Early Life
After the death of his father Dietrich in 1492 and of his two older brothers, he inherited a fortune and possessions. In 1512-13 he was a guest in the court of King Henry VIII of England, and may have been exposed to the reformist ideas of John Wycliffe and the Lollards. In 1517, after refusing to pay 350 year old interest claims from Kollegiatstift Neumünster, he was excommunicated.
In 1519 he served a vassal of Markgraf Casimir of Brandenburg-Kulmbach-Ansbach in the army of the Swabian League as Landsknecht commander against Duke Ulrich of Württemberg and against Götz von Berlichingen in Möckmühl.
Later in 1519, Casimir of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth sent him to his brother, the Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order, Albert of Brandenburg-Prussia, to support him against Poland. Geyer negotiated a truce that ended the Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521). Until 1523, he served the Hochmeister, travelling around European courts on diplomatic missions.
The same year, he accompanied his prince to visit the dissident Protestant priest, Martin Luther in Wittenberg. If not already sympathetic, he was probably won over to Luther's ideals at this meeting.
Read more about this topic: Florian Geyer
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