William Tell is a legendary hero of disputed historical authenticity and who is said to have lived in Switzerland in the early 14th century. Tell was known as an expert marksman with the crossbow. At the time, the Hapsburg emperors were seeking to dominate the local area.
A pole was raised in the village’s central square with a hat on top and all the townsfolk were demanded to bow before it. Tell passed by it without bowing and was arrested. He received the punishment of being forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son, Walter, or else both would be executed. On November 18, 1307, Tell split the fruit with a single bolt from his crossbow without mishap.
When queried about the purpose of the second bold in his quiver, Tell replied that if he had killed his son in the trial, he would have turned the crossbow on the man responsible for staging the trial. Enraged, the authorities bound Tell and brought him to his ship. In a storm, he was able to escape and shot the man who forced him to perform the trial. Tell’s defiance sparked a rebellion leading to the formation of the Swiss Confederation.
