The legend of the Keys of Peter

in the coat of arms of Montafon

(Other legends and myths!)

At the beginning of the 15^th century there was a terrible disagreement all over the world.

The spiritual and worldly situation was such that - after papal elections, from which 3 popes claimed victory - these three fought each other with the help of worldly powers.

Each felt that he was the rightful pope and each country demanded their own pope: the Romans wanted theirs, the French wanted another, etc. There was such confusion to be cleared up, which lead to the council of Constance from 1414 to 1418.

All in all, 26 sovereigns, 3 patriarchs, 29 cardinals, 1800 priests and over 70.000 laymen attended the council. The three popes were summoned and among them was Pope John XXIII., the Roman choice, of which some say he might have been the rightfully elected pope.

He came from Rome with a great entourage, travelling over the Brenner to Innsbruck, then from there through the upper Inn valley, bearing many hardships and privations, crossing the Arlberg over to Dalaas.

There the travellers were suddenly stopped because the plague had broken out in the neighbouring community of Braz.

The group was in a difficult situation. They were supposed to be in Constance in a few days and the long trip back to Rome didn't seem advisable.

At this point the people of Montafon made up there minds to help. They built a sedan-chair and carried Pope John XXIII. over Kristberg and into Montafon.

The pope was then able to continue his journey through Montafon and in return for their gracious help, allowed the people of Montafon the privilege of having the keys of Peter in their coat of arms.

On the basis of the papal document, the people of Montafon would not only be entitled to have the small, but also the large papal symbol, which consists of the keys of Peter with the tiara, in their coat of arms.

But the people of Montafon are humble and unpretentious, as can be seen by the town hall in Schruns, the registry of Montafon, the Montafonbahn, the court house, the spa, the local museum etc., and in many writings concerning the valley of Montafon.

The entourage of the pope (about 300 people) and the carriages were unable to make it over Kristberg and arrived safely in Bludenz, skirting the plague-ridden town of Braz.

Once in Constance, Pope John XXIII. was completely unwilling to abide by the wishes and decrees of the council and got into such an argument with the council representatives that he finally fled to Schaffhausen dressed as a hunter.

All three antipopes were then dismissed and Martin V. (a Frenchman) was made head of the church. This is how John XXIII. lost his office.