Franz von Sickingen Franz von Sickingen ( March 2 , 1481 – 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 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 numerous private feuds , in which he usually posed as the friend of the oppressed . 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 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 Württemberg . 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 Mézières 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 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 Greiffenklau of Vollraths , 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 , Burg Nanstein at Landstuhl , collecting much booty on the way . 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 Archbishop Richard of Trier , Philip I , Landgrave of Hesse , and Louis V , Elector Palatine decided to move against him , and having obtained help from the Swabian League , marched on Burg Nanstein . 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 . His son Franz Conrad was made a baron of the empire ( ) by Maximilian II , and a descendant was raised in 1773 to the rank of Imperial count ( ) . The last surviving branch of the family resides in Austria and the United States .