Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen was a knight of the Holy Roman Empire who, with Ulrich von Hutten, led the so-called "Knights' War". He is posthumously known as the "Last Knight", an epithet shared with his contemporaries Chevalier de Bayard and Emperor Maximilian.
Early life
Franz von Sickingen was born on 2 March 1481 at Ebernburg Castle in the Palatinate of the Holy Roman Empire to Schweickhardt von Sickingen and his wife Margarethe Puller von der Hohenburg. Franz was married to Hedwig von Flersheim. 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.Image:Sickingen-Scheibler92ps.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Coat of arms of the House of Sickingen
In 1513, Sickingen took up the quarrel of Balthasar Schlör, a citizen who had been driven out of Worms, and attacked it with 7000 men. In spite of an 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, 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 it, compelled the magistrates to give him 20,000 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 first met 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 a "refuge for righteousness". Here many of the reformers found shelter, and a retreat was offered to Martin Luther.