King of Denmark Claudia says in Act 4,

Scene 5, quote, where are my Switzerland? Let them guard the door, unquote.

Switzer used to be an old English word to describe the people of Switzerland.

The reason why the King of Denmark had Swiss soldiers is that almost everyone in Europe had

some Swiss soldiers on their payroll at one time or another.

To understand how this came to be, we first have to understand how Switzerland came to be.

In the mid-13th century, what we call Switzerland, was officially part of the Holy Roman Empire controlled by the Habsburg dynasty. In 1291, three

regions in Switzerland, called Cantons, established a confederation for mutual

defense. They were initially given quite a bit of leniency by the Emperor who recognized the Confederation at first.

I should note that by this time the Swiss had already developed a reputation for being fierce warriors.

The quasi-autonomy that the Swiss cantons had wasn't long to last.

In 1315, Duke Leopold I of Austria invaded Switzerland as part of a larger war over control

of the Habsburg throne.

The size of Leopold's army has varied greatly depending on the historian you're listening to.

High-end estimates place the army at 20,000 men, but lower estimates placed it at around 2 to 3,000 mostly armored knights on horseback.

The most common estimate is around 9,000.

The Swiss were relatively poor.

Their soldiers didn't have expensive armor. They didn't have a cavalry. The best

...