Background: Swiss Mercenary Tradition
In the late medieval and early modern period, the Swiss Confederation had a well-earned reputation for producing some of the most formidable and disciplined mercenary soldiers in Europe. Swiss mercenaries were in high demand by foreign powers — particularly France, the Papal States, and the Holy Roman Empire — and many young men saw military service abroad as a source of income, honor, and social advancement.
But by the early 1500s, this tradition began to sow internal conflict. The practice had become deeply entangled with foreign politics and bribes, eroding civic morality and endangering the confederation’s fragile unity. The growing influence of foreign courts within Swiss cantons led to political corruption, spiritual disillusionment, and calls for reform.
Zwingli’s Role in Glarus
Ulrich Zwingli began his public career as a parish priest in Glarus, one of the forest cantons of Switzerland. There, he served from 1506 to 1516 — a critical formative decade for both his theology and his political awareness.
Though initially supportive of Swiss mercenary service — even accompanying troops as a chaplain — Zwingli grew increasingly disturbed by the ethical and spiritual compromises it demanded:
Mercenaries were often involved in unjust wars.
Swiss youth were dying for foreign princes and popes.
Internal factions arose within Swiss cantons, dividing those loyal to France from those loyal to the Papacy.
Zwingli began to publicly oppose the practice, arguing that it was contrary to the Gospel and a source of moral decay. His sermons in Glarus increasingly targeted the mercenary economy, which placed financial gain above the common good and the commands of Scripture.
Why This Was Revolutionary
Zwingli’s stand was significant for several reasons:
It challenged powerful economic interests within Glarus and other cantons.
It reflected early Reformation values — the primacy of Scripture over tradition, and the call to moral and social renewal.
It aligned him with the spirit of Erasmus and Christian humanism: a return to ethical clarity, civic virtue, and biblical faith.
Though Zwingli would later become known for his theological reforms in Zurich, his anti-mercenary activism in Glarus was the first visible expression of his conviction that Christian faith must shape public life — even at great personal and political cost.
Legacy and Tensions
Zwingli’s outspoken stance alienated some of the local elites and eventually led to his removal from Glarus. Yet his efforts inspired a generation of Swiss thinkers and reformers to examine the moral implications of foreign entanglements and to reconsider the proper relationship between church, state, and soldiery.
This early dissent laid groundwork for his later reforms in Zurich, where his preaching would ignite the Swiss Reformation.
