Talk:Götz von Berlichingen

Armiger
— Preceding unsigned comment added by Torana (talk • contribs) 21:48, 26 November 2013 (UTC) I was just wondering if he was an armiger, and, if so, if a coat-of-arms can be located for him. --Daniel C. Boyer 16:33, 14 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, he was an armiger. According to :


 * Es zeigt in Schwarz ein fünfspeichiges silbernes Rad, und.auf dem bekrönten Helm darüber einen Wolf mit einem Lamm im Rachen. Am Portal des Roten Schlosses in Jagsthausen ist das Wappen am prächtigsten dargestellt, der Wappenmaler hat dort sogar, ganz unheraldisch, die Blutspuren im Lammfell koloriert.
 * "[The coat of arms of Götz von Berlichingen] shows in black a wheel with five spokes, and above the crowned helmet above a wolf with a lamb in its mouth. The most splendid rendering is on the gate of the "red castle" at Jagsthausen, where the painter even did color, in a quite un-heraldic manner, show the blood on the lamb's fur."


 * Here is his COA (referred to at, but when I type in that URL directly, I get to the top page. Navigate to "Kultur", then to "Ritter und Ritterbünde", then to the next page) as shown at castle Hornberg.


 * The coat of arms of the village of Jagsthausen obviously is derived from Götz's coat of arms, showing his iron hand in black on a white background in the upper half, and a white five-spoked wheel on black background in the lower half. Lupo 12:55, 16 May 2005 (UTC)

Sickingen death is given as May 7, 1523 in his article so how could he have participated with Gotz in the peasants' war.

Different version on how Götz lost his arm
I noticed that there are at least more than 3 different version on how Götz lost his arm,
 * 1) From a friendly fire during a siege.
 * 2) A missunderstanding with a farmhand that lead to a fight.
 * 3) During a battle.

Which one is historical correct? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hanchi (talk • contribs) 19:09, 2 October 2006

In his autobiography Götz described it in the following manner: They besieged the town of Landshut, when a contingent of allied gunners of the town of Nuremberg opened fire on a group of horseman with Götz amongst them. So it is version number one. 87.178.50.127 (talk) 22:16, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Which war was this in? I'm guessing the War of the Succession of Landshut? It'd be nice to add a link supported by sources. Hairy Dude (talk) 05:23, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

Original Research
I've removed pop culture "references" to Götz that simply note similarities. The fact that Ash, in Army of Darkness, constructs an artificial metal limb does not constitute a specific popular culture reference. The connection to Guts in Berserk (manga) is convincing, but it still constitutes original research, I think -- especially since it is phrased simply as a similarity. --Junius49 (talk) 16:03, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Surname?
I'm not sure about this, but isn't it incorrect to refer to him as "Berlichingen" throughout the article? As I understand it, von Berlichingen is an epithet that refers to his hometown, rather than an actual surname. Same way one doesn't refer to Leonardo DaVinci as "DaVinci," because it's just a marker of his town of origin and not actually his last name, right? Again, I don't know anything about German naming conventions, so I could be wrong here. Anyone know the proper usage? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.208.120.38 (talk) 03:03, 21 August 2008 (UTC)
 * no von Berlichingen is his surname134.3.76.108 (talk) 19:56, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
 * his home town is Jagsthausen — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.3.76.108 (talk) 20:03, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I am also uncomfortable with using 'Berlichingen' to refer to the man, much as we would 'Reagan' or 'Obama'. I would offer the following opinion for this:

Berlichingen is a geographic location that gave its name to the family (Burg Berlichingen), so the family became von Berlichingen, not the Berlichingens. This stricture is not general, however. There is no problem in referring to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe simply as 'Goethe' but then he was a commoner (although a pretty uncommon one).

Secondly, surnames for the aristocracy are different than they are for common folk, especially with regard to historical or public figures. You would not write an article about the British sovereign or her son and throughout it refer to either one as 'Windsor', for example. Therefore I would follow the German usage and generally refer to him simply as 'Götz' (after having established which Götz we are talking about, of course). 79.225.223.199 (talk) 05:46, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

Tech specs
Can we please get some details on how this wondrous arm worked? Supposedly he was able to WRITE with the damned thing. That's so impossible it's getting me frisky. Was the grip spring-loaded or something? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.11.36.165 (talk) 19:19, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

For more information look here. Perhaps some history student from germany could provide this? :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.200.89.122 (talk) 10:55, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

I try to give an idea of how it worked: The prosthesis was built like a gauntlet and was fixed to the armstump with leather straps. It enclosed a system of springs. In the normal position all fingers were stretched straight. With his remaining hand Götz could bend each finger in the desired position where the strained feathers were arrested automatically. Two buttons (one for the thumb, the other for the other four fingers) released this locks and allowed the springs to return into their original position (straight fingers). In addition the "ankle" of this sophisticated device could be readjustet by keeping a button pushed, moving the "hand"-part of the prosthesis in the desired position and releasing the button to lock it. It is likely that this device was built 1505 in Nuremberg where only 5 years later the first "poket watches" were manufactured. It is also reported, that Götz's iron fist inspired the known surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch in developing modern prostheses which were needed to replace the lost limbs of mutilated soldiers of world war one. This link leads to a detailed picture of the iron hand:  http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:G%C3%B6tz-eiserne-hand2.jpg&filetimestamp=20091102201150 87.178.50.127 (talk) 23:16, 29 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Just one minor correction: that artificial hand is probably a little younger (possibly 1530s). Götz actually possessed two iron hands (both shown at Jagsthausen castle). Both of them basically use a system of ratchets (similar to a flintlock mechanism), but the older one is of far simpler construction. Regards • TRN 3.svg • hugarheimur 23:29, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

euphemism for common expression
"His name became famous as a euphemism for a common expression attributed to him by writer and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) who wrote a play based on his life."

What common expression?

The common expression is "Leck mich am Arsch" (Kiss my ass) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.178.50.127 (talk) 22:26, 29 July 2010 (UTC)


 * See also the linked Götz_von_Berlichingen_(Goethe). Sparafucil (talk) 05:50, 30 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I prefer the literal translation, which is earthier and much more evocative:" "Lick my arse" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.101.54.196 (talk) 22:42, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Film
The German film about him should be mentioned. Varlaam (talk) 02:04, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

Robber Knight
What's famous about this guy is that he was a "Robber Knight", he constantly kidnapped people for ransom. And the feuds he made was for monetary reasons. 213.161.247.226 (talk) 09:10, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

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