Merseburg

Who holds it

Name

Eberhard (of Seeburg)

Title

Bishop of Merseburg

Since

1171

Confidence

high

A count of Seeburg, the comital name also borne by the late Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg (the exact kinship is not checked). Bishop since 1171; dies in 1201, when Dietrich of Meissen succeeds (1201-1215). His side in the throne dispute is not pinned; as a suffragan of Magdeburg he is likely in Ludolf's Staufen camp.

What it holds

• Merseburg: the cathedral town on the Saale
• Schkeuditz: castle district towards Leipzig (one of the later four episcopal districts; its status in 1200 is thin)
• Lützen and Lauchstädt formed the later districts with Merseburg and Schkeuditz; not pinned for 1200 and not drawn

How it was acquired

Founded by Otto I in 968, dissolved in 981, restored by Henry II in 1004 with a reduced endowment.

How things stand that morning

Eberhard is old and the see is quiet.

Wealth

Small: Saale crossing and town market, estate revenues.

Threats

• Wettin pressure
• A vacancy at Eberhard's death in 1201

Advocates and rivals

The Wettin margraves of Meissen; their formal claim to the advocacy is attested only from 1354, but their influence was felt long before. Magdeburg as metropolitan.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder is firm (bishops' list). The holdings come from the later medieval structure of the see; what exactly the bishop held in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: The bishop's 1200 holdings are reconstructed from the later districts; only Merseburg and Schkeuditz are drawn.

Primary sources for Meissen

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 Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
• 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
• Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
• Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. 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
• Charters and letters of the kingdom of Bohemia, volume 2, 1198 to 1230 (documents of 1198 to 1230, edited 1912). The critical edition of every Bohemian and Moravian charter and letter from Ottokar I's accession to 1230.