Politics of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg (1140s)

Timeline

1. 1141–1142Magdeburg · Saxony-AnhaltAfter the death of Hartwig I, the imperial church elected Wichmann von Seeburg as Archbishop of Magdeburg. The new archbishop carried on the church reform tradition begun by Norbert, working to consolidate the archbishopric's spiritual and secular authority east of the Elbe.
2. 1143–1147Saxon ecclesiastical province · SaxonyThe Archbishopric of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Halberstadt engaged in long-running disputes over the jurisdiction of border dioceses, the ownership of fiefs, and ecclesiastical revenues, both sides appealing to the German king and the papal curia. Such inter-church litigation was a typical means of imperial church expansion in the 12th century.
3. 1147–1150Magdeburg · Saxony-AnhaltArchbishop Wichmann actively defended imperial interests during Conrad III's eastern campaign, while maintaining a delicate relationship of cooperation and competition with the new Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion. As a pillar of the imperial church, Magdeburg played a key role in the conversion and colonization east of the Elbe, and the archbishop's political influence continued to rise.