Nicholas, Count of Salm ( Vielsalm, Belgium 1459 – Salmhof, Marchegg, Lower Austria, 4 May 1530) was a German soldier and an Imperial senior military commander (German: ''Feldherr''). His greatest achievement was the defense of Vienna during the first siege by the Turks in 1529.

Life

At the age of 17 in 1476, Nicholas participated in the Battle of Morat against Charles the Bold. In 1488 he fought in Flanders and was made an Imperial Colonel three years later. In 1509 he fought in Italy under Georg von Frundsberg and conquered

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

. In 1502, he married Elisabeth von Rogendorff; they had several children, including: * Nicholas II, count of Salm-Neuburg * Wolfgang of Salm, Bishop of Passau In the Battle of Pavia in 1525 Nicholas of Salm played an important role in taking King Francis I of France prisoner. The following year he crushed the Peasants' Revolt in Tirol and conquered Schladming. In 1529 aged 70, he was asked to organize the defense of Vienna during the first siege by the Turks, which he did with great skill and success. During the siege, he was wounded by a falling rock, and died a few months later from his wounds.

Honours

He was made a Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. His tomb sculpture, made by Loy Hering, can still be seen in the Votive Church in Vienna.

In popular culture

Salm is the central figure in the modern era German author

Wolfgang Hohlbein Wolfgang Hohlbein (born 15 August 1953 in Weimar, Bezirk Erfurt) is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike Hohlbein, is also a writer and often works with ...

's novel ''Die Wiederkehr''. Salm figures in ''

The Shadow of the Vulture "The Shadow of the Vulture" is a short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in '' The Magic Carpet Magazine'', January 1934. The story introduces the character of Red Sonya of Rogatino, who later became the inspiration for ...

'', by

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

, where he is acquainted with, and still has respect for, fallen knight von Kalmbach. As "Von Salm", he figures as a supporting character in the Tim Powers novel '' The Drawing of the Dark''.

External links

ADB, Niclas I Graf zu Salm
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salm, Nicholas, Count of 1459 births 1530 deaths

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

Knights of the Golden Fleece Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire