They were supported by their families with Count John of Hoya, Archbishop Dietrich II of Moers and Prince-Bishop Rudolf of Diepholz at their respective heads.

Within the diocese the Stände, namely the cathedral chapter and the town of Münster, played an independent role at times.

Especially after Dietrich of Moers had become Archbishop of Cologne, the family was able to secure the majority of the bishop's seats in the northwest German area.

In addition, the Stände (estates), the cathedral chapter, knights and towns had gained influence and sharply reduced the power of the bishops.

The House of Hoya, who also held the bishoprics of Verden and Minden, saw the counts of Moers as intruders in their own area of interest.

Apart from the Archdiocese of Cologne, Münster and Osnabrück, the House of Moers ruled Paderborn and parts of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht.

The warlike stance of Henry in supporting his brother did not help the diocese, rather it resulted in a sharp increase in its debt and a decline in prosperity.

As a successor he had provided his brother Walram of Moers (Dutch: Walraven van Meurs), but this brought him into conflict with the House of Hoya.

Dietrich of Moers gave away large bribes to win a majority in the cathedral chapter for his brother.

Within the city he was mainly supported by the guilds and the commoners, while the hereditary patricians on the council did not want confrontation.

In a letter to the Pope they explained their reasons for this unusual procedure were that Walram was allegedly responsible for two murders as well as other crimes in the past.

In order to reduce his own costs as far as possible, he seized the estates of the bishop and income of the cathedral canons (Domherren).

On 11 June 1451, the Treaty of Haus Dülmen was signed, sealing an alliance between Cleves and John of Hoya.

[6][7] On the same day news arrived in Münster that Emperor Frederick III had conferred the regalia on Walram.

Most of the upper diocese was subsequently dominated by the Hoya faction; Walram only possessed the area around Ahaus, Vreden and Ottenstein.

Nicholas of Cusa was probably expected to instruct the Pope to replace both the earlier episcopal candidates with Conrad of Diepholz.

He notified Cusa on 21 January 1452 of his willingness to renounce the bishopric, provided it was possible to remove keep the Hoyas out and to make Conrad of Diepholz bishop instead.

At the start of 1452 a mercenary arm defeated Hoya and the Münster troops and took large numbers of prisoners.

In the diocese itself, sympathy grew for Conrad of Diepholz, whose candidature appeared to be an increasingly attractive alternative to the former aspirants.

The estates sought therefore, on 6 October 1452 in Coesfeld, to reach a compromise, in order to get rid of both Walram of Moers and Eric of Hoya.

Supported by the lower levels of the town of Münster, John of Hoya transferred the diocesan regency in 1453 de jure to his brother Eric, so that the latter could prove himself as regent.

Against the background of the triumphant advance of his opponent, in 1454 John of Hoya forced the re-election of the town council in Münster which was sympathetic to his cause.

With his help John of Hoya attacked, plundering and destroying, the area of Coesfeld and the County of Bentheim, which supported his enemies.

Through a tactical mistake by Count John of Hoya, Duke Frederick's troops were alone when an allied army led by Dietrich of Moers, Walram of Moers, Rudolf of Utrecht, Bernard II of Bentheim, Bernard of Lippe and Conrad of Diepholz attacked and inflicted a crushing defeat on their opponents in the Battle of Varlar.

On behalf of Eric of Hoya he appealed for support to Pope Callistus III, who was hoping that Burgundy would help him win the Ottoman Wars.

John of Hoya sought to strengthen his position in Münster by obtained citizenship in early 1457 and joining the Blacksmiths' Guild.

It stipulated that Eric of Hoya should receive a lifetime income equivalent to that of the Cologne provost office.

In early November, the new bishop arrived in Münster, swore the oath of office and the electoral capitulation.

The dominant position that the patrician's (Erbmänner) had long held on Münster's town council was broken, as the guilds secured the right to be represented by their members.

In the era of Henry and Walrams of Moers, some of the bishops had virtually lost any sense of their calling in faith to serve God and neighbour, but were simply out for themselves.