John Herspolz

John Herspolz [also John Hepburn] (died 1485 × 1487) was a 15th century Bishop of Dunblane. On the day of the resignation of the bishopric of Dunblane by Robert Lauder at the papal curia - September 12, 1466 - Pope Paul II provided Herspolz as Lauder's successor. [Cockburn, "Medieval Bishops", p. 170; Dowden, "Bishops", p. 206; Watt & Murray, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 102.]

Herpolz's strange name suggests that he was not Scottish, perhaps being a papal courtier opportunistically rewarded after Lauder's resignation. [Cockburn, "Medieval Bishops", p. 170; Cockburn, p. 174, suggests he was probably German.] King James III of Scotland, presumably unaware of the Pope's actions, selected and nominated the Dean of Brechin, John Spalding, as the new bishop sometime in late 1466 or in 1467; this certainly occurred before November 19, 1467. [Watt & Murray, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 102.] Herspolz was nevertheless consecrated as bishop sometime between June 22 and September 28, 1467. [Cockburn, "Medieval Bishops", p. 171; Watt & Murray, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 102.]

Herspolz held the bishopric for two decades, dying sometime between his last occurrence in the sources on February 3, 1485, and the first mention of his successor's provision on January 31, 1487; it is extremely likely that he died in 1486. [Cockburn, "Medieval Bishops", p. 174; Dowden, "Bishops", p. 207; Watt & Murray, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 102.] Herspolz's foreign name was rendered as Hepburn by Scottish writers wishing to make the name more comprehensible, and it is possible that Herspolz himself did this. [Cockburn, "Medieval Bishops", p. 170.]

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