Johann von Bucca

Cardinal Johann von Bucca (representation from 1593)

Johann von Bucca (also: Johann der Eiserne ; Johann de Bucca ; Johannes von Prag ; according to the list of bishops of Leitomischl: Johannes IV. Of Bucca, the iron ; according to the list of bishops of Olomouc: Johannes XII. Of Bucca, the iron ; Czech Jan Železný ; * probably Prague ; † October 9, 1430 in Gran or Pressburg ) was bishop of Leitomischl and Olomouc , administrator of Prague and Waitzen, and cardinal .

Origin and career

Johann came from the Prague branch of the noble von Beneschau family . His father Hána the Younger was 1379-1381 councilor of Prague's Old Town . His mother also came from a patrician family in Prague. After his training in Prague, Johann was probably in the service of King Wenceslaus IV for some time . He is also said to have been a master's degree in the law faculty and canon of Prague as well as provost at the collegiate monastery of St. Apollinaris .

Bishop of Leitomischl

After the transfer of the Leitomischler Bishop Johannes III. Soběslav was appointed Patriarch of Aquileja in 1387 by Pope Urban VI. 1388 Johann von Bucca as his successor. In the same year Johann arbitrated a dispute between the Prague Archbishop Johann von Jenstein and the royal servant Dietrich von Makov. In 1391 he appointed a Czech preacher for his cathedral. In the power-political dispute between the king and Johann von Jenstein, he sided with Jenstein. After the death of the Prague vicar general Johannes von Nepomuk , Johann von Bucca rose to become the spokesman for the Bohemian clergy . In early 1395 he joined the opposition aristocratic party. In 1398 he issued statutes for the Leitomischler chapter with which the foundation of the diocese could be concluded.

In 1399 Johann made friends with King Sigismund of Hungary, who stayed with Johann for some time. While King Wenceslas was imprisoned, John belonged to the government appointed by Sigismund. In the same year Sigismund tried to fill the vacant Prague Archbishopric with Johann von Bucca. Since he could not assert himself, there were fights in which Johann occupied the archbishopric Raudnitz castle . Thereupon , in October 1403, Zbynko Zajíc von Hasenburg, who was ordained bishop of Prague in November 1402 and was only elected by the cathedral chapter in September 1403, excommunicated Johann von Bucca. After Heinrich von Rosenberg settled the dispute , the excommunication was not lifted until October 1405.

In the religious struggles, Johann pursued an anti-Hussite policy. On behalf of the king, whose trust he obviously had again, he and the then Olomouc Bishop Konrad von Vechta were to convene a synod in 1413 at which measures were to be taken against the heretics. Since members of the University of Prague who were on the side of the Hussites were also invited, Johann did not take part in the synod.

The antipope John XXIII. instructed Johann to take action against Jan Hus . Probably for this reason Johann was appointed head of the Bohemian representation for the Council of Constance at the extraordinary synod of 1414 . There he was charged with restoring church order and returned to Bohemia in 1415. Since he had little success with his mission in Bohemia, he went to Moravia and concluded a treaty with the Bishop of Olomouc to fight the Hussites. The two cathedral chapters of Prague and Olomouc joined the contract.

Despite his political activities, Johann also took care of his diocese. He appointed vicars general and officials to ensure a regular administrative process . In 1393, with papal approval, he moved the Landskron monastery to the Marienkirche in the city, and in 1397 the Tržek Charterhouse , dedicated to "Maria Dornbusch" , for which Bishop Albrecht von Sternberg had founded the episcopal estate Tržek, was moved to Dolany in Moravia. In 1401 Johann held a diocesan synod , in 1406 he visited his parish.

Bishop of Olomouc

After the death of the Olomouc administrator Wenzel Gerard von Burenitz , the majority of the canons present elected Johann von Bucca as his successor on September 21, 1416. The members who were not present at the time, however, elected the Vyšehrad dean Albrecht von Březí on October 3rd . King Wenceslas and the Archbishop of Prague confirmed the election of Albrecht, whose opponents were to be captured. After Albrecht attended the mass of a Hussite priest a few days after his inauguration, an uprising broke out in Olomouc. Albrecht fled to the episcopal city of Kremsier .

Thereupon, on December 14, 1416, the Council of Constance appointed Johann von Bucca as administrator of Olomouc. Nevertheless, the king and the archbishop refused to confirm Johann in his office. Albrecht was not ready to give up either. Therefore Johann began to take the episcopal castles and estates. On February 14, 1418, the newly elected Pope Martin V confirmed Johann von Bucca as Bishop of Olomouc. Although Albrecht still refused to hand it over, Johann was able to prevail. He immediately took measures against Hussiteism, including the ban on communion from the cup .

Administrator of Prague

After the now Prague Bishop Konrad von Vechta accepted the Four Prague Articles in April 1421 , he became the de facto head of the Hussite Church. This began the vacancy of the Prague Archdiocese. That is why the Pope appointed John von Bucca administrator of the Catholic part of the Archdiocese of Prague. The office of the Olomouc Bishop continued to Johann.

As a supporter of King Sigismund, Johann was involved in all important political events over the next few years. During Sigismund's absence, he was given extensive powers with which he was allowed to remove captains and appoint city councilors.

Despite his old age, Johann took part in the Olomouc and Austrian campaigns against the Hussite camp near Nedakonice and in other campaigns. Although his successes are not documented and great victories have not been recorded, legends spread that made him a great general and that earned him the nickname Der Eiserne .

Because of his services, the Pope appointed John cardinal priest of S. Ciriaco in 1426. A year later, Johann issued further bans. The works of John Wyclif , Jan Hus and Jakobellus von Mies were not allowed to be read or distributed, and expressions of praise about Jan Hus and Hieronymus von Prag were forbidden. The preachers needed episcopal approval for their activities.

Administrator of Waits

In March and June 1429 Johann took part in important negotiations with King Sigismund in Pressburg. After the death of Bishop Nikolas von Salgo in 1430, he was appointed administrator of Waitzen. After his death in the same year he was buried in the local Franciscan church.

Works

Johann was a great book lover; his splendid prayer book ( Stams, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 12 ) is evidence of this . He also wrote pamphlets to combat heresy. The treatises are known :

• Liber salutis and
• Specimen of salutis .

literature

• Zdeňka Hledíková , Štěpán Kohout: Art. John the Iron (de Bucca) († 1430). 1388-1418 Bishop of Leitomischl. 1416–1418 administrator of the Olomouc bishopric. 1418–1420 administrator of the diocese Litomysl. 1418–1430 Bishop of Olomouc. 1421–1430 administrator of the Archdiocese of Prague. 1426 cardinal. 1430 Bishop of Waitzen . In: Erwin Gatz (ed.), Clemens Brodkorb (collaborator): The bishops of the Holy Roman Empire 1198 to 1448. A biographical lexicon. Volume I, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-08422-5 , pp. 596-598.
• Johann Friedrich von Schulte:  Johannes von Prag . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 472.

predecessor	Office	successor
John X. Sobeslav	Bishop of Leitomischl 1388-1418	Albrecht von Březí
Wenceslaus Králík from Buřenice	Bishop of Olomouc 1418–1430	Conrad III. from Zwole
Konrad von Vechta	Administrator of Prague 1421–1430	Konrad von Zwole, administrator