The story of a hero who had to shoot an apple placed on his child’s head is found in many different European collections of legends. But it was here in Switzerland where it became a fundamental part of the legend of how the nation was founded. William Tell achieved fame far beyond national borders as the courageous and fearless main character in Friedrich Schiller’s 1804 play of the same name. After the foundation of the federal state in 1848, William Tell became a major figure in shaping the identity of the emerging nation.

The young illustrator and graphic artist Elena Knecht has taken a fresh look at this subject. She sought to give a modern twist to the folk tale and to present it in a contemporary style.

The dramatic scene with the pierced apple probably comes from Nordic legends in the early Middle Ages. Travelling monks are believed to have brought these stories to Switzerland. The pierced apple is one of the most memorable and famous scenes in the William Tell story.

It no longer needs to be pointed out that a person called William Tell with a birth and death certificate didn’t really exist. But the extent to which this figure has connections with reality and can be considered historical in the figurative sense is explained by André Holenstein, a history professor from Bern, in an interview.

Mr Holenstein, why has the legend of William Tell remained so popular right up to the present day?

First of all, I prefer to call it a “myth” rather than a “legend”. A myth is more than fake news and fiction – it’s a story that conveys a message. In this case, it’s an explanation of how the Swiss came to be.

How we came to be?

Yes, why the Swiss Confederation exists and is legitimate. Tell and the Rütli oath are part of a propaganda war. The White Book of Sarnen (from around 1470) is one of the major documents in this controversy. It contains a collection of transcripts of documents, but also a set of stories presented as a chronicle about tyrannical bailiffs and the Swiss confederates’ fight for freedom.

But wasn’t this struggle for freedom justified?

Not in the Habsburgs’ view, no. The confederates had taken large estates away from them, including Stammburg, north-east of Aarau. In their view, Duke Leopold was killed at Sempach “in his dominion, fighting for his legacy and by his subjects.” The confederates were seen more as terrorists. A counternarrative was needed, and this was later established by the historian Aegidius Tschudi, when he proposed an exact date for the stories, including the Rütli oath on 8 November 1307.

This account then led to the general belief that it concerned historical events, especially as it all happened in places that could be identified – the lake, the Rütli meadow and Altdorf all actually exist, as did a chief magistrate by the name of Stauffacher.

Are you saying that Tell was a terrorist?

One who deviously assassinated a legitimate official. It all depends on your perspective. We see Tell in a completely different light – a figure who belongs to our nation and has remained so vivid through all the centuries, it’s as though such a person actually lived. In that respect, I wouldn’t hesitate to describe Tell as “historical” in the figurative sense.