Franz Von Sickingen
Sickingen, Franz Von
Born Mar. 2, 1481, in Ebernburg; died May 7, 1523, in Landstuhl. A German imperial knight who joined the Reformation.
Sickingen was a leader of the uprising of knights of 1522–23 against the princes and was a friend of U. von Hutten. He led Swabian, Franconian, and Rhenish knights against the archbishop of Trier, but, not gaining the support of the burghers and peasants, Sickingen was forced to retreat. He died from wounds. F. Lasalle’s drama Franz von Sickingen (1859) is devoted to Sickingen.