John Herspolz or John Hepburn (died 1486) was

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland ...

. On the day of the resignation of the bishopric of Dunblane by

Robert Lauder Robert Lauder was a Scottish prelate and Nuncio of the 15th century. The Lauder family produced a large number of senior churchman in this period, and alongside Robert can be named William Lauder, Bishop of Glasgow, Alexander Lauder and Th ...

at the papal curia – 12 September 1466 –

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

provided Herspolz/Hepburn as Lauder's successor. There remains a dispute as to who this person was. Balfour Paul,

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, who had full access to the national archives (where his office and court were located) stated categorically that his name was John Hepburn and that he was a son of Sir Adam Hepburn of Hailes, Knt., (d.1446) by his wife Janet, daughter of Sir William Borthwick of that Ilk, Knt (died before March 1450). Cockburn's 1959 work engages in some guess-work, saying his name was Herpolz and suggests that he was not Scottish, perhaps being a papal courtier opportunistically rewarded after Lauder's resignation. Certainly there is no mention whatsoever in Scottish Supplications to Rome of either surname between 1433 and 1471 which could be regarded as odd. King

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh Ca ...

, presumably unaware of the Pope's actions, selected and nominated the Dean of Brechin, John Spalding, as the new bishop sometime in late 1466 or in 1467; this certainly occurred before 19 November 1467. Herspolz/Hepburn was nevertheless consecrated as bishop sometime between 22 June and 28 September 1467. It seems possible that the transcription of the old script here could be wanting. Herspolz/Hepburn held the bishopric for two decades, dying sometime between his last occurrence in the sources on 3 February 1485 and the first mention of his successor's provision on 31 January 1487; it is extremely likely that he died in 1486.Dowden, ''Bishops'', p. 207; Cockburn, p. 174; Watt & Murray, p. 102.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herspolz, John 15th-century births 1486 deaths Bishops of Dunblane 15th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops