Ulrich von Hutten

(Revision as of 10:43, 22 Sep 2004)

Ulrich von Hutten (April 21, 1488–Aug., 1523), German Humanist, patriot, Franconian knight, satirist, and contemporary of Rabelais and Paracelsus. He was best known for his ardent support of Luther’s Reformation. Hutten used his biting wit to attack the pretensions of the nobility, obscurantism, and especially the papacy, arousing great ire and many quarrels.

In his desire to free Germany from the tyranny of Rome, he joined Franz von Sickingen in the knight’s war of 1522. The attempt to fight the corrupt German princes failed, and he had to escape to Switzerland. Huldrych Zwingli, the leader of the Reformation movement, gave him refuge after he was refused help by his former friend, Erasmus. He died of syphilis at the age of forty one.

Writings

• Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum (1515). lit. The Letters of Obscure Men. A famous collection of letters in mock-medieval Latin which was published anonymously. It used satire to attck the methods of Scholasticism, the religious practices of the age, and on many ecclesiastical institutions and doctrines. Hutton is considered to be its primary author.

References

• Livingstone, E. (2000). "Hutten, Ulrich von (http://80-www.oxfordreference.com.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t95.e2831)." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2004.
• Livingstone, E. (2000). "Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum (http://80-www.oxfordreference.com.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t95.e1947)." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2004.
• Encyclopædia Britannica. (2004). Ulrich von Hutten (http://80-search.eb.com.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/eb/article?tocId=9074162). Retrieved Sept. 21, 2004.
• Sabazius. (1995). Ulrich von Hutten (http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/hutten.htm). Retrieved Sept. 21, 2004.