Old marsh-dwellers and 12th-century colonists from Rüstringen and Holland on the left bank of the lower Weser between the Ochtum and the Hunte, settled under the archbishops (colonisation charters of 1142 and 1149).
By the end of the 12th century they had a common identity, had let their dues and tithes lapse under weak archbishops, and in 1187 destroyed the Oldenburg counts' castles of Lichtenberg and Linen. Hartwig II's attempt to subdue them in 1207 will fail.
Who holds it
- Name
- no single holder
- Title
- the Stedinger communities
- Confidence
- low
Overlord
the archbishop of Bremen (grant of 1062); the counts of Oldenburg as rival neighbours
How things stand that morning
De facto self-governing and withholding dues; quiet on 1 January 1200.
Threats
- the archbishop reclaiming dues and tithes
- the counts of Oldenburg
Law and courts
Settlement and court communities under the colonisation charters; their own judges (details for 1200 not pinned).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia Stedinger from the colonisation charters and the chronicles.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.