Brunswick is the Welf capital: Henry the Lion's palace of Dankwarderode with its bronze lion (about 1166) and the collegiate church of St Blasius, begun in 1173 and nearly finished at his death in 1195.
Round the castle lie separate settlements, each with its own church and law, that will become the five quarters of the town: the merchants' Altstadt west of the Oker, the Hagen founded by Henry the Lion for new settlers, the Neustadt, the old village of the Altewiek round St Magnus, and the Sack by the castle. They are not yet walled as one town: after the Staufen attack of 1200 one wall with twelve gates was built round all five.
Who holds it
- Name
- The Welfs: Otto IV (lordship exercised from 1199), with Henry the count palatine commanding there
- Title
- Town lord
- Since
- Welf town since the Brunonen and Süpplingenburg inheritance
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia (Otto IV., Geschichte der Stadt Braunschweig); Residenzen-Kommission (Otto IV.); ADB on Philip.
Lord in 1200
Otto IV as lord of the town, through the Welf officers of Dankwarderode (the advocate's name not pinned); Henry the count palatine is the commander who holds Brunswick in 1200.
How things stand that morning
Held by the Welfs for Otto. On 1 January 1200 Philip's court is at Magdeburg, a day or two's ride east.
Charter
Otto IV's toll privilege for the burghers (1199), the oldest surviving charter of the town. The Hagen's own law (the 'rights of the Hagen') is traced to Henry the Lion; the text survives only in a later Welf confirmation (date not pinned).
Council
Each quarter later had its own council and town hall; councils in 1200 are not attested.
Communities
Flemish and other settlers in the Hagen (tradition); merchants of the Altstadt. A Jewish community is not attested for 1200.
Fairs and markets
Weekly markets in the Altstadt and the Hagen; no fair pinned for 1200.
Militia
The burghers helped defend the town on 21 August 1200 under Henry the count palatine, when Philip's attack 'failed completely' (ADB). No figures.
Walls and castle
Dankwarderode (the Welf palace), the Altstadt's defences; one wall round all five quarters only after 1200.
Trade and crafts
A crossing of the Oker on the road from Westphalia to Magdeburg and the Elbe; cloth trade and crafts; the Welf court as a market.
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.
- 21 August 1200Philip's great attack on Brunswick fails; Henry the count palatine defends it. The five quarters are then walled.Depends on: Philip's campaign. Stopped by: A truce.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The palace, church, 1199 privilege and 1200 attack are attested; the quarters' founding dates and councils are not pinned.
Primary sources for Welf
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 Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- 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 Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. 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
18 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Geschichte der Stadt Braunschweig, de.wikipedia
- Otto IV. (HRR), de.wikipedia
- Höfe und Residenzen: Otto IV.
- Otto IV.: NDB (B. U. Hucker, 1999) and ADB (1887), via Deutsche Biographie
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.