Little is known about Schilling's early life. He was born before 1460, likely in
Hagenau,
Alsace, as the son of Johannes Schilling, a notary and public official. Schilling presumably began his education in Hagenau, as his father is still recorded as living there in 1467, and then likely continued his studies in
Pavia. He then moved to
Lucerne, Switzerland, and fought with the Swiss at the
Battle of Nancy in 1477, at the end of the
Burgundian Wars. Schilling's scandalous lifestyle led him to be imprisoned and put on trial in Lucerne. He received the priesthood no later than 1481, and followed his father to the
Diet of Stans that same year. He is also attested as a public notary. In 1497, Schilling began working as an interpreter to the
Duke of Milan,
Ludovico Sforza, later also becoming an agent in the duke's service. As a partisan of the
Holy Roman Emperor, he was invited by the future
Emperor Maximilian I to the
Imperial Diet of
Konstanz in 1507. From 1512 to 1515, Schilling was again employed by the
Sforza family in Milan. Schilling completed an
illustrated chronicle of Lucerne, known as the
Luzerner Schilling, in 1513. The chronicle covers Lucerne's history from its beginnings and, starting with the
Battle of Sempach, the history of the
Swiss Confederation. He also produced most of the chronicle's illustrations. Schilling died in Lucerne, presumably on 3 November 1515. ==References==