John's father, William I of Pernstein was in the service of the Margrave Jobst of Moravia. John later inherited some important state offices from his father. John's mother was either William's second wife Agnes of Pottenstein or his third wife Anna of Sternberg. John II is first mentioned in a document of 1427, when he and his father sold a piece of land to the abbess of the monastery Doubravník, which had been founded by Štěpán of Medlov, a predecessor of the Pernstein family. In the same year, his father gave him the right to manage his own assets. In 1429, he participated in the Hussite invasion of the Margraviate of Meissen. Meissen was looted and pillaged. Prior to 1434, John II acquired the lien of Mitrov from Hynek Hlaváč, which he kept at least until 1448, as in that year an entry was made in Landtafel. Between 1434 and 1436, several knight from villages belonging to the Lordship of Pernstein accused him of occupying their villages illegally. He attempted to settle these feuds. In 1437, King Sigismund of Bohemia died. Sigismund's son-in-law Albert II was a candidate to succeed him. John opposed this; he and Hynek Ptáček of Pirkstein supported the candidacy of Casimir IV Jagiellon, the almost eleven-year-old son of King Władysław III of Poland. Nevertheless, Albert II was elected King of Bohemia. Probably around 1441, John II married his second wife, Bohunka of Lomnitz. Her father, John of Lomnitz, transferred the liens on the margraviate fiefsZubštejn, Pyšolec and Bistritz to John II. In 1446, King George of Poděbrady made these liens into hereditary possessions of the Pernstein family. John II also acquired the Lordship of Křižanov from the heirs of the late Sigmund of Křižanov. He made claims on lands in Tišnov which had belonged to the Porta coeli Convent before it was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. In the years 1463, 1467, 1469 and 1470, King George authorized John II and his sons Sigmund, William, Jan and Vratislav the use of the usufruct of these lands. In 1462, John II purchased the Lordship of Jimramov from John of Cimburg and Tovačovští and his wife Sophie of Kunštát. He was able to significantly expand his property through acquisitions and liens. King George of Poděbrady appointed John II in 1460 to Lord Chamberlain of the District Court at Brno. John II was an expert on Moravian law. John II always remained loyal to King George. After George's death in 1471, however, he switched sides and supported the counter-King Matthias Corvinus. John II was one of the four governors of Moravia Matthias appointed in 1473. Around this time John's second-born son William II of Pernstein came into the foreground more often. When William II acquired the Lordship of Helfštýn, John II acted as a witness. When John died in 1475, he left his sons and his young widow extensive properties. At his request he was buried in the monastery church of Doubravník. His widow remarried in 1480 with Marquart of Lomnitz and after Marquart's death in 1482, with Berthold of Tworkau. A bible manuscript from the year 1471 in the National Library in Prague is richly decorated with illuminations and contains the coat of arms of John of Pernstein, suggesting that it was commissioned by him. It is therefore referred to as the "Pernstein Bible".
Marriage and issue
John of Pernstein was married three times. His first marriage was with Barbara of Waldstein. They had two children:
