 thumb|franz von sickingen franz von sickingen or francis of sickingen (march 2, 1481 â may 7, 1523) was a german knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the reformation. ==biography== he was born at ebernburg (now bad mÃ¼nster 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 numerous private feuds, in which he usually posed as the friend of the oppressed. in 1513 he took up the quarrel of balthasar schlÃ¶r, 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 antoine, duke of lorraine, and compelled philip i, 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 wÃ¼rttemberg. 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. 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 mÃ©ziÃ¨res and forced to retreat. in about 1517 sickingen became intimate with ulrich von hutten, and gave his support to hutten's schemes. he assisted many a creditor in procuring what was due him from a powerful debtor. without being a scholar, he loved science and protected men of learning. in 1519 a threat from him freed johann reuchlin from his enemies, the dominicans of cologne. 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. 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, and promote his own situation. a large army was soon collecte
1481_births 1523_deaths German_knights Imperial_Knights Medieval_knights People_from_Bad_Kreuznach_(district) Protestant_Reformation