Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads was born in
Schloss Vollrads in 1467, the son of Johann von Greiffenklau and Klara von Ratsamhausen. As the family's fourth son, Richard was groomed for a career in the church from a young age. In 1487, he became a
canon of the
Cathedral of Trier. He began studies in
Paris in 1488. In 1503, he was made
cantor of the Cathedral of Trier and also became a canon of
Mainz Cathedral. Richard was elected
Archbishop of Trier on 15 May 1511.
Pope Julius II confirmed his appointment on 26 April 1512, and on 30 May 1512
Archbishop of Mainz Uriel von Gemmingen consecrated Richard as a
bishop. Only 23 days after his installation as Archbishop, Richard opened the
altar that had enshrined a
relic believed to be the
seamless robe of Jesus since the building of the Dome in the presence of
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and exhibited it. In 1515, Richard completed judicial reforms and allowed
Jews to re-enter the
Electorate of Trier. During the
imperial election of 1519, Richard was bribed by
Francis I of France and subsequently voted for Francis, although Francis lost the election to
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. This did not prevent Charles V from inviting Richard to the
Diet of Worms in 1521 where, at Charles' behest, Richard unsuccessfully attempted to convince
Martin Luther to recant the views that had resulted in
Pope Leo X issuing the
papal bull Exsurge Domine, which had excommunicated Luther in 1520. In 1522, during the
Knights' War,
Franz von Sickingen declared war on the
Archbishopric of Trier but he failed in his efforts to take
Trier. Richard sided with the coalition of princes that ultimately defeated the Knights' War in 1523. The next year, he commissioned additions to the
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, including the large
cannon known as the
Kanone Greif, the largest siege gun of its time. Richard attended the
Second Diet of Speyer in 1529, but did not attend the 1530
Diet of Augsburg (probably due to illness), instead sending
Johann von Metzenhausen as his representative. Richard died at the Schloss Ottenstein in
Wittlich on 13 March 1531. He is buried in the
Cathedral of Trier, and has a large
Renaissance funerary monument. ==References==