Johann von Lichtenberg

Johann von Lichtenberg (* 1300 / 1305 ; † 13. September 1365 ) was from 1353 to 1365 Bishop of Strasbourg .

Coat of arms of the bishops of Strasbourg

Life

Johann came from the Alsatian noble family of the Lords of Lichtenberg , which with Konrad III. and Frederick I had already provided two Strasbourg bishops. His parents were Johann, Herr von Lichtenberg († 1324) and Mezza von Saarbrücken .

He was active as imperial vicar in the service of Charles IV . In the Strasbourg cathedral chapter he held the offices of provost , dean , cantor and tavern. After Berthold von Buchegg appointed him deputy shortly before his death, the cathedral chapter elected him Bishop of Strasbourg on December 2, 1353. The confirmation by Pope Innocent VI. followed shortly thereafter. Despite previous experience in imperial politics, Johann concentrated on the affairs of the bishopric.

He was keen to maintain a good relationship with the city of Strasbourg , for example in the issue of the stake citizens decided by the Golden Bull to the disadvantage of the cities , where he gave in, so that the conflict only escalated around 1390. Attempts by the council to restrict the powers of the spiritual courts, however, were resolutely opposed. Together with the Lords of Lichtenberg and the city of Strasbourg, he repeatedly opposed the Alsatian cities that were united to form the Decapolis . At the beginning of his term in office, in 1354, he held a diocesan synod and issued statutes. Towards the end of his tenure, Alsace was devastated by English troops during the Hundred Years War . After his death, Johann was buried in a chapel in the Strasbourg cathedral .

Territorial policy and coat of arms association

Johann von Lichtenberg acquired the Landgraviate of Lower Alsace from the Counts of Oettingen and expanded the territory of the bishopric by purchasing several castles and localities. Friedrich II. Von Oettingen died in 1357, his son Ludwig X. sold the title of landgrave and the entire property to Bishop Johann von Straßburg in 1359. Who left the county Expectant his successors in office, but wore parts of members of his family, the lords of Lichtenberg to feud on. The bishops of Strasbourg did not take on the title of landgrave.

The fourth prince-bishop's coat of arms of Strasbourg therefore bears the original coat of arms of the diocese and the coat of arms of the county of Werd, that is, a red shield with an inclined silver bar in fields 1 and 4, a silver shield with an inclined red bar and an embroidered border in the fields 2 and 3. This coat of arms was adopted by the archbishopric.

literature

• Fritz Eyer: The territory of the Lords of Lichtenberg 1202-1480. Investigations into the property, the rule and the politics of domestic power of a noble family from the Upper Rhine . In: Writings of the Erwin von Steinbach Foundation . 2nd edition, unchanged in the text, by an introduction extended reprint of the Strasbourg edition, Rhenus-Verlag, 1938. Volume 10 . Pfaehler, Bad Neustadt an der Saale 1985, ISBN 3-922923-31-3 (268 pages).
• Joseph Fuchs:  Johann II of Lichtenberg. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 537 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Wilhelm Wiegand:  Johann II. (Bishop of Strasbourg) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 419 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Eyer, p. 69.