The head of the march: a castle rock above the Elbe founded by King Henry I in 929, crowned by three powers side by side: the margrave's castle, the king's burgrave's castle (Burgrave Meinher I since 1199) and the cathedral of Bishop Dietrich II of Kittlitz.
Below lies a market settlement at the Elbe crossing.
Who holds it
- Name
- Margrave Dietrich of Meissen (the bishop and the burgrave also hold on the castle hill)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Since
- 1198
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The margrave; the bishop holds the cathedral precinct and the burgrave his own castle and court.
How things stand that morning
Quiet; the margrave's residence.
Charter
None known for 1200.
Council
None yet.
Communities
Clergy of the cathedral; merchants and craftsmen below the hill; Sorb villages around. Queen Adelaide of Bohemia, repudiated by Ottokar in 1199, lives in Meissen under her brother's protection with her children.
Walls and castle
Margrave's castle, burgrave's castle and the cathedral precinct on the castle hill.
Trade and crafts
Elbe crossing and river trade; the margrave's mint.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The castle hill's three lords are well attested; the town's institutions in 1200 are thin.
Primary sources for Meissen
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 Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. 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
- 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
- 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
- Charters and letters of the kingdom of Bohemia, volume 2, 1198 to 1230 (documents of 1198 to 1230, edited 1912). The critical edition of every Bohemian and Moravian charter and letter from Ottokar I's accession to 1230.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.