HUTTEN, ULRICH VON

oolˈrĭkh fən hootˈən, 1488–1523, German humanist and poet, partisan of the Reformation, an outstanding figure in German political history. Hutten's career as poet was launched by his participation in the famous Episculae obscurorum virorum (1515), which supported the cause of Reuchlin. In 1517 he was crowned poet laureate by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. He wrote innumerable epigrams, speeches, and songs, although his main literary vehicle was dialogues; Arminius, the best known, is in the collection Gesprachsbüchlein (1521). A vehement patriot, he became an associate of Luther and joined Sickingen in his war on ecclesiastical princes. He died in exile, seeking asylum with Zwingli.

See biography by D. F. Strauss (tr. 1874, repr. 1970); study by T. W. Best (1969).

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