Johann II. Bose

Johann II. Bose (also called Johannes von Bose) († October 1, 1463 ) was Bishop of Merseburg from 1431 to 1463 .

Life

Johann came from the old Saxon noble family von Bose . He was the fourth son of Heinrich Bose, knight and assessor of the curia regia (royal court) in Merseburg and his wife, née. from solver. It was first mentioned in a document in 1418. His brothers were called Balthasar († 1463), Georg († after 1477) and Günther († 1432).

Johann was first provost of the church of St. Sixti in Merseburg, later apostolic nuncio and finally papal chief tax collector in the Magdeburg church province and in the diocese of Meißen . His further career led him back to Merseburg , where he became provost of the cathedral .

In 1431 he was elected bishop of Merseburg. Previously, his opponent Georg von Haugwitz had resigned. He received papal confirmation from Eugene IV on the condition that he did not entrust his church duties to an auxiliary bishop, but performed them himself.

He was consecrated by Bishop Johannes (von Schleinitz) of Naumburg .

In the course of the feud of Günther II von Schwarzburg with the cities of Magdeburg and Halle , he took sides with his metropolitan, but suffered military blows from the city of Halle. In 1435 he was one of the mediators who reached a peace treaty at Kloster Neuwerk. In 1440 he concluded a three-year agreement with the Elector of Saxony and other lords, during which the parties undertook to have a possible dispute settled by an arbitrator and to support each other against enemies that might arise.

In 1444 he acquired the Lauchstädt , Liebenau and Schkopau castles pledged by Günther von Magdeburg . Shortly afterwards, after a fire in the city of Merseburg , he confirmed all the rights granted by his predecessors. He waived taxes for four years for those injured by the fire. When the Saxon Fratricidal War broke out, he granted the city funds to modernize and expand the city wall. With the overall fortification concept for the city and bishop's castle, the bishop showed an excellent military vision.

In the war between the Elector of Saxony Friedrich and his brother Wilhelm , the Merseburg cities of Lützen and Zwenkau were also badly affected. Johann tried to bring about an agreement in the Saxon brotherly dispute. After the peace agreement, the bishop had the damage repaired in the affected cities in his domain. He also initiated major construction work in Merseburg; among other things, the fortifications of his residence and the city were strengthened.

During his tenure, Johannes ensured more order in church and monastery life. His loan book, preserved in Merseburg, is an excellent historical source and also shows that Johannes managed well financially and significantly increased the income of the diocese of Merseburg . Particularly noteworthy is the creation of entire pond landscapes in Knapendorf, Schkopau and Merseburg for fish farming, which benefited the bishop's table and the monastery treasury.

Johann Bose died of the plague in 1463 after an unusually long, 32-year term as bishop. In Merseburg Cathedral his grave is today.

literature

• Friedrich W. Ebeling: The German bishops until the end of the sixteenth century. Volume 2, Leipzig 1858, p. 269

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bosebuch, family trees and contributions to the history of the family of Bose

predecessor	Office	successor
Nikolaus Lubich	Bishop of Merseburg 1431–1463	Johann III. from Werder