He was born at Ebernburg (now Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg) near Bad Kreuznach. Having fought for the emperor Maximilian I against Venice in 1508, he inherited large estates on the Rhine, and increased his wealth and reputation by numerous private feuds, in which he usually posed as the friend of the oppressed. In 1513 he took up the quarrel of Balthasar Schlör, a citizen who had been driven out of Worms, and attacked this city with 7000 men. In spite of the imperial ban, he devastated its lands, intercepted its commerce, and desisted only when his demands were granted. He made war on Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, and compelled Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, to pay him 35,000 gulden. In 1518 he interfered in a civil conflict in Metz, ostensibly siding with the citizens against the governing