He  was  one  of  a  numerous  knightly  family  settled  in  mid
Germany  where  Hesse  and  Eranconia  meet.  Steckelberg,  the
castle  where  he  was  born  in  1488,  which,  half  a  century  earlier,
had  had  an  evil  reputation  as  a  robbers'  nest,  was  not  far  from
Fulda,  the  great  Benedictine  Abbey,  which  traced  its  origin
back  to  Boniface.  The  Huttens  were  a  tough  and  energetic
race ;  no  fewer  than  thirty  of  them  fought  in  Maximilian's
armies ;  others  were  hi^  in  the  service  of  the  Princes  and
Prelates  who  had  divided  Eranconia  among  them.  Ulrich's
father,  also  Ulrich,  had  abandoned  the  predatory  pursuits  of  his
ancestors,  but  he  was  proud  of  his  knightly  independence,
ready  to  take  part  in  any  blood  feud,  and  full  of  contempt  for
the  peaceful  arts  of  life.  Why  he  destined  his  eldest  son  and
namesake  to  the  cloister  we  are  not  told ;  possibly  in  pursuance
of  some  vow,  or  because  the  boy  was  from  the  first  of  a  sickly

1  The  life  of  Erasmus  still  needs  Drummond's  Erasmv^,  his  lAfe  'omd
careful  critical  examination.  But  I  may  Cha/racter,  and  to  F.  Seebolim,  The
acknowledge  my  obligations  to  E.  B.      Oxford  Seformers  of  1498.
