Ulrich von Hutten, a German knight and humanist, was one of the most articulate spokesmen for a kind of German "cultural nationalism. He resented Rome's claims of cultural and political superiority and championed ecclesiastical reform. In this 1520 letter to Elector Frederick of Saxony, Hutten accuses the Roman Curia of corruption and calls for reform.

We see that there is no gold and almost no silver in our German land. What little may perhaps be left is drawn away daily by the new schemes invented by the council of the most holy members of the Roman Curia. What is thus squeezed out of us is put to the most shameful uses. Would you know, dear Germans, what employment I myself have seen that they make at Rome of our money? It does not lie idle! Leo X gives a part to nephews and...