Battle of Calven

Battle of Calven
Part of the Swabian War

Depiction of the battle from the Luzerner Schilling, 1513.
Date22 May 1499
Location
Val Müstair, Vinschgau
Result Three Leagues victory
Belligerents
Three Leagues of the Grisons, in particular the League of God's House forces of king Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Benedikt Fontana †,
Dietrich Freuler,
Hertli da Capol,[1]
Wilhelm Ringk †,
Hans von Lombris †[2][3]		 Ulrich von Habsberg[4]
Strength
ca. 6,300 infantry ca. 12,000; Swabian Landsknechte and knights, Tyrolian soldiers, Italian mercenaries
Casualties and losses
ca. 2,000 dead ca. 5,000 dead

The Battle of Calven (Romansh: Chalavaina)1 took place on 22 May 1499 at the exit of the Val Müstair in the Grisons (now part of Switzerland) to the Vinschgau in County of Tyrol (now part of Italy) between the forces of King Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg and those of the free federation of the Three Leagues of the Grisons. It was the decisive battle in the southern Grisons of the Swabian War; after the defeat of the Habsburg troops, the king had to abandon his attempts to control the Engadin and the Val Müstair. The focus of operations in the Swabian War subsequently shifted again to the northern border of the Old Swiss Confederacy.

  1. ^ Gustin, C.: La Battaglia da Chalavaina dals 22 Mai 1499; in Romansh. URL last accessed 2006-09-17.
  2. ^ Stüssi-Lauterburg, J.: Der Schwabenkrieg 1499, 1999. (PDF file, 37kB.) In German. URL last accessed 2006-09-14.
  3. ^ Bundi, M.: Lumbrein [Lumbrins, Lumerins], von in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2005-04-01.
  4. ^ Pirckheimer, W.: De bello Suitense sive Eluetico, 1526. An excerpt from the translation of Ernst Münch, Berlin 1988, is available on-line. A more recent edition was translated by Fritz Wille, Baden 1998 (ISBN 3-85648-094-3); in Latin and German. URL last accessed 2006-09-14.