Sebastian Schertlin from Burtenbach
Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach (born February 12, 1496 in Schorndorf , † November 18, 1577 in Augsburg ) was an important Landsknechtführer in the 16th century. In 1532 he was appointed high commander ( locotenent ) over the entire infantry of the imperial army, he later became grand marshal, captain general, court lord and arson master (see also pillage ).
Life
The son of a Schorndorf forester, judge and mayor studied after attending the local Latin school in Tübingen and was a master's at the age of 20 . This was followed by a job as an episcopal scribe in Constance . Two years later he joined the master craftsman Michael Ott, who was in the service of Emperor Maximilian I and was looking for mercenaries on behalf of the field captain . In 1519 Schertlin conquered his hometown Schorndorf together with his teacher Georg von Frundsberg and his Landsknechten in the battle of the Swabian League against Duke Ulrich von Württemberg .
Since Sebastian Schertlin enjoyed the craft of war , he was involved in almost all military campaigns in Central and Southern Europe at that time. His participation is attested
- from 1521 on imperial campaigns against Francis I of France
- 1525 at the Battle of Pavia
- 1525 in the suppression of the peasant uprising
- 1526 during the relief of Milan (together with Georg von Frundsberg)
- 1527 during the conquest and sacking of Rome ( Sacco di Roma ) by imperial troops
- 1532 during the fight against the Turks in Austria. A detachment led by him played a decisive role in ensuring that the majority of the Akindschi led by Kasim Bey , who had previously devastated southern Lower Austria , could be destroyed at Steinfeld . For this commitment he was rewarded with the accolade
- 1536 and 1544 on new campaigns against France
- 1542 in the fight against Heinrich von Braunschweig .
Emperor Karl V raised the Landsknechtführer in 1534 to the imperial nobility because of his services.
Sebastian Schertlin assumed the office of city governor in Augsburg as early as 1530 and moved with his family from Schorndorf to the free imperial city the following year. As city governor he was responsible for the defense of Augsburg. Soon afterwards he acquired the Burtenbach dominion in the western area and from then on called himself Schertlin von Burtenbach. In the maelstrom of Reformation and Counter-Reformation , he joined the Protestants in 1546 , on whose side the Augsburg City Council had fought in a majority.
In the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47, Schertlin was commander of the entire infantry of the Upper German cities. After the initial success of his troops, which he led with great care (among other things, he conquered Füssen and sacked Buchloe ), he could not prevent the imperial victory . The imperial city of Augsburg refused to extradite its city governor after its defeat. Schertlin fled to Constance and on to Basel. 1548 he joined mercenary service of the French King Henry II. Then imposed Emperor Charles V, the imperial ban on him and pulled his goods. From 1551, Schertlin brokered a contract between the French king and Protestant imperial princes on the one hand and Emperor Charles V on the other. In 1553 he was pardoned by the emperor after his resignation from the French service, reinstated in his office as captain of the city of Augsburg and in 1559 even as imperial councilor under Emperor Ferdinand . He spent his twilight years on the property in Burtenbach that had been restored. He died in his home in Augsburg in 1577.
Essence and work
Schertlin was not only a warrior, but also a cool strategist who grew rich in various campaigns. He often led his soldiers into battle himself and is also referred to in literature as a "warrior". As a Landsknechtführer he had to equip his troops himself and pay for them out of pocket. As a rule, he received his wages from the respective warlord . In addition, he was allowed to keep himself harmless from the assets of the defeated. It was an immense merit - but associated with the high risk to life and limb. In his biography, Schertlin was open about how he had acquired his wealth.
In Rome he was entrusted with guarding Pope Clement VII, who was captured during the Sacco di Roma .
swell
- Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach: The life and deeds of Weiland Woledlen and Gestrengen Herr Sebastiani Schärtl von Burtenbach Ritter Seeligen: describe by himself in German. Schultes Augsburg 1627 ( digitized version )
- Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach and his letters to the city of Augsburg . Communicated by Theodor Herberger, Augsburg 1852 ( digitized version )
- The life and deeds of the once noble and strict Mr. Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach described by himself . According to the knight's own handwriting, published by Ottmar FH Schönhuth, Münster 1858 ( digitized version )
- Life and deeds of the once noble knight Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach. Described in German by himself . Published by Engelbert Hegaur, Munich 1909
- Biography of Schärtlin von Burtenbach and Burkhard Stickel's diary . (= Swabian résumés; 11). Published by Helmut Breimesser, Heidenheim 1972
literature
- Christof Paulus: Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach in the Schmalkaldic War . In: Journal for Bavarian State History , 67, 200, 1, ISSN 0044-2364 , pp. 47–84.
- Wolfgang Wüst: Schertlin von Burtenbach as Lutheran sovereign in the margraviate of Burgau , in: Georg Kreuzer / Walter Gruber (eds.), Sebastian Schertlin (1496–1577) as local lord of Burtenbach. Contributions to the emergence of Lutheran rule in the denominational age, 2nd edition, Burtenbach 1996, ISBN = 3-00-000793-8, pp. 62–70.
- Josef Reiter: On the fourth centenarium of the year of birth of Sebastian Schärtlin (Schertlin, Schertel) von Burtenbach , in: Diöcesan-Archiv von Schwaben , 14th year 1896, issue 12, pp. 190–192 ( digitized version )
- Franz von Rexroth: The Landsknechtführer Sebastian Schertlin. A picture of his life and the beginning of the modern age . Röhrscheid, Bonn 1940.
- Alfred Stern : Schertlin von Burtenbach, Sebastian . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 31, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, pp. 132-137.
Web links
- Literature by and about Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach in the catalog of the German National Library
- Noble family and biography
- Schorndorf's son ( Memento from February 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- Markt Burtenbach, history
- Sebastian Schertlin - Landsknecht and war entrepreneur on kriegsreisen.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Dietrich Rauchberger: Cosmographia & geographia de Affrica . In: Dietrich Rauchberger (Ed.): Orientalia Biblica et Christiana . tape 13 . Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-447-04172-2 , ISSN 0946-5065 , p. 95 (499 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Commission for historical regional studies in Baden-Württemberg. (Ed.): Pictures of life from Baden-Württemberg . tape 13 . W. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 1977, OCLC 32060394 , p. 70 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schertlin von Burtenbach, Sebastian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Landsknechtsführer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1496 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schorndorf |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 18, 1577 |
| Place of death | Burtenbach |