Jan IV of Pernštejn (also known as Jan of Pernstein, John of Pernstein, Jan the Rich or John the Rich in English, Jan z Pernštejna a na Helfštejně or Jan Bohatý in Czech, and Johann IV von Pernstein or Hans von Pernstein auf Helfenstein in German; 14 November 1487 – 8 September 1548) was a Moravian-Bohemian nobleman. He was high treasurer of Moravia in 1506–1516 and Landeshauptmann of Moravia in 1515–1519 and in 1526–1528 and governor of Moravia in 1530–1532. In 1537–1548, he was Count of Kladsko and pledge lord of the County of Kladsko.
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Life
Jan of Pernštejn was born on 14 November 1487 in Moravský Krumlov. He was a member of the Moravian noble Pernštejn family. His parents were Vilém II of Pernštejn and Johanka of Liblice. Little is known about Jan's childhood. He probably spent most of it at the family castle at Pardubice; he also stayed some time in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). In 1497, Jan and his younger brother Vojtěch I of Pernštejn were knighted at Pardubice Castle by King Vladislav II of Hungary, who was travelling from Prague to Hungary. In 1506, Jan was appointed High Treasurer of Moravia. After 1515, he was Landeshauptmann of Moravia several times. Before 1521, he called himself Jan of Tovačov, after the castle in Tovačov where he and his family lived.
When his father died in 1521, Vojtěch I inherited his father's Bohemian possessions, and Jan inherited the Moravian possessions. From 1521 until his death, he called himself Jan of Helfštejn, after his Moravian castle, even though he spent much of his time at a castle he had built in Prostějov. Shortly after their father's death, both brothers converted to the Utraquist faith.