The Elbe valley between the mouths of the Mulde and the Schwarze Elster, the old Slav district of Nizizi, is Ascanian ground and part of Duke Bernhard's inheritance from Albert the Bear; the Rhineland map draws his counties further west (Ascanian counties) and this record continues them east.
At Wittenberg a castle district (Burgward) with a church is named about 1187, and a Count Thiedrich 'of Wittburc', apparently a castle warden, in 1174. The place is a castle with a settlement, not a town (town rights 1293); the dukes' residence there and their mint are later. Bernhard also holds Gommern, a castle place east of the Elbe that came to Albert the Bear in the 12th century and so lies as a Saxon enclave between the archbishop's and the margrave's lands.
Who he is
- Name
- Bernhard
- Title
- Duke of Saxony
- Since
- 1180
- Born
- 1140
- Family
- Youngest son of Albert the Bear; uncle of Otto II of Brandenburg. His son Albert (later Albert I, duke of Saxony, born about 1175) will inherit Wittenberg and the ducal title in 1212. See the Rhineland map's Saxony (Bernhard).
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Lutherstadt Wittenberg; Gommern); the realm record Saxony (Bernhard).
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Wittenberg castle district (Burgward about 1187) with Pratau and the Elbe crossing
- The Elbe valley from Coswig and Wörlitz to Kemberg and the Schwarze Elster mouth (the Nizizi district): Ascanian, details not pinned
- Gommern east of the Elbe, an Ascanian enclave since Albert the Bear (church named 1192)
How it was acquired
Inherited from Albert the Bear (died 1170).
Allies and rivals
His nephew Otto II; Archbishop Ludolf; the Wettins of Meissen and Lusatia upstream (Torgau and the Elbe south of Wittenberg's land: the wet sheet).
How things stand that morning
Bernhard's land; he bore Philip's sword at the Magdeburg Christmas court of 1199 and backs Philip. His officers here that winter are not pinned.
Wealth
The Elbe crossing and toll at Wittenberg; rents of the Elbe meadows.
Military
Wittenberg castle; Gommern. No figures.
Threats
- Wettin pressure from upstream
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.
- During 1200Bernhard stays with Philip.Depends on: Philip's position in Saxony. Stopped by: A Welf victory in Saxony.
Places of note
- Wittenberg castle: Burgward about 1187.
- Gommern: Ascanian enclave east of the Elbe.
Where the sources disagree
- The Rhineland map's Magdeburg lists Gommern among the archbishop's Elbe lands; de.wikipedia (Gommern) says Gommern came under Albert the Bear in the 12th century and so to the duchy of Saxony, an enclave in the Magdeburg-Brandenburg sphere, pledged to Magdeburg only in 1283-1308. Drawn here as Saxon.
Evidence: Wittenberg is barely documented before 1200; the Ascanian lordship is inferred from the inheritance.
On the map: The Wittenberg block follows the old Nizizi district along the Elbe; its northern edge towards Zerbst and the Fläming is rough.
Primary sources for Saxony (Bernhard)
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 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
4 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.