Utrecht

The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was an ecclesiastical state in the northern Low Countries. In 1337 Bishop Jan van Diest ruled amid pressure from Holland and Guelders, whose proposed partition of his indebted lands had met local resistance in 1331.

After the mid-fourteenth century, popes repeatedly appointed the bishops directly. Burgundy claimed protection in 1439. In 1528 the last prince-bishop, Henry of Bavaria, surrendered his temporal authority to Charles V. Utrecht and Overijssel became separate lordships; Drenthe was annexed in 1536.