Johann IV Roth

John Roth also known as Johann IV Roth or Jan IV Roth was a fourteenth century Bishop of Lavant and later Prince-Bishop of Wroclaw.^[1] Johann Roth, was a brilliant speaker, humanist and supporter of the arts and learning.

Career

The son of the shoemaker Seyfried Roth, John was born 30 November 1426 in Wemding in Bavaria. John studied in Rome, where he befriended Italian humanists, including Enea Silvio, and then in 1459 at Padua, where he was a rector and in 1460 earned a doctorate.

He then held an office in the papal chancery until 1464 when he then worked for, Emperor Frederick III. From 1460 till1466 he was dean of the cathedral in Passau and in 1466 he was made dean of the chapter of Wroclaw, a position he held till 1468 when he was made bishop of Lavant, in which position he was made an emissary to Rome and Venice.

John was the Bishop of Wrocław from 1482 to 1506, and the governor of Silesia from 1490 to 1497. In 1497 he held a synod and latter was subject of an attempted assassination^[2] As Bishop he held three diocesan synods, and arranged for the printing of missals, breviary, liturgical and song books. He also amassed a considerable collection of books.

He was also skilled in finance and administration redeeming several mortgaged estates and castles for the diocese.^[3][4][5]

Legacy

John IV Roth died on the 21 January 1506 in Nysa and was buried in the cathedral.^[6] Today little remains of his extensive collection of books.

References

1. ↑ Bishops of Wroclaw at GCatholic.org.
2. ↑ The supposed bomber was captured, tried by jury and beheaded in front of the city hall of Nysa on 27 June 1497.
3. ↑ Josef Joachim Menzel, John IV Roth in New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , pp. 481 f ( digitized ).
4. ↑ Hermann Markgraf, Johannes IV in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig, 1881, pp. 186-188.
5. ↑ Hünefeld H., J. R. v. IV (1426–1506), in:. Vjschr Silesia 17, 1972, pp. 69-76 (P).
6. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=99098538