Diether von Isenburg ( 14127 May 1482) was twice Archbishop (1459–1461 and 1475–1482) and founder of the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was ''ex officio''

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

and Lord Chancellor of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Biography

Diether was a son of

Diether I Diether is a German given name, composed of the elements ''diet'' "people" and ''her'' "army". It is distinct from, but in Modern German has become homophonic with, the name Dieter, which is a short form of Dietrich, composed of the same prefix b ...

, count of

Isenburg-Büdingen Isenburg-Büdingen was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located in Büdingen. It was originally a part of the County of Isenburg. There were two different Counties of the same name. The first (1341–1511) was a partition of Isenburg-Cleberg ...

. Early in childhood he was sent into a religious life. He was educated in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and later

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. In 1427 he became a member of

Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...

, in 1434 a rector in

, and in 1453 a cathedral vicar. In 1456 the cathedral chapter of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

elected

John II of Baden John II of Baden (1434 at Hohenbaden Castle in Baden-Baden – 9 February 1503 in Ehrenbreitstein) was a titular Margrave of Baden and was Archbishop and Elector of Trier as ''John II of Baden'' from 1456 until his death in 1503. John II of ...

against Diether. On 18 June 1459 he was elected the Archbishop of Mainz with a clear majority over

Adolph of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein Adolf I von Nassau (born Adolf von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein, –6 February 1390) was Bishop of Speyer 1371–1388 and Archbishop of Mainz 1381–1390. Life Adolf was born as son of Count Adolf I, the Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein. His g ...

, although never confirmed by the Pope. In 1461 he went to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

for Imperial and Papal reform, and its recommendations earned him the wrath of both the Emperor Frederick III and

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

. Diether refused to cease reforms in the church, and thus Pius II declared Adolph of Nassau the Archbishop of Mainz, beginning the

Mainz Feud The Mainz Diocesan Feud (german: Mainzer Erzstiftsfehde), also known as the Baden-Palatine War (''Badisch-Pfälzischer Krieg''), took place in 1461/1462 and was a warlike conflict for the throne of the Electorate of Mainz. Background In 1459 th ...

. The archdiocese was wracked by violent warfare. On the night of 28 October 1462 Adolph captured the city of Mainz, killed 400 citizens and had another 400 including

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...

exiled, and revoked its town charter and status as an

Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

. However Diether did not leave the city until 1463. When Adolph died in 1475 he recommended Diether be his successor, and on 9 November that year he was again elected. The reformist

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

confirmed him. In 1477 Diether donated the

to the city. He died in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

in 1482 and was buried in Mainz Cathedral.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diether Von Isenburg 1412 births 1482 deaths 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Archbishop-Electors of Mainz Burials at Mainz Cathedral Founders of educational institutions German founders House of Isenburg Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Biography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links