John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg

John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg (c. 1483–1547) was a Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim. Life The son of Dorothea of Brandenburg and Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg (who is also known, confusingly, as John IV) stood for election as prince-archbishop of Bremen, however, the majority of the canons of the cathedral chapters of Bremen and Hamburg (with only three votes) elected Johann Rode archbishop on 30 January 1497. In 1503 John was elected as Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim, after his brother and predecessor in office, Eric, had resigned in his favour earlier the same year. In 1504, following confirmation of his election by Pope Julius II, John took up office in the bishopric. On 28 January 1506 the bishop received agreement from the noble assembly (Ständeversammlung) to his raising of the Landbede, a tax. Through his attempts to expand the territory of the prince-bishopric, he repeatedly clashed with the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Internally, too, there were conflicts with the town of Hildesheim and the self-assured bishopric nobles (Stiftsadel). The diocese of Hildesheim ran increasingly into debt.