Schärtlin relates as follows:--

"Anno 1557. In this year I, Sebastian Schärtlin, bought the territorial domain of Hohenburg, together with Bissingen[[63]] and Hohenstein, from a Bohemian Lord, Woldemar von Lobkowitz, and from Hans Stein, for fifty-two thousand gulden, and took possession thereof in the presence of my son and son-in-law, and many other nobles, on St. Matthew's day, and received the homage of the vassals in the marketplace. The same summer I restored the castle of Hohenstein, and so repaired it as to enable one to reside there. Now about Michaelmas day my son went with his wife and children, and took up his residence there; and prepared rough and hewn stones, lime, and wood, for repairing the castle of Bissingen; and in the winter he caused the well to be put in order; for that purpose the neighbouring prelates gave me beautiful oak, and with their horses and those of the city of Donauwörth, and by all the neighbouring peasants the carting was done.

"The 18th September, 1560, Count Ludwig von Oettingen caused one of my husbandmen of Reutmannshof to be carried prisoner to his office at Harburg, where he was kept without bite or sup, because he and his sons in defending themselves had had a quarrel with certain peasants of Oettingen, who had opened his gate and forcibly driven over his land; nevertheless no one had been hurt. On the Monday following, the Count, with five hundred peasants and fifty horses, fell with a strong hand upon my wood, where he had no territorial rights, caused my acorns to be shaken down, and without notice or warning carried off by violence women, children, and waggons belonging to me. When I arrived the same day at Bissingen, and learned all this, I and my two sons, together with our cousin Ludwig Schärtlin and Hans Rumpolt von Elrichshausen, and a force of two-and-thirty horses, entered his domain, and close to his castle of Harburg seized a peasant and two of his vassals, and carried them prisoners to Bissingen. As his horsemen and archers had at their pleasure passed close to Bissingen under my very nose, with great parade and firing off of guns, so did I the like at Harburg with the above-mentioned horsemen, in order to excite my adversary to a skirmish, but no one would come out against us. Yet at last they shot at us with blunderbusses. On the Thursday after, the Count rode to Stuttgard for a shooting match, and as he knew well that I would not give way to him, he spoke evil of me to their princely highnesses the Elector and Count Palatine, and other counts and nobles, screening himself so as to get me into disgrace and disfavour. Duke Christoph of Würtemberg especially, who had previously been favourably disposed towards me, recalled this year the pension of a hundred gulden which he had given me. The Count had besides so excited his brother, Count Friedrich, against me, that he also attacked me with violence. Afterwards both Counts strengthened themselves with horse and foot, against whom we brought into the castle of Bissingen a hundred good experienced archers, and the concourse of troops on both sides was great. The Counts had brought me and mine into ridicule with the people, by songs and other poems, proverbs, and writings, and also with His Imperial Majesty, the Electors and other princes, counts, and lords. They accused me of being an exciter of tumults, and a quarrelsome breaker of the public peace, and gave out everywhere that I was their tenant, vassal, and dependent, who was doubly bound to them, and had forgotten my feudal duty, and such-like lies, in the hope of injuring me and mine by their falsehoods. Now whilst I was preparing for being attacked, the Count Palatine, Duke Wolfgang, and Duke Albrecht of Bavaria, being the nearest princes, interposed; they wrote to both parties to keep the peace, and offered with Duke Christoph to bring about an amicable negotiation, so that the prisoners on both sides should be freed, and all the hired troops dismissed. This I was willing to do; but as Count Ludwig von Oettingen--nicknamed Igel--the Hedgehog--had begun all the mischief, I demanded that he should do it first. But the Count would not give freedom to the people, but placed Ratzebauer, who was my vassal alone, and owed neither fealty nor allegiance to Oettingen, before the criminal court. To all eternity it will not be shown that I and mine, by this purchase, became lawfully vassals, for we bought Hohenburg and Bissingen, together with all that appertains to them, as freehold properties, and as territorial domains which are independent and have criminal jurisdiction. Yet the princes would not leave the settlement to us, but gave us manifold admonitions to be peaceable; so I dismissed my hired troops, and in this transaction I well perceived that Duke Wolfgang, who before was my gracious protector, had also fallen away, and had become inimical to me. But in spite of all the princely mediations, Count Ludwig one evening advanced with many horsemen and some hundred peasants against the castle of Bissingen, and began a skirmish, with our horsemen of whom some were in the field and others issued forth, in which none received injury. As the enemy could do nothing, they returned again, a laughing-stock to all.

"I brought all this business before the Supreme Court of Judicature, and made complaint against Count Ludwig for his delinquencies against me, hoping, as also happened, that I might bring this matter to a just conclusion, though the princes showed such a party feeling.[[64]] Meanwhile, Count Igel meanly cast odium upon my name everywhere by printed writings and calumnious songs; and in the presence of the Count von Mansfeld, erased from the armorial shield of my son Hans Bastian, which was upon the Inn, the prefix 'Herr von Bissingen,' which nevertheless had not been placed there by my son himself, but by the landlord; and Count Friedrich caused his bailiff publicly to proclaim, at the consecration of the church at Buchenhofen, that if one of the Schärtlingers should go thither, every one should beat him.

"In the year 1561, Count Lothair von Oettingen came during Lent to Augsburg; he sent many friendly words to me, as that he and his other brothers were quite sorry that his brother Count Ludwig had treated me in so unseemly a manner. Besides which, he complained to me of his brother, that he would not give him his marriage settlement or any residence; it therefore became necessary for him to behave hostilely towards him, and he begged of me to yield him knightly service. Thereupon I thanked him for his sympathy, and regretted that with him also things did not go satisfactorily; but I let him know that there was a truce between me and his brother, and that I was engaged with him before the Supreme Court, that I did not willingly put my foot between the hammer and the anvil, but that if otherwise he wanted any knightly service, and would inform me of it, I would be his servant, and would not refuse to furnish horse and armour.

"It was the custom annually at Bissingen to go on Holy Ascension Day to a fair and dance that was held behind the castle, and there was also shooting, whereat, this year, my son Hans Bastian gave his company. Then Counts Ludwig and Friedrich sent the bailiff of Unter Bissingen, together with other horsemen, to the fair, armed with five blunderbusses. They placed themselves there, and wished to hold their ground; my sons accosted them, asking why they placed themselves thus armed. To whom the bailiff answered that his lords had sent him to guard this place, and that the supremacy belonged to the Counts of Oettingen; which my son gainsaid, as the parents of the Counts had sold it, and it belonged to me, and he bid them take themselves off. Upon this the bailiff rode away with these words, that he would soon return after another fashion; and presently, from the footpath horsemen and infantry were to be seen coming; whereupon my son sent certain servants and vassals to the castle and the church tower, to await the enemy. Suddenly the Count's people, numbering about forty horsemen and three hundred foot, came riding and running at full speed, attacked my son, and cousin Ludwig, and their sharpshooters and vassals with spears and firearms, pressed quite up to the barrier of the fair, and closed the gates by overpowering force. On the other hand my son and his followers placed themselves on the defensive, fought them at close quarters, and firing at them from the castle and towers, shot two of the Count's horses and two of his men, one in the body and the other in the leg; thus they kept them at bay, and at last put them to flight, but, thank God! no misfortune happened to him or his. Afterwards, however, when my son had entered the castle with his people, and was eating his supper and taking no further heed, Count Lothar, that honourable man, who had before said so many friendly things to me, returned about six o'clock, and fired thirty shots at the castle with four powerful guns upon wheels, and blew away full twelve bricks. About nine o'clock they returned to Unter-Bissingen: both Counts strengthened themselves in the night, and came again in the morning with many people. As my son and my cousin Ludwig had no expectation of another attack, they came over to me early in the morning; then the burgomaster and certain councillors went out to the enemy and inquired what their intentions were, as there was no one in the castle but women and children, they also said that the domain was under process and Imperial neutrality. Thereupon the bailiff from Harburg made reply that they had come yesterday and again to-day with good and friendly intentions, to claim their lord's rights of supremacy, but they had been fired at, whereby great damage had been done to them. They desired to occupy the Platz to-day, but if they were fired at, it would be seen what they should do in return. Upon this the people of Bissingen answered that they were poor people, and whatever might be done would have to be answered for. Afterwards the Count's people again advanced to the Platz, two hundred men strong with four guns and a drum, and after performing certain dances, and drinking, each one plucked a leaf from the linden trees; after this defiance, and firing, they withdrew, leaving behind them an ambuscade of two thousand men. All this I notified and complained of to his Imperial Majesty and the Supreme Court; thereupon a mandate was sent to both parties, that we should under pain of disgrace and outlawry not molest each other any further, and together with this a summons to appear before the court on the 20th of August, which were both delivered to the Counts, who answered in a most unseemly way that it was all a falsehood. I besides this protested against the injuries done to me.

"On the aforesaid grounds, and because there was no end to their hostile behaviour, and also as neither law nor right were of any avail, I was compelled for the sake of mine honour and for protection against the molestation of the two above-mentioned Counts, to send a statement to His Imperial Majesty of the Roman Empire, to the Electors and Princes, Counts and States of the Empire, and also to the five divisions of nobility and the knighthood generally; I also made a like statement by word of mouth to the estates of the country communes, and fully apprised them and their governor, my worthy lord of Bavaria, of whom I was appointed representative, and further the city of Augsburg, whose vassal I am, of the whole transaction, and besought of them all, counsel, help, or support. These addressed a threatening document to the Counts, admonishing them to leave to me and mine, our rights, in peace; adding that if they did not, they would not abandon me. At the same time they recommended me to employ nothing but law. Now as so many calumnious songs and sayings had been circulated concerning me, one to whom I had perhaps done some good composed an admirable pasquinade and song upon the Count Igel von Harburg, and cut him up well.

"On the third of October, Igel, with fifteen hundred men, horse and foot, amongst them certain Landsknechte, together with five pieces of heavy artillery, advanced against my cousin Ludwig at Oberringingen, having sent before him certain nobles to demand of him to give up his house. But Ludwig Schärtlin had by my commands, two days before, supplied himself with three Landsknechte, certain blunderbusses and hand-guns of my son's at Bissingen, and with powder and shot. So he awaited the storm, as he hoped for a father's reward from me for his knightly truth and faith. He himself went out to these nobles, and answered them with threatening words; if Count Igel would come in a neighbourly and friendly manner, like his brothers, he should partake with him of his sour wine; but coming in such a fashion, he could not open his house; he had a house for himself, and not for the Count of Oettingen, and the Count would find he had to deal with a soldier. Each party withdrew behind his defences, but the Count entrenched himself in the outer court, and by the fire of his artillery destroyed the battlements of the towers, all the windows, roofs, and chimneys, and two persons. On the other hand, Ludwig Schärtlin defended himself valiantly, shot the master-gunner of the Count's artillery and another person, and wounded besides many of the soldiers, of whom some afterwards died. Thus they fought from seven o'clock in the morning till six in the evening. In the night Ludwig caused the Count great alarm and disquiet; meanwhile he fortified himself, and again on the morrow defended himself valiantly. But when I, Sebastian Schärtlin, Knight, learned these things, I hastily sent on to Bissingen, according to the advice of Count Albrecht of Bavaria, four hundred soldiers, amongst them good marksmen from Augsburg, with powder and shot, iron cramps, and good material of war. Then I scraped together six-and-twenty thousand gulden, and provided helmets, powder and shot, also certain waggons and guns from the city of Memmingen; a great troop of Landsknechte and horsemen all appointed to be at Burtenbach on the fourth, and I myself came there in the evening, after I had put everything in motion. That same night, Count Wolf and Count Lothar came to me at Burtenbach in a friendly way, and complained to me that their brother, Count Ludwig, had also deprived them of their parental inheritance, and they entreated me to unite myself with them. So we made a written and sealed compact, that both the Counts and their brother Friedrich, with his marksmen, and all their power of horse and foot, should unite themselves with us, and I was to provide five thousand vassals, or other horsemen, and bear the expense of the war. But if I should restore the young Counts to their parental inheritance, they should pay two thirds, and I one, of the war expenses. We hoped Count Igel would tarry before Oberringingen, and in case he conquered it, would proceed to Bissingen to besiege my son. But the Count on the fourth of October raised the siege, and withdrew himself disgracefully, after he had laid waste and plundered my cousin's fore-court and whole village, and carried off all the women and children: yet my cousin was very near getting hold of one of his guns. When Count Igel perceived that we had come to an accommodation with his own brothers--Count Friedrich excepted, who would not act either with or against him--he fled the country, and went first to the Count Palatine, Duke Wolfgang, and afterwards to Duke Christoph von Würtemberg, to whom he lied, and told many monstrous stories; such as, that I, with the assistance of His Imperial Majesty, the Kings of Bavaria, and city of Augsburg, and the league of Landsberg, had endeavoured to drive him from his people and country.

"Meanwhile I strengthened myself, and at the end of two days I determined to make an expedition, and cross the Danube with a force of seven thousand men, horse and foot. But as it had been perceived by the two Princes, the Palatine, and Würtemberg, that the Count would be driven away, and become a guest in their country, they both of them advanced, the Duke of Würtemberg in person, with his horsemen and some guns, with the intention of not allowing me to cross the Danube, or to give me battle. The Palatine had before urged me extremely not to have recourse to arms, as his Princely Grace could not consent to this expedition of mine. His Imperial Majesty, and the Colonel of the Suabian troops, had also enjoined me to keep the peace, whereto also the Bavarian King and the city of Augsburg had repeatedly admonished me, and had offered to accommodate these affairs by negotiation. So with the loss of four thousand gulden, and in spite of my having been plundered, and my cousin endangered, I consented to sheath my sword and keep the peace, to come to an amicable agreement, and to fix a meeting at Donauwörth. Negotiations were carried on there for a fortnight, and brought to a conclusion by the arbitrators of Bavaria and the Palatinate, to the effect that we should on both sides maintain peace, and as there was no other hope of peace between us, and no better way of settling matters, I should sell the property to the Count. This I would not do, as I wished to have no transactions with the Count. Yet at last I gave in so far, to the purport of the settled agreement, that I would submit myself respectfully to both Princes, and give up the supremacy of Hohenburg and Bissingen, on payment of sixty-two thousand gulden; but not withdraw from it till I was paid the last penny in peace and security."

Thus far Schärtlin. In spite of his complaints of loss, it may be assumed that the sale, at least in a pecuniary point of view, was advantageous to him, but certain it is, that it did not put an end to his quarrels with the Count. For years they both continued to make complaints before the Supreme Court of Justice and the Emperor; and to make violent and mutual attacks on each other. At last the adversaries were obliged to shake hands in presence of the Emperor.