Franz von Sickingen (1481 - May 7, 1523) was a German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation. Events May 3 - Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Beyazid II. May 21 - Christian I, King of Denmark and Norway dies and is succeeded by his son John (1481-1513) With the death of Duke Charles IV of Anjou, Anjou was reverted... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... Events April - Battle of Villalar - Forces loyal to Emperor Charles V defeat the Comuneros, a league of urban bourgeois rebelling against Charles in Spain. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ...

He was born at Ebernburg (now Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg) near Bad Kreuznach. Having fought for the emperor Maximilian I against Venice in 1508, he inherited large estates on the Rhine, and increased his wealth and reputation by devious methods. In 1513 he took up the quarrel of Balthasar Schlör, a citizen who had been driven out of Worms, and attacked this city with 7000 men. In spite of the imperial ban, he devastated its lands, intercepted its commerce, and desisted only when his demands were granted. He made war on Antony, Duke of Lorraine, and compelled Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, to pay him 35,000 gulden. In 1518 he interfered in a civil conflict in Metz, ostensibly siding with the citizens against the governing oligarchy. He led an army of 20,000 against the city, compelled the magistrates to give him 20,000 gold gulden and a month's pay for his troops. In 1518 Maximilian released him from the ban, and he took part in the war carried on by the Swabian League against Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg. The German Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Kreuznach_Land includes the villages of Volxheim, Hackenheim, Tiefenthal, Pleitersheim, Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, Biebelsheim, Neu-Bamberg, Frei-Laubersheim and Fürfeld. ... Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria Maximilian I of Bavaria This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) , the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... 1513 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Philipp I of Hesse Philipp I, Landgraf von Hessen, the Magnanimous (13 November 1504 - 31 March 1567), was a leading champion of the Reformation and one of the most important German rulers of the Renaissance. ... City motto: Si paix dedans, paix dehors (French: If peace inside, peace outside) City proper (commune) Région Lorraine Département Moselle (57) Mayor Jean-Marie Rausch Area 41. ... Oligarchy is a political regime where most or all political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, family, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ... The Swabian League, an association of German cities, principally in the territory which had formed the old duchy of Swabia. ... Herzog Ulrich von Württemberg (February 8, 1487 – November 6, 1550) succeeded his kinsman Eberhard II as Duke of Württemberg in 1498, being declared of age in 1503. ...

In the contest for the imperial throne upon the death of Maximilian in 1519, Sickingen accepted bribes from King Francis I of France, but when the election took place he led his troops to Frankfurt, where their presence assisted to secure the election of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. For this service he was made imperial chamberlain and councillor, and in 1521 he led an expedition into France, which ravaged Picardy, but was beaten back from Mezières and forced to retreat. Francis I (French: François Ier) (September 12, 1494 – July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (French: le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Skyline of Frankfurt (help· info) is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ... Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Catalonian-Aragon and Castile Crown. ... wazzup Categories: | ... Location within France Charleville-Mézières is a town and commune in northeastern France, préfecture (capital) of the Ardennes département which is itself part of the Champagne-Ardenne région. ...

In about 1517 Sickingen became intimate with Ulrich von Hutten, and gave his support to Hutten's schemes. In 1519 a threat from him freed Johann Reuchlin from his enemies, the Dominicans, and his castles became (in Hutten's words) a refuge for righteousness. Here many of the reformers found shelter, and a retreat was offered to Martin Luther. Events January 22 - Battle of Ridanieh. ... Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523) was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church and adherent of the Lutheran Reformation. ... Johann Reuchlin (January 29, 1455 - 1522) was a German humanist and Hebrew scholar. ... Luther at age 46 (Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529) The Luther seal Martin Luther (November 10, 1483–February 18, 1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, and an ecclesiastical reformer whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. ...

After the failure of the French expedition, Sickingen, aided by Hutten, formed, or revived, a large scheme to overthrow the spiritual princes and to elevate the order of knighthood, the Knights' Revolt. He hoped to secure this by the help of the towns and peasantry. A large army was soon collected, many nobles from the upper Rhineland joined the standard, and at Landau, in August 1522, Sickingen was formally named commander. He declared war against his old enemy, Richard of Greiffenklau, archbishop of Trier, and marched against that city. Trier was loyal to the archbishop, and the landgrave of Hesse and Louis V, count palatine of the Rhine, hastened to his assistance. Sickingen, without the help he needed, was compelled to fall back on his castle of Landstuhl, near Kaiserslautern, collecting much booty on the way. Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ... Trier (French: Trèves, Spanish: Treveris, Italian: Treviri) is Germanys oldest city. ... Kaiserslautern, Germany lies 80 miles southwest of Frankfurt, 295 miles northeast of Paris, France. ...

On October 22, 1522 the council of regency placed him under the ban, to which he replied, in the spring of 1523, by plundering Kaiserslautern. The rulers of Trier, Hesse and the Palatinate decided to move against him, and having obtained help from the Swabian League, marched on Landstuhl. Sickingen refused to negotiate, and during the siege was seriously wounded. This attack was one of the first occasions on which artillery was used, and breaches were soon made in an otherwise impregnable fortress. On May 6 1523 Sickingen was forced to capitulate, and on the following day he died. He was buried at Landstuhl, and in 1889 a splendid monument was raised at Ebernburg to his memory and to that of Hutten. October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ...

His son Franz Conrad was made a baron of the empire (Reichsfreiherr) by Maximilian II, and a descendant was raised in 1773 to the rank of count (Reichsgraf). A branch of the family still exists in Austria and Silesia. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II Maximilian II of the Habsburg dynasty was born July 31, 1527 at Vienna and died October 12, 1576 in Regensburg. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Polish: , German: ( (help· info)), Czech: ) is a historical region in central Europe. ...

See H Ulmann, Franz von Sickingen (Leipzig, 1872); FP Bremer, Sickingens Fehde gegen Trier (Strassburg, 1883); H Prutz, Franz von Sickingen in Der neue Plutarch (Leipzig, 1880), and the "Flersheimer Chronik" in Hutten's Deutsche Schriften, edited by O Waltz and Szamatolati (Strassburg, 1891).

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.