The Battle of Marignano 1515: Switzerland's Last Victory and Swearing Off Conquest

In 1515, the Swiss Confederacy was the most feared infantry in Europe — unbeaten for generations, courted by kings, and hungry for glory. Then came Marignano. On a muddy battlefield south of Milan, the young French king François I used a new weapon — the cannon — against the Swiss phalanx. The result was a slaughter that changed everything. This episode looks at the Battle of Marignano not as a defeat, but as the moment Switzerland chose neutrality over empire. Lucas and Luna trace the campaign from the Swiss invasion of Milan through the three-day battle, the role of the Swiss mercenary captains (the Reisläufer), the political fallout in the Tagsatzung, and the famous 'Eternal Peace' with France that followed. They also explore the paradox: the battle that ended Swiss expansionism also cemented the Swiss reputation as the best soldiers in Europe — a reputation that made Swiss neutrality possible. Names and terms: Marignano, Melegnano, François I, Reisläufer, Tagsatzung, Cardinal Schiner, Milan, Sforza, Swiss phalanx, pike square, artillery, Eternal Peace, Perpetual Peace, Fribourg, Solothurn. #BattleOfMarignano #SwissHistory #Reisläufer #FrancoisI #Tagsatzung #SwissMercenaries #Neutrality #FexingoHistory #History #Europe #Renaissance #MilitaryHistory #SwissConfederacy #Milan #Artillery #PikeSquare #Marignano1515 #SwissNeutrality Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo