Jacob (or Jakob or James or Jacques) Sturm von Sturmeck (10 August 1489 – 30 October 1553) was a German

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

, one of the preeminent promoters of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in Germany.

Biography

Sturm was born at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, where his father, Martin Sturm, was a person of some importance. He was educated at the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, and about 1517 he entered the service of Henry, provost of Strasbourg (d. 1555), a member of the Wittelsbach family. He soon became an adherent of the reformed doctrines, and leaving the service of the provost became a member of the governing body of his native city in 1524. He was responsible for the policy of Strasbourg during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

; represented the city at the Diet of Speyer in 1526; and at subsequent Diets gained fame by his ardent championship of its interests. As an advocate of union among the

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

he took part in the conference at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

in 1529; but when the attempts to close the breach between

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

and

Zwinglians The theology of Ulrich Zwingli was based on an interpretation of the Bible, taking scripture as the inspired word of God and placing its authority higher than what he saw as human sources such as the ecumenical councils and the Church Fathers. He ...

failed, he presented the ''Confessio tetrapolitana'', a Zwinglian document, to the Augsburg Diet of 1530. As the representative of Strasbourg Sturm signed the protest which was presented to the Diet of Speyer in 1529, being thus one of the original Protestants. He was on friendly terms with Philip, landgrave of Hesse. Owing largely to his influence, Strasbourg joined the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheranism, Lutheran Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, principalities and cities within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. It received its name from the town of Schm ...

in 1531. The troops of Strasbourg took the field when the league attacked

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

in 1546; but in February 1547 the citizens were compelled to submit, when Sturm succeeded in securing very favourable terms from the emperor. He was also able to obtain for his native city some modification of the Interim issued from Augsburg in May 1548. Sturm is said to have been in the pay of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

, but this seems very unlikely. He founded the Bibliothek in Strasbourg, where he died.

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: ** H. Baumgarten, ''Jakob Sturm'' (Strasbourg, 1876) ** A. Baum, ''Magistrat und Reformation in Strassburg bis 1529'' (Strasbourg, 1887) ** J. Rathgeber, ''Strassburg im 16 Jahrhundert'' (Stuttgart, 1871) ** ** Jacob Sturm, ''Consolatio ad senatum argentinensem de morte . . . Jacobi Sturmii'' (Strasbourg, 1553) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturm von Sturmeck, Jacob 1489 births 1553 deaths 16th-century German politicians 16th-century Protestants Politicians from Strasbourg German Protestants People of the Protestant Reformation Heidelberg University alumni University of Freiburg alumni Alsatian nobility Alsatian-German people