Sixtus of Tannberg (died 14 July 1495 in

Frankenthal Frankenthal (Pfalz) (; ) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinians, Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, aft ...

) was a 15th century

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who served as

Bishop of Gurk The Bishop of Gurk is the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk, which was established by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg, in 1072, as the first suffragan bishop in the Duchy of Carinthia. Initially performing only the functions of an archie ...

from 1470 to 1474 and as Prince-Bishop of Freising from 1474 to 1495.

Life

Sixtus was a son of Johann Tannberg of Aurolzmünster and Ursula von Rohr, a sister of Archbishop Bernhard von Rohr. In 1442 he was admitted in Freising as an Exspektant and in 1456 he joined the local

Cathedral Chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

. He studied at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

for almost eight years and became a doctor of both laws. In 1458 he became provost in

Isen Isen may refer to: *Isen, Bavaria, a town in Germany *Isen, Kagoshima, a town in Japan * Isen (river) in Bavaria, Germany *The fictitious River Isen in Tolkien's literature * ISEN, a group of three French higher education establishments *Nissae Is ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

and in 1466 pastor of Laufen. Allegedly he was also chancellor of Bishop Johann Tulbeck of Freising and canon at Salzburg. After the death of Ulrich III Sonnenberger, the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

and the

Archdiocese of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, ...

again had an argument over who was entitled to appoint a new

. Archbishop Bernhard von Rohr appointed Sixtus and this appointment was confirmed by the pope in 1470. Emperor Frederick III would have preferred the appointment of Lawrence of Freiberg, who was Provost of Gurk at the time. Both candidates were summoned, under threat of

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

, to come to

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, where the dispute was settled by Cardinal Mark, who was

Patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

and Papal Nuncio to Germany. Sixtus was chancellor of the Prince-Bishop Johann Tulbeck of Freising, who resigned in 1473 in favor of Tannberg. Tannberg resigned as Bishop of Gurk, leaving the post to Lawrence of Freiberg. Between 1481 and 1483, during Tannberg's reign, a vault was designed, which still exists today, for the nave of the Freising Cathedral. Tannberg was very pious and led to several diocesan synods and introduced profound reforms of the clergy in his diocese. He also founded in 1484 his own Cathedral Choir, who would contribute to more worthy church services. He died on 14 July 1495 in the monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in

, near

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

. He was buried in the Freising Cathedral.

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Anton Landersdorfer, ''Sixtus von Tannberg, Bischof von Freising (1474–1495)'', Georg Schwaiger (ed.), ''Christenleben im Wandel der Zeit'', vol. 1, ''Lebensbilder aus der Geschichte des Bistums Freising'', Wewel, Munich, 1987 , (''Wewelbuch'' 154), p. 103–113. * Jakob Obersteiner, ''Die Bischöfe von Gurk - 1072–1822'', Verlag des Geschichtsvereines für Kärnten, Klagenfurt, 1969, (''Aus Forschung und Kunst'', issue 5 ), p. 249–251.

External links

*
Entry for Sixtus of Tannberg at ''catholic-hierarchy.org''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannberg, Sixtus Of 15th-century German people Roman Catholic prince-bishops of Freising 1495 deaths Year of birth unknown Bishops of Gurk