The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
. It originally was a
frontier march
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, created out of the vast ''
Marca Geronis
The ''Marca Geronis'' or March of Gero was a vast marches, super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was probably created for Thietmar, Margrave of Merseburg, Thietmar in the 920s and passed consecutively to his two sons, Siegfried, Margra ...
'' (
Saxon Eastern March
The Saxon Eastern March () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term ''marchia Orientalis'' and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern fr ...
) in 965. Under the rule of the
Wettin dynasty
The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest ...
, the margravate finally merged with the former
Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg
The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...
into the
Saxon Electorate by 1423.
Predecessors
In the mid 9th century, the area of the later margravate was part of an eastern frontier zone of the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
called
Sorbian March
The Sorbian March (, , , ) was a frontier district on the eastern border of East Francia in the 9th through 11th centuries. It was composed of several counties bordering the Sorbs. The Sorbian March seems to have comprised the eastern part of Th ...
(''Limes Sorabicus''), after
Sorbian tribes of
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs
and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...
settling beyond the
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...
river. In 849, a margrave named
Thachulf was documented in the ''
Annales Fuldenses
The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Fran ...
''. His title is rendered as ''dux Sorabici limitis'', "duke of the Sorbian frontier", but he and his
East Frankish
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
successors were commonly known as ''duces Thuringorum'', "dukes of the Thuringians", as they set about establishing their power over the older
Duchy of Thuringia
The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogas ...
in the west.
The Sorbian march had already lost its importance around 900 AD; the last known margrave
Poppo was deposed by King
Arnulf
Arnulf is a masculine German given name.
It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf".
The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...
in 892 and replaced with
Conrad
Conrad may refer to:
People
* Conrad (name)
* Saint Conrad (disambiguation)
Places
United States
* Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Conrad, Iowa, a city
* Conrad, Montana, a city
* Conrad Glacier, Washington
Elsewher ...
who continued to appear as a "Duke of Thuringia". Conrad himself was replaced by
Burchard, whose title in 903 was ''marchio Thuringionum'', "margrave of the Thuringians".
Due to scarce sources, the geographical extent of the Frankish march east of the Saale is a matter of ongoing debate among historians; it may have reached up to the settlement area of the Slavic
Glomacze
The Glomacze or Daleminzi ( or ''Gołomacze'', ), were a West Slavic tribe of Polabian Slavs inhabiting areas in the middle Elbe (''Łaba'') valley. According to early 11th century chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg, they were called as Daleminzi by ...
(''Talaminzi'') tribes beyond the
Mulde
The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long.
The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (wit ...
river, identified as eastern neighbours of the Sorbs by the
Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" () is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central and Eastern Europe, headed .
The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its ...
about 850. These territories were under constant attacks by the East Frankish rulers; in 908 they were first campaigned by the
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
prince
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
, son of Duke
Otto the Illustrious
Otto ( – 30 November 912), called the Illustrious () by later authors, was a notable member of the Ottonian dynasty and Duke of Saxony from 880 until his death in 912. He played an important role in early medieval history of Germany during the ...
. By 928/29, the main Glomacze fortress on the
Jahna
The Jahna is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, which it joins in Riesa.
See also
*List of rivers of Saxony
A list of rivers of Saxony, Germany:
A
* Alte Luppe
B
* Bahra
* Bahre
* Batschke
* Bauerngraben
* Bie ...
river was destroyed and their lands up to the
Dresden Basin
The Dresden BasinDickinson (1964). pp. 624-625. ( or ''Dresdner Elbtalweitung'') is a roughly 45 km long and 10 km wide area of the Elbe Valley between the towns of Pirna and Meißen.Elkins (1972), pp. 293-4. The city of Dresden lies in ...
incorporated into the ''Marca Geronis''.
Founding

In 928 and 929, during the final campaign against the Glomacze tribes, Henry the Fowler,
East Frankish king since 919, chose a rock above the confluence of the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
and
Triebisch rivers to erect a new fortress, called Misni (
Meissen
Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
) Castle after the nearby Meisa stream. The fortifications were renamed
Albrechtsburg
The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral.
History
...
in the 15th century.
A town soon developed around the castle. King Henry, however, made no attempts to
Germanise the Slavs or to create a chain of
burgward
A burgward or castellanyArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 165. . was a form of settlement used for the organisation of the Marca Geronis, northeastern ma ...
s around his fortress. Sat alone, like
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
, with few defenses or towns around it; Meissen probably was temporarily occupied by
Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers.
* Bohemian style, a ...
forces from 936 onwards. The town beneath the fortress grew, however, eventually becoming one of the most important cities in the vast ''Marca Geronis'', covering the Slavic lands east of the Saxon
stem duchy
A stem duchy (, from '':wikt:Stamm, Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Baiuvarii, Bavarians and Alemanni, Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dyna ...
. King Henry, and later on his son and successor
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
, continued the Slavic campaigns into the lands of the Polabian
Milceni
The Milceni or Milzeni (; ; ) were a West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were gradually conquered by Germans during the 10th century. They were part of Sorbian tribes. Modern descendants of the Milceni are ...
tribes around
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...
(''Budissin''), with their gained territory being gradually incorporated into the Saxon Eastern March.
When the ''Marca Geronis'' was divided in 965 upon the death of Margrave
Gero
Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...
, Meissen became the center of a new march with the goal of controlling the local Slavic population. The first Meissen margrave,
Wigbert
Wihtberht or Wigbert (May 7, 675 – August 13, 747) born in Wessex around 675, was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk and a missionary and disciple of Boniface who travelled with the latter in Frisia and northern and central Germany to convert the ...
, is mentioned in a 968 charter of the
Archdiocese of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
Planned since 955 and established in 967, the arch ...
. That same year, the Meissen fortress also became the
see of the newly created
Bishopric of Meissen. In 978, the Saxon count
Rikdag
Rikdag, also called Ricdag, Riddag, or Rihdag (died 985), was Margrave of Meissen from 979 until his death. In 982, he also acquired the marches of Merseburg and Zeitz. After the Great Slav Rising in 983, he temporarily reunited all of the southe ...
became the
Margrave of Meissen
This article lists the margraves of Margraviate of Meissen, Meissen, a March (territorial entity), march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire.
History
King Henry the Fowler, on his 928–29 campaign against the S ...
, and incorporated the marches of
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
and
Zeitz
Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony.
History
First a Slavic pagan settlem ...
into Meissen. By 982, the territory of the march had extended as far as the
Kwisa
The Kwisa (, , ) is a river in south-western Poland, a left tributary of the Bóbr, which itself is a left tributary of the Oder river.
It rises in the Jizera Mountains, part of the Western Sudetes range, where it runs along the border with t ...
river to the east and as far as the slopes of the
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...
to the south, where it shared a border with the
Přemyslid duchy of Bohemia.

In 983, following the defeat of Emperor
Otto II
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.
Otto II was ...
at the
Battle of Stilo
The Battle of Stilo (also known as Cape Colonna and Crotone) was fought on 13 or 14 July 982 near Crotone in Calabria between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and his Italo-Lombard allies and those of the Kalbid emir of Sicily, Ab ...
, the Slavic
Lutici
The Lutici or Liutizi (known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: t ...
tribes bordering eastern Saxony rebelled in the
Great Slav Rising
In the Slavic revolt of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Empero ...
. The newly established bishoprics of
Havelberg
Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...
and
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
as well as the
March of Zeitz
The March of Zeitz () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created by Emperor Otto I in the division of the ''marca Geronis'' in 965, following the death of Gero the Great. Its capital was Zeitz. Its first and only margrave was Wigger. In ...
were overrun by Lutici tribes. Margrave Rikdag joined forces with the Margraves of
Lusatia
Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...
and the
Northern March
The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...
, the
, and the Archbishop of Magdeburg and defeated the Slavs in the
gau of
Balsamgau The Balsamgau (or Belcsem, Balsami) was an early medieval Gau (shire) in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. It was centered on Stendal and located on the West bank of the River Elbe. Other towns in the Balsamgau include Arneburg, Döb ...
near
Stendal
The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region.
Geography
Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located ...
. Nevertheless, large territories of the Northern March were lost, and the German forces were pushed back west of the Elbe.
Margrave
Eckard I from Thuringia succeeded Rikdag as Margrave of Meissen in 985. His descendants of the Ekkeharding noble family would keep the margravial title until 1046. Upon his appointment, Eckard allied with Duke
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...
in order to reconquer Meissen Castle from Duke
Boleslaus II of Bohemia
Boleslaus II the Pious ( ; 932 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death in 999.
Life and reign
Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Boleslaus I the Cruel ...
whose forces occupied it the year before. When Eckard was assassinated in 1002, however, Mieszko's son, the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
king
Bolesław I Chrobry
Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to:
People
* Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name
Geography
* Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
* Bolesław, Olkusz Coun ...
, took the occasion to conquer the margravial lands east of the Elbe and demanded the surrender of Meissen. The following
German–Polish War ended with the 1018
Peace of Bautzen
The Peace of Bautzen (; ; ) was a treaty concluded on 30 January 1018, between Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (''Milzenerland'' or ...
, whereby Meissen had to cede the Milceni region (later
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...
) to Poland. In 1031 however, King
Conrad II of Germany
Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...
was able to reconquer the Milceni lands, which were returned to Meissen.
In 1046, Count
Otto of Weimar-Orlamünde became margrave, followed by
Egbert II of the
Brunonids
The Brunonids (or Brunonians, , , i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia (around Brunswick) and Frisia.
The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants of Brun, Duke of Saxony (d. ...
upon his death in 1067. Egbert II entered into a longstanding conflict with Emperor
Henry IV, because of which he had to renounce the Milceni lands to Duke
Vratislaus II of Bohemia
Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) () ( 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I of Bohemia, Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Ho ...
in 1076, and was finally deposed during the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...
in 1089.
Wettin rule
Emperor Henry IV then granted Meissen to Count
Henry of Eilenburg of the
Wettin dynasty. The margravate would remain under Wettin rule for the rest of its existence. Under
Wiprecht von Groitzsch
Wiprecht (or Wigbert) of Groitzsch (died 22 May 1124) was the Margrave of Meissen and the Saxon Ostmark from 1123 until his death. He was born to a noble family of the Altmark, the son of Wiprecht of Balsamgau and Sigena of Leinungen. After his ...
in the 1120s, Meissen underwent a process of Germanisation.
[Thompson, p. 481.] He was succeeded by
Conrad the Great
Conrad I ( – 5 February 1157), called the Great (), a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Meissen from 1123 and Margrave of Lusatia from 1136 until his retirement in 1156. Initially a Saxon count, he became the ruler over large Impe ...
(1123–56),
Otto the Rich (1156–91), and
Dietrich the Hard-Pressed (1191–1221), under whom the march would expand and develop. By then, Meissen had become a stronghold of the Wettin dynasty, suspiciously eyed by the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
emperors who nevertheless were not able to deprive the margraves of their power.
In 1264, during the
War of the Thuringian Succession
The War of the Thuringian Succession (German: ''Thüringisch-hessischer Erbfolgekrieg'') (1247–1264) was a military conflict over a successor to the last Landgrave of Thuringia for control of the state of Thuringia (now in modern-day Germany).
...
, Margrave
Henry III asserted himself in the
Landgraviate
Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...
of Thuringia, where his uncle
Henry Raspe
Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his conteste ...
had died childless. Between 1243 and 1255, Henry III had also acquired the intermediate
Pleisseland around
Altenburg
Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...
in pawn. In 1307, the attempt by the
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
king
Henry VII to once again subdue the Margraves of Meissen failed with his defeat at the
Battle of Lucka
The Battle of Lucka occurred on 31 May 1307 near the village of Lucka. The settlement was first mentioned in 1320, but had already existed for around 700 years before that. Lucka is located in the Altenburger Land district of Thuringia.
The ba ...
. By that time the margravate was ''de facto'' independent of any sovereign authority. In the following years, there would be joint rule of Meissen by multiple members of the Wettin dynasty at any given time. In 1382 and 1445, this even led to the division of the march, however it would reunite soon after each time. Meissen was often enlarged by marriage, purchase, or conquest, which is how it gained the rights to the
burgraviate
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgra ...
in 1426.
In 1423, Margrave
Frederick IV was assigned the heirless
Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg
The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...
, formerly held by the
House of Ascania
The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...
, by Emperor
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
in turn for his support against the
Hussites
upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century
upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...
. The Wettin rulers thereby entered into the Saxon
electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
...
, in which they ultimately merged their margravial lands abandoning Meissen's status as an independent principality; though they retained the margravial title. In the late 15th century, the dynasty held a large contiguous territory between the
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the to ...
and
Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
rivers. By the 1485
Treaty of Leipzig
The Treaty of Leipzig or Partition of Leipzig (German ''Leipziger Teilung'') was signed on 11 November 1485 between Elector Ernest of Saxony and his younger brother Albert III, the sons of Elector Frederick II of Saxony from the House of Wettin. ...
, however, the
Upper Saxon
Upper Saxon (, , ) is an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it is mostly extinct and a new r ...
lands were again divided between Frederick's grandsons
Ernest
Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie.
Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...
ruling in
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
and
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s
* Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street mar ...
, who took the former Meissen territory. The treaty marked the beginning of the permanent separation of the two states of Saxony and
Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer
* Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete
* Ernestin ...
Thuringia.
Burgraviate
The Burgraviate of Meissen was first mentioned in 1068 when King
Henry IV appointed a
burgrave
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...
at the Imperial Castle of Meissen. The burgraves of Meissen were royal officials tasked with asserting the king's authority in the region. They served as a counterbalance to the
margrave
Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
and the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
, who resided in the predecessor structure of the
Albrechtsburg
The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral.
History
...
in
Meissen
Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
. The burgrave's jurisdiction encompassed several villages in the surrounding area, reinforcing its administrative role within the medieval political framework. However, the
Vogtland
Vogtland (; ) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euroregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadershi ...
was never formally integrated into the Burgraviate, as the two regions shared only a common overlord without direct territorial affiliation. The burgraves initially hailed from the dynasty, holding authority for several centuries. In 1426, the title and domain transitioned to the , marking a new phase in the Burgraviate's history.
The Burgraviate of Meissen should not be confused with the Bishopric of Meissen or the Margraviate of Meissen, as each represented distinct territorial and political entities within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
See also
*
List of margraves of Meissen
This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire.
History
King Henry the Fowler, on his 928–29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on ...
*
List of margravines of Meissen
*
List of the burgraves of Meissen
This is a list of the burgraves of Meissen.
The Burgraviate of Meissen was first mentioned in 1068, when King Henry IV installed a burgrave in the imperial castle (''Reichsburg'') of Meissen. The burgraves of Meissen were royal officials appoi ...
Notes
References
*
Thompson, James Westfall. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meissen, Margravate
960s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1420s disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1423 disestablishments in Europe
States and territories established in the 960s
Former states and territories of Thuringia
Former states and territories of Saxony
Meissen
Medieval history of Germany
965 establishments
Marches of the Holy Roman Empire
Otto the Great