Wilbrand von Kevernburg (also known as Wulbrand or Hildebrand; c. 1180 – 5 April 1253) was the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

between 1235 and 1253.

Life

Wilbrand was the son of Prince Günter II of Schwarzburg-Käfernburg, by his father's second marriage which was to the Princess Adelheid of Loccum-Hallermund. In August 1209 Wilbrad was appointed Provost at the church of St Nicholas, Magdeburg, where he was appointed Domherr. In 1212 he moved to Bibra where he was appointed provost Provost, and between 1212 and 1226 he was active as

Papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

and Chamberlain. Through the intervention of his half brother, Archbishop Albert of Käfernburg, he was appointed cathedral provost in

in 1225. When Albert died in October 1232 the Cathedral Chapter elected Burkhard I of Woldenberg as the new archbishop, event though Wilbrand had been expected to take over the position. Less than four years later, on 31 May 1235, Burchard also died, and Wilbrand von Kevernburg was elected to the position of archbishop, although his appointment was not confirmed till November or December 1235. Wilbrand cultivated good relations with the emperor. This meant that relations with

the pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, especially after 1239 which was the year in which Pope Gregory excommunicated Emperor Frederick, were dreadful. Wilbrand's loyalty to the emperor provoked several threats of excommunication from a later pope,

Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

, who took over in 1241. The wider context in the Magdeburg area was a decline in the authority of the emperor whose focus during these years was on his territories in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. This opened the way for a corresponding growth in the independence and expansionist appetites of local German rulers. As archbishop, Wilbrand found himself in conflict with the territorial ambitions of the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

lords

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and his brother

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

, who were jointly the Margraves of Brandenburg, because he transferred the towns of

Köpenick Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopt ...

and

Mittenwalde Mittenwalde () is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 30 km southeast of Berlin (centre). On May 28, 1562, the town of Mittenwalde lent Berlin 400 guilders, a debt which has never been repaid, thou ...

from

Henry III, Margrave of Meissen Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious (''Heinrich der Erlauchte'') (c. 1215 – 15 February 1288) from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia (as Henry IV) from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrave ...

. The later outcome of the mid-century wars was the incorporation of these territories into Brandenburg, but Wilbrand was able to win

Lebus Lebus ( pl, Lubusz) is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of '' Amt'' ("collective municipality") Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border wi ...

for the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. In 1253 he acquired land for St Peter's Church in Olvenstedt (today a suburb on the western fringe of

Life

References

Further reading