The metropolis of the middle Elbe and the host of Philip's Christmas court of 1199, where the king wore his crown in procession with his wife and Walther von der Vogelweide sang of it.
Archbishop Wichmann gave the town its privilege in 1188, the core of the Magdeburg law that towns further east were already taking as their model. The roads east to Brandenburg and north to Lüneburg start here.
Who holds it
- Name
- The archbishop of Magdeburg (Ludolf)
- Title
- Town lord
- Since
- archiepiscopal city
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia (Geschichte der Stadt Magdeburg); Residenzen-Kommission (Philipp).
Lord in 1200
The archbishop; the burgrave (Gebhard IV of Querfurt) holds the high court; the archbishop's Schultheiss holds the lower court (the townsmen buy both offices only in 1294).
How things stand that morning
Philip and the Saxon princes are in the town for the Christmas court on 1 January 1200. Staufen.
Charter
Archbishop Wichmann's privilege of 1188 (Magdeburg law).
Council
Not pinned for 1200; the Schöffen (lay judges) of the burgrave's and Schultheiss's courts are the townsmen's institution.
Communities
Jews since the 10th century, with their own settlement (the Judendorf); merchants; the cathedral clergy and the Premonstratensians.
Fairs and markets
Market and trade town since the 10th century; no fair pinned for 1200.
Walls and castle
Walls round the cathedral town (detail in 1200 not pinned); the Sudenburg and Neustadt suburbs.
Trade and crafts
Elbe trade, the roads east to Brandenburg and north to Lüneburg, grain from the Börde, salt from Halle and Gross Salze.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: 1188 privilege and the court are attested; councils and walls in 1200 not.
Primary sources for Magdeburg
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 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.