Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild

Who was Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild?

Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild was Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1484 to 1504.

The son of George, Count of Henneberg and Johanna, daughter of Count Philipp I of Nassau-Weilburg entered the ecclesiastical profession and, after passing through its lower stages, from 1472 on was a member of the Mainz cathedral chapter, dean from 1475. On May 20, 1484 he was elected archbishop, confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII on September 20, 1484.

As a follower of Nicholas of Kues and the ideas of Renaissance humanism, he appears to have been a firm supporter of law and order, an enemy of clerical abuses and a careful administrator of his diocese. Immediately after his election as archbishop he began to take a leading part in the business of the Empire, and in 1486 was very active in securing the election of Maximilian of Habsburg as King of the Romans.

His chief work, however, was done as an advocate of administrative reform in the Empire, including the implementation of the Ewiger Landfriede to put an end to internal feuds, secured by the jurisdiction of an Imperial Chamber Court.