Burgrave of Brandenburg

The Burgraves of Brandenburg were noble officials in the Mark Brandenburg in the 12th and 13th centuries.

history

Little historical information has survived about the history of the burgraves of Brandenburg and their exact position in the castle and margraviate of Brandenburg.

In 1157 Albrecht the Bear finally conquered Brandenburg Castle . Baderich von Jabilinze and Dornburg was probably also involved in this. In 1160 he was first referred to as the burgrave. The reasons for this are unclear . In the following years he appeared as a witness, especially in documents from the Margraves of Brandenburg and other exhibitors in the area. Own certificates have not been received. The same is known for his son Siegfried .

The grandson Burgrave Baderich II , however, never appeared again in the presence of a Brandenburg margrave. This indicates a falling out between the two. Rather, he leaned more closely to Duke Albrecht of Saxony , whom he probably accompanied on a trip to the Holy Land around 1218/20, and from whom he had the county of Belzig as a fief. Baderich has his own ministerial and a bailiff in Belzig.

In 1236 Baderich was last named Burgrave of Brandenburg. It can be assumed that in the context of the settlement of the tithing dispute between the margrave and the bishop, a settlement was made to abolish this office.

Legal Status

In research it is still not entirely clear who installed the burgraves and what legal position they had in the city and in the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

The castle in Brandenburg had been an imperial castle since 921, it was directly under the king. In 1157, one half should theoretically have remained under its control, the other half under that of the Diocese of Brandenburg. The burgrave would then have to have been installed by the king around 1150 or 1157, regardless of the new margrave.

However, there is absolutely no evidence of a German king's influence in Brandenburg during this time, the first burgrave Baderich was never mentioned in the vicinity or a document of such, nor was his successor. Instead, his father Gottschalk, like himself, had mostly appeared among the Ascanians , sometimes as a lieutenant. This means that the possibility must be taken into account that Baderich had been installed by Margrave Albrecht, who had previously received the royal half of the castle from the king. The same thing happened in 1147 with the royal half of Havelberg Castle . And the burgraves in Arneburg in the Altmark had become margravial vassals.

The extent to which Baderich and his successors acted independently of the Margrave can no longer be determined; no corresponding documents have been received. Nevertheless, they must have exercised jurisdiction and the king's ban, at least in the old town of Brandenburg , but no information about this has been received. They do not know of their own territories in the area east of the Elbe.

In 1179, Margrave Otto I called Brandenburg Castle our castle ( urbs nostra ), and the Tractatus de Urbe Brandenburg , which was created during this period, also claimed ownership and right of disposal of the margraves over the castle. It is unclear to what extent these claims were justified. The activities of the margraves in the castle are not recorded until the early 13th century. By 1231 at the latest, the rights were then probably transferred to them by the king.

Burgraves

Baderich von Jabilinze , mentioned as burgrave 1160–1179
Siegfried von Belzig , mentioned as burgrave 1186–1204
Baderich von Belzig , mentioned as burgrave 1211–1236

literature

Johannes Schultze: Die Mark und das Reich , in: Ders .: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. Selected essays. (= Publications of the Historical Commission in Berlin. Volume 13) Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1964. pp. 70–103, here pp. 89f. , with the presumption of an installation by the king without reliable evidence

Lutz Partenheimer : Burgraves of Brandenburg, Lords of Jabilinze, Lords and Counts of Belzig. In: Brandenburg an der Havel. Lexicon on city history. Brandenburg ad Havel, 2009. p. 65 (short)
Leopold von Ledebur : The Counts of Valkenstein am Harz and their ancestors. Berlin 1842 pp. 111-115.

Web links

Count of Belzig

Remarks

↑ Johannes Schultze : Die Mark und das Reich , in: Ders .: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. Selected essays. (= Publications of the Historical Commission in Berlin. Volume 13) Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1964. pp. 70–103, here pp. 89f. , derived this from Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis , Vol. VIII, p. 115 f. as well as other historians
↑ Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus I, No. 457, p. 334; Krabbo, Winter, Regesten, No. 307
^ So Johannes Schultze: Die Mark und das Reich , in: Ders .: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. Selected essays. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1964. pp. 70-103, especially p. 89 , also in: Die Mark Brandenburg . Volume 1. Berlin 1961. p. 77. He was last followed by Christina Meckelnborg : Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg. The oldest evidence of Brandenburg history. Text analysis and edition. (= Writings of the State Historical Association for the Mark Brandenburg, New Series Vol. 7). Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2015. ISBN 978-3-86732-215-7 . P.55 ;
↑ While the Burgraves of Meissen had their own extensive territory east of the Saale .

[1] Johannes Schultze : Die Mark und das Reich , in: Ders .: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. Selected essays. (= Publications of the Historical Commission in Berlin. Volume 13) Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1964. pp. 70–103, here pp. 89f. , derived this from Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis , Vol. VIII, p. 115 f. as well as other historians

[2] Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus I, No. 457, p. 334; Krabbo, Winter, Regesten, No. 307

[3] So Johannes Schultze: Die Mark und das Reich , in: Ders .: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. Selected essays. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1964. pp. 70-103, especially p. 89 , also in: Die Mark Brandenburg . Volume 1. Berlin 1961. p. 77. He was last followed by Christina Meckelnborg : Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg. The oldest evidence of Brandenburg history. Text analysis and edition. (= Writings of the State Historical Association for the Mark Brandenburg, New Series Vol. 7). Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2015. ISBN 978-3-86732-215-7 . P.55 ;

[4] While the Burgraves of Meissen had their own extensive territory east of the Saale .