Prince-archbishops · Archbishopric of Magdeburg · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Magdeburg

The archbishop of Magdeburg is the strongest churchman of eastern Saxony and Philip's chief elector there.

He is lord of the Elbe city of Magdeburg, of the lands around it on both banks, of Halle and its salt springs, of the colonised Land Jüterbog in the Fläming, and of Haldensleben, taken from Henry the Lion in 1181. Since 1196 he is also feudal overlord of the Brandenburg margraves' own family lands. His wealth is salt, Elbe trade and Flemish cloth, and his danger is the Welf brothers to the west.

Who holds it

Name
Ludolf (of Kroppenstedt)
Title
Archbishop of Magdeburg
Since
1192
Confidence
high

Born about 1125 at Kroppenstedt near Aschersleben, possibly of a peasant family, so a self-made churchman rather than a noble. Schooled at Halberstadt and Magdeburg, then about twenty years in Paris, where he knew Thomas Becket. Canon of Magdeburg by 1168, provost of St Wipert at Nienburg 1179-1187, cathedral dean from 26 December 1184 under Archbishop Wichmann, whom he succeeded in 1192. He consecrated Norbert as bishop of Brandenburg in 1193.

In November 1196 he took the Brandenburg margraves' allodial lands into the Magdeburg church's overlordship (see holds). At Mühlhausen on 8 March 1198 he gave the first vote for Philip of Swabia and he is one of the leaders of the Staufen party in Saxony. On 1 January 1200 he is not yet under the ban: the legate Guido excommunicated him twice only after Innocent III declared for Otto (1201). He is old, about 75. Dies 16 or 17 August 1205.

What it holds

  • Magdeburg: the archbishop's city, with the cathedral, the market and the Elbe crossing; the burgrave is Gebhard IV of Querfurt (1190-1209), brother of Conrad of Querfurt
  • The lands around the city on both banks of the Elbe: Calbe, Wolmirstedt and the Börde west of the river; Burg, Loburg and Gommern east of it, where Wichmann and Albert the Bear settled Flemish and Dutch colonists
  • Möckern, Hundisburg, Bornstedt, Langenbogen, Schollene and Schraplau: castles and lordships acquired under Ludolf himself (the NDB lists them; the year of each purchase within 1192-1205 is not pinned)
  • Haldensleben and Sommerschenburg: Henry the Lion's fortress town of Haldensleben fell to Wichmann after a three-month siege in May 1181 and was annexed with Sommerschenburg
  • Halle and Giebichenstein: the salt town and its castle, the archbishop's since the gift of the civitas Giebichenstein in 961 and the foundation of 968; he names the Schultheiss and the salt count (Salzgraf), under the burgrave
  • The Land Jüterbog: conquered by Wichmann in 1157, settled with Flemings (hence the Fläming), town law 1174; about 1174 it reached Kloster Zinna, Luckenwalde and Trebbin and north to the Seddiner See
  • Kloster Zinna: Cistercian house founded by Wichmann in 1170 in the Land Jüterbog
  • Jerichow on the east bank: Premonstratensian house founded in 1144 from the Stade counts' estates; the archbishop's hold on the Jerichow land in 1200 is not pinned
  • Taucha near Leipzig: an outlying castle district of the church (attribution for 1200 fair, not checked in a primary source)
  • Feudal overlordship (not direct rule) of the Askanian margraves' allodial lands in the Altmark and the Middle Mark, conveyed by Otto II with his brother Albert's consent in November 1196; the archbishop was to return the castles and towns as hereditary fiefs after eighteen months
  • Metropolitan rights over Brandenburg, Havelberg, Meissen, Merseburg and Naumburg

How it was acquired

Endowed by Otto I at the foundation of 968 with land, royal revenues and rights; Halle and Giebichenstein from 961-968. The Slav rising of 983 confined it west of the Elbe. Wichmann (1152-1192) made it a territory: Jüterbog conquered in 1157 with Albert the Bear, Haldensleben and Sommerschenburg taken from Henry the Lion in 1181, colonists settled east of the Elbe. Ludolf added Möckern, Hundisburg, Bornstedt, Langenbogen, Schollene and Schraplau, and in 1196 the overlordship of the Askanian allods.

How things stand that morning

Ludolf holds his city and lands firmly and is Philip's man; he hosted Philip's Christmas court of 1199 at Magdeburg (campaign notes). The 1196 overlordship of the Brandenburg allods is a paper superiority that Otto II accepts but does not love. No papal censure yet.

Wealth

Salt of Halle, the richest single asset; Magdeburg's Elbe trade, staple and tolls; Flemish cloth-making at Burg (a cloth hall at Magdeburg by 1224); market dues at Jüterbog and Halle; the archbishop's mint at Magdeburg.

Threats

  • The Welf brothers in Brunswick, who regard Haldensleben as stolen and are Otto IV's base
  • Innocent III's coming declaration for Otto (1201), which will put Ludolf under the ban
  • The Brandenburg margraves chafing at the 1196 overlordship
  • The Halle salters slipping out of the archbishop's control

Advocates and rivals

The burgraves of Magdeburg are the Querfurts: Gebhard IV holds the office 1190-1209, and his brother is Conrad of Querfurt of Würzburg. The Askanian margraves of Brandenburg (Otto II, with his half-brother Albert, whom he had held captive since 1195) resent the 1196 fief arrangement and compete east of the Elbe. The Welf brothers, Otto IV and Henry the Count Palatine, hold Brunswick and want Haldensleben back. In Halle the salt-pan owners (Pfänner) are becoming an independent force from the late 12th century.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. During 1200 (not pinned)Ludolf gives the Teutonic Order a hospital site in Halle, one of the order's first footholds in Germany.Depends on: Ludolf's goodwill to the new order. Stopped by: Nothing likely.
  2. During 1200 (not pinned)Ludolf founds the house of canons of St Peter and Paul in the Sudenburg outside Magdeburg (the NDB dates the foundation 1203).Depends on: Ludolf's resources. Stopped by: Nothing likely.

Places of note

  • Magdeburg cathedral: Metropolitan church; the cathedral of 1209 is not yet begun
  • Giebichenstein: Archiepiscopal castle over the Saale guarding Halle and its salt
  • Kloster Zinna: Cistercian abbey founded by Wichmann in 1170
  • Haldensleben: Henry the Lion's former fortress town, taken in 1181

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder, career and allegiance are well attested (NDB, Wikipedia). The extent of direct lordship in 1200 is reconstructed from Wichmann's conquests, Ludolf's acquisitions and the later core; the exact limits, and the status of Jerichow and Taucha that morning, are not pinned.

On the map: Drawn as town territories around the archiepiscopal castles and towns; the true block around Magdeburg was riddled with vassal and ministerial lordships, and the edges are approximate. The 1196 overlordship over the Brandenburg allods is not drawn, because it gave superiority, not rule. Bornstedt is left off the map because which Bornstedt is meant is not pinned.

Primary sources for Magdeburg

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Ludolf von Kroppenstedt (de.wikipedia)
  2. Ludolf, Erzbischof von Magdeburg (NDB, deutsche-biographie.de)
  3. Wichmann von Seeburg (de.wikipedia)
  4. Archbishopric of Magdeburg (en.wikipedia)
  5. Burggrafschaft Magdeburg (de.wikipedia)
  6. Jüterbog (de.wikipedia)
  7. Halle (Saale) (de.wikipedia)
  8. Burg (bei Magdeburg) (de.wikipedia)
  9. Jerichow (de.wikipedia)
  10. Albrecht II., Markgraf von Brandenburg (NDB, deutsche-biographie.de)
  11. Brandenburg, Mgft., Mgf.en von (Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich)
  12. Magdeburg, Ebf.e von (Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich)
  13. Halle an der Saale (Residenzstädte, Handbuch)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.