The marsh and geest land between the Eider and the Elbe estuary, round its mother church at Meldorf.
The Dithmarschers killed Count Rudolf II of Stade in 1144, after which the land came to the archbishopric of Bremen. Henry the Lion and Adolf III both claimed it; before 1187 Hartwig got Adolf to give up his claim for regular dues, and in 1187 and 1188 Hartwig and Count Moritz of Oldenburg invaded the land, where the peasants promised dues and then mocked him once his troops had gone. Bishop Valdemar, steward of the duchy of Schleswig, backed the Dithmarschers and won their support for his bid for Bremen in 1192 (en.wikipedia Hartwig of Uthlede).
The ADB says Adolf could not hold the land against Bremen's claim and the farmers' resistance to any prince. The land governs itself; its link to the archbishop runs through an overbode and the leading men of the land. The Danes take it in 1200-01 (NDB).
Who holds it
- Name
- no single holder; the archbishop's overbode (the Wollersen family per de.wikipedia, date not pinned)
- Title
- the land-folk of Dithmarschen (parishes and kin groups)
- Confidence
- low
Overlord
the archbishop of Bremen (lordship since 1145); claimed by Adolf III of Holstein
How things stand that morning
Self-governing under Bremen's nominal lordship, owing dues it pays when forced; hostile to Adolf III; it looked to the Danish side in the 1180s and 1190s, and goes over to the Danes in 1200-01.
Threats
- Adolf III of Holstein
- the archbishop collecting his dues by force
- the Danes, whose protection may turn into rule
Law and courts
Their own land law and assemblies of the parishes and kin groups; the later league of self-governing parishes is 14th century and must not be read back.
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.
- 1200-1201The Danes take Dithmarschen (NDB).Depends on: the land's choice of Danish protection against Adolf, and Danish strength after Rendsburg Stopped by: Bremen and Holstein together holding it
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: General statements in de.wikipedia and the ADB; nothing dated to the winter of 1199-1200.
On the map: Rough outline of the land as it stood before the great medieval floods reshaped the coast.
Primary sources for Bremen
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 Stade, by Albert of Stade, Albert of Stade (about 1240 to 1256). A world chronicle written at Stade in the 1240s from older Stade and Bremen annals. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- Charter books of Lübeck and of Hamburg (documents to 1226 (Lübeck vol. 1) and to 1300 (Hamburg vol. 1)). The charters of the two north German towns and of the archbishops of Bremen and Hamburg. Read online
- Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (de): Dithmarschen
- Wikipedia: Hartwig of Uthlede
- NDB (Maybaum 1953) and ADB (Jansen 1875): Adolf III., Graf von Holstein
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.