Johann Tiergart

Johann Tiergart (* 1380 ; † November 28, 1456 in Pilten ) was Bishop of Courland and priest of the Teutonic Order .

Life

Coming from a patrician family represented in several lines in Danzig since the second half of the 14th century , he first studied at the Prague Artistic Faculty, obtained his baccalaureate at the end of 1402 and matriculated in Bologna in 1408 . In 1411 he studied in Leipzig, where he probably received his master's degree.

The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Michael Küchmeister , appointed Tiergart as General Procurator of the Order at the Roman Curia in 1419 and accepted him into the Order as a brother priest. In 1421 he traveled to Prussia , where he had to arrange the transsuming of numerous privileges and documents of the order, which he needed at the curia.

In addition to the disputes with Poland , Tiergart at the papal court was primarily concerned with the efforts of the Archbishop of Riga, Johannes Ambundii, and his cathedral chapter, who wanted to free themselves from the relationship of dependence on the Teutonic Order. When rumors of a serious illness of the archbishop began to emerge in 1424, the Grand Master considered Tiergart to succeed him in order to tie the archbishopric more closely to the order. Tiergart refused, however, on the grounds of insufficient qualification.

After the death of Kurland Bishop Gottschalk Schutte (1424), Tiergart was appointed as successor by Pope Martin V at the instigation of Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf against Dietrich Tanke, who was elected by the cathedral chapter . Tiergart initially refused to accept the low endowment diocese, but after the Pope's assurance he would transfer him to a more important diocese at the earliest opportunity . His commission took place on January 19, 1425. Tiergart subsequently committed itself to financial support of Tanks and an appointment with the Grand Master for the following diocesan occupations.

When the news of the alleged death of the Bishop of Dorpat arrived at the Curia from Prussia , the Grand Master turned to the bishopric after Riga for the translation of Tiergarts. After the news of his death turned out to be false, however, Prussia seems to have been considering the recall of Tiergart as General Procurator. After his elevation to bishop Tiergart joined the German Anima fraternity in Rome. In July 1425 he moved to Prussia and Livonia to confer with the Grand Master and to take possession of his diocese. In mid-October he arrived at Pilten Castle in Courland. At the instigation of the Grand Master, he attended a meeting of the Livonian prelates with the Master of the Order of Livonia in Walk in January 1426 . In mid-February he stayed with the Grand Master at Marienburg , where he was again entrusted with the official business of the General Procurator and sent to the Curia. During his absence, Tiergart entrusted the Samland canon Johann Hamel with the administration of his diocese.

In Rome he dealt with the demands of the cathedral chapter of Riga. However, health complaints and fatigue caused Tiergart to request the Grand Master to be released from his position as General Procurator in the spring of 1428. In mid-December 1428 his successor took over the official business. Before Tiergart could return to his diocese, however, he was appointed governor of Fermo by Pope Martin V and soon after of Spoleto . In the spring of 1432 he received permission to return home from Pope Eugene IV , but he could not finally leave Italy until November 24, 1432. In mid-January 1433 he stayed for a short time at the Council of Basel .

In his diocese he worked on a settlement of the disputes with the cathedral chapter of Riga, which sold him the Castrum Dondangen with all its accessories in August 1436 . In addition, he sought to mediate a balance between the order and the prelates in Livonia . He also acted as a negotiator in the dispute between Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf and the Livonian councilors . In 1439 he was then proposed as chairman, for which he traveled to Prussia in 1440. But since the Deutschmeister refused to accept this offer and the Grand Master resigned, his mission was done. In 1449 he called for a day to be convened to clarify the territorial issue, which apparently did not materialize because he repeated his request in 1451.

Since 1452, Tiergart was on the verge of a deep rift with his order, initially secretly undertaking to resign the diocese of Courland in the hands of his brother Augustin in return for the payment of an annual pension. He therefore provided his nephew Johann Lindau with money and sent him to the curia. He found support for his plan not only from the Pope, but also from influential curials and the German Cardinal Peter von Schaumburg. When the Order found out about this, the General Procurator Jodocus Hogenstein was charged with thwarting the Tiergarten plan, as the Grand Master saw the Order's right to present at risk. In addition, the Tiergart family had already attracted the Grand Master's suspicion because of their close ties to the Prussian Estates Association, which tended to be directed against the Order. In order to prevent Augustin Tiergart from being awarded the diocese, the Grand Master had his chaplain Andreas Santberg set up as an opposing candidate.

In mid-1455, however, Tiergart surprisingly abandoned his plan. In January 1456 a serious illness of the bishop is reported for the first time. However, with the approval of the cathedral chapter, he accepted the court lawyer of the Livonian order master, Paul Einwalt de Waltris from Elbing, as coadjutor .

literature

• Jan-Erik Beuttel: Johann Tiergart (OT) († 1456). 1425–1456 Bishop of Courland. In: Erwin Gatz (ed.), With the assistance of Clemens Brodkorb: The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire 1198 to 1448. A biographical encyclopedia. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-10303-3 , pp. 320-321.

predecessor	Office	successor
Dietrich Tanke	Bishop of Courland 1425-1456	Paul Einwald