I hate to burst a pontifical bubble, but Michelangelo didn’t design the Swiss Guard’s uniforms, legend notwithstanding. That the pontiff should have his own standing army was the idea of a Swiss Cardinal, one Matthäus Schiner, in 1506. In those days, the Bishops of Rome spent a lot of time fighting real wars over land and money and, in the 1400s, the Vatican made use of Swiss mercenaries in battles against Italian dukes. The force has varied greatly in size over the years and on occasion has been disbanded and reconstituted. Its most significant hostile engagement was on 6 May 1527, when 147 of the 189 Guards, including their commander, died fighting troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The stand made by the Swiss Guard during the Sack of Rome allowed Clement VII to escape, escorted by the other 42 guards. Now the Swiss Guard, one of the oldest military units in the world, is devoted to the personal protection of the Pope. It always hasn’t been all cocoa and Toblerone between the Guards and their protectee, however.
© 2024 John Oliver
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