William I, Margrave of Meissen prevailed on Pope Boniface IX in 1405 to free Meissen from the authority of the Magdeburg metropolitan and to place it as an exempt diocese directly under the Holy See. The illustrious Bishop Rudolf von der Planitz (1411–1427), through wise regulations and personal sacrifices, brought order out of chaos. The Hussite Wars caused great damage to the diocese, then ruled over by John IV Hofmann (1427–1451); under the government of the able brothers Caspar (1451–1463) and Dietrich of Schönberg (1461–76), it soon recovered and on Dietrich's death there was a fund of 8,800 gold forms in the episcopal treasury. John V of Weißenbach (1476–1487), through his mania for building and his travels, soon spent this money and left a heavy burden of debt on the diocese. John VI of Salhausen (1488–1518) further impoverished the diocese through his obstinate attempt to obtain full princely sovereignty in the temporal territories ruled by his see, which brought him into constant conflict with George, Duke of Saxony; his spiritual administration was also open to censure.