The bishop's seat of Östergötland (the diocese dates from about 1100 and is named in the Florence list: en.wikipedia), with a cathedral whose oldest parts are twelfth century.
Its name may come from the Lionga thing, by the medieval laws the most important thing in Östergötland, whose exact site is unknown but lay on the Eriksgata (en.wikipedia). The ending -köping marks a market. In 1164 Linköping was considered for the Swedish archbishopric before Uppsala was chosen. In 1200 it is a cathedral and market town, not a chartered town.
The bishop of Linköping's diocese also takes in Gotland and Öland.
Who holds it
- Name
- the bishop of Linköping (Church map)
- Title
- bishop of Linköping (Church map), with the Lionga thing nearby
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The bishop of Linköping holds the cathedral town (Church map); the Lionga thing, the chief assembly of Östergötland, meets nearby.
How things stand that morning
The church town of Östergötland under Sverker; the Sverker house's lands and the jarl's Bjälbo lie to the west.
Charter
None known for 1200.
Council
No council or town court is recorded for 1200; Swedish town law and councils belong to the thirteenth century.
Communities
The bishop and the cathedral clergy.
Fairs and markets
A market (köping); the Lionga thing.
Militia
None recorded.
Walls and castle
No walls; the cathedral.
Trade and crafts
The bishop's household and the market of the Östergötland plain.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The see and the thing are attested; the town's state in 1200 is inferred.
Primary sources for Sweden
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.
- The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
- Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
- The saga of King Sverre of Norway, Karl Jónsson and a continuator (begun about 1185 under Sverre's own supervision, completed about 1210 to 1220). The king's own authorised saga. Read online
- The sagas of the Baglers (about 1210 to 1220, in a shorter and a longer version). Begins with Sverre's death in March 1202 and the reigns of Hákon Sverrisson, Guttorm and Inge Bårdsson against the Bagler kings Erling Steinvegg and Philippus, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- The Danish diplomatarium: charters and letters concerning Denmark, with Danish translation (documents of 789 to 1448; the online edition is continuing). Twenty-seven documents are dated to 1200: Innocent III's letters of February and March 1200 to Philip Augustus and Queen Ingeborg and his order for the interdict on France, Otto IV's letter to the pope expecting King Knud VI to move into Saxony, the reports of the legate Octavian and the French bishops on the lifting of the interdict in September, the pope's letters to Knud VI asking him to send advocates for his sister, Knud VI's ordinance on manslaughter for Skåne of 28 December 1200, and private gifts to Roskilde and Næstved. Read online
- The Swedish diplomatarium and its main register, SDHK (documents of 817 to 1540). The register of every known Swedish medieval letter, with full texts for the early centuries. Read online
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.