Chronicon Helveticum

[1] Although Tschudi seems to have made the last revisions between 1569 and 1570, the monumental work did not appear in printed form until Johann Rudolf Iselin published a two-volume edition in 1734, giving it the name by which it is known today.

[2][3] Tschudi's Chronicon Helveticum plays an important part in the historiography of Switzerland, since it contains copies of about 50 documents which have not survived in any other form.

[4] In terms of content, Tschudi is particularly interested in representing the long-established independence of the Swiss population.

[2] Furthermore, Tschudi makes mention of the struggle between empire and papacy, the crusades, and a large number of other issues concerning Swiss cities, dioceses and monasteries.

Not only did Tschudi's chronicle become the major source for Johannes von Müller’s History of the Swiss Confederation (German: Geschichten Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft), it also served as a model for Friedrich Schiller’s play William Tell.