A frontier see restored only in the mid-12th century.
The bishop has half the cathedral island at Brandenburg, residences at Pritzerbe and Ziesar, and a modest endowment. The Askanian margraves, whose family lands the archbishop of Magdeburg now overlords, are the real power around him.
Who holds it
- Name
- Norbert
- Title
- Bishop of Brandenburg
- Since
- 1192-1193 (consecrated by Ludolf of Magdeburg in 1193)
- Confidence
- medium
Consecrated by Archbishop Ludolf in 1193 (NDB on Ludolf). His chapter is Premonstratensian. He holds office until 1205. Nothing more is pinned in the sources consulted.
What it holds
- Brandenburg: the cathedral island (Dominsel) and its Premonstratensian chapter; the bishop resides at Brandenburg from 1165
- Pritzerbe and Ziesar: residences between which the bishops alternated before settling at Ziesar in the 14th century (their lordship status in 1200 is thin)
- A small endowment: Otto I founded the see on 1 October 948 with little land
How it was acquired
Founded 948; dissolved in practice by the Slav rising of 983; bishops returned east of the Elbe after 1138, first at Leitzkau, from 1165 at Brandenburg.
How things stand that morning
Quiet and weak; the margrave dominates the land around the bishop's island.
Wealth
Small: tithes and estates.
Threats
- Margravial encroachment
Advocates and rivals
The Askanian margraves of Brandenburg (Otto II), who have their own claims over church land in the Mark; Magdeburg as metropolitan.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Few online sources describe the bishop's temporal holdings in 1200; drawn minimally.
On the map: Minimal drawing; the later Stift lands around Ziesar are not pinned for 1200.
Primary sources for Brandenburg (Otto II)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Pegau; Annals of Magdeburg (12th and 13th centuries; Pegau continued to 1227). The annals of the Wettin lands and of Magdeburg. Read online
- Chronicle of the Lauterberg (Petersberg near Halle), Konrad of Lauterberg (about 1225). The house chronicle of the Wettin foundation on the Lauterberg, sharp-tongued and well informed on Saxony, Meissen and Magdeburg. Read online
- Deeds of the archbishops of Magdeburg (main text to 1142, continued in the 13th and 14th centuries). The Magdeburg house history, with a continuation covering Archbishop Ludolf of Kroppenstedt (1192 to 1205), a firm supporter of Philip who hosted the king's Christmas court at Magdeburg on 25 December 1199. Read online
- Pomeranian charter book, volume 1, 786 to 1253 (documents of 786 to 1253, edited 1868). All known charters for Pomerania and Rügen to 1253. Read online
Sources and studies
- Hochstift Brandenburg (de.wikipedia)
- Ludolf, Erzbischof von Magdeburg (NDB, deutsche-biographie.de)
- Brandenburg, Mgft., Mgf.en von (Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.