Otto von Pack (c. 1480 – 8 February 1537),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

conspirator.

Life

He studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, and obtained a responsible position under

George, Duke of Saxony George the Bearded (Meissen, 27 August 1471 – Dresden, 17 April 1539) was Duke of Saxony from 1500 to 1539 known for his opposition to the Reformation. While the Ernestine line embraced Lutheranism, the Albertines (headed by George) were r ...

, which he lost owing to his dishonesty. In 1528, he revealed to

Philip, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...

, the details of a scheme agreed upon in Breslau by the archduke Ferdinand, afterwards the emperor Ferdinand I, and other influential princes, to conquer

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

for Ferdinand and then to attack the reformers in Germany. Pack was sent to Hungary to concert joint measures with John Zapolya, the opponent of Ferdinand in that country, but

John, Elector of Saxony Johann (30 June 146816 August 1532), known as Johann the Steadfast or Johann the Constant (''Johann, der Beständige''), was Prince-elector, Elector of Saxony from 1525 until 1532 from the Wettin (dynasty), House of Wettin. He is notable for org ...

, advised that the associates of Ferdinand should be asked to explain their conduct, and Pack's revelations were discovered to be false; the copy of the treaty which he had shown to Philip proving to be a forgery. For some time, Pack lived the life of a fugitive, finally reaching the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he was seized at the request of Duke George. Examined under torture, he admitted the forgery, and the government of the Netherlands passed sentence of death, which was carried out on 8 February 1537. This affair has given rise to an acute controversy whether Philip of Hesse was himself deceived by Pack, or was his assistant in concocting the scheme.

Life

Further reading