Pack Affairs

The Pack Affairs (Packsche Händel) were a series of intrigues and forgeries orchestrated by Otto von Pack, a German politician, in 1528. Pack, who served Duke George of Saxony, was in constant need of funds, leading him to fraudulent schemes. His most significant act involved falsely reporting to Philip the Magnanimous, the Protestant landgrave of Hesse, that an alliance of Catholic princes had formed against Germany's Protestant rulers. This led Philip to form a defensive league with Saxony and attack the cities of Würzburg and Bamberg, publishing a forged treaty provided by Pack. The forgery was quickly exposed, but Philip protected Pack until 1529. Pack became a fugitive and was eventually beheaded in Brussels in 1537.1