Excerpt from Here I Stand!: Narratives and Sketches From Reformation Days

Hartmut von Kronberg was born in 1488. The Kron bergers were quite well to do and played an important part among the German knighthood. Hartmut had early taken his stand with Luther. He actively participated in the Diet at Worms, and after he had unsuccessfully spoken to the Emperor in Luther's behalf, he undertook to wield the pen in place of the accustomed sword, and published a number of writings in which he very openly endorsed Luther's doctrine. These treatises were written in a sharp tone. It was especially by the bold language which Hartmut used, that be incurred the enmity of Luther's opponents.

Hartmut was an associate of Franz von Sickingen, whom, to gether with another fearless knight, Ulrich von Hutten, he had won for Luther's side. But when the feud between Sickingen and the Archbishop of Treves had ended unfavorably for the promoters of the Reformation, Hartmut, like his friends, retreated to a place of safety. The Archbishop of Treves, the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Elector of the Palatinate, made a united effort to inflict swift punishment and bring destruction upon all the adherents of Sik kingen, and the first to fall a victim to this unholy alliance was Hartmut von Kronberg. Hartmut was not prepared for any de fense, and after he had very bravely held the fortress for several days, he was finally compelled to withdraw; through a secret tunnel he escaped. He had saved his life, but that was all. The city and the fortress fell into the hands of the enemy, and the entire Kron berg estate was assigned to Landgrave Philip as spoil of war.

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