The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division 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 ...
'' in 965.
It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of
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 ...
) and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the
Wends. A
Lutician rebellion in 983 reversed German control over the region
until the establishment of the
March of Brandenburg by
Albert the Bear
Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.
Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...
in the 12th century.
Slavic background

During the
Migration Period
The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
, many
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
began migrating towards the Roman frontier. In the northeast they were replaced primarily by
Slavic peoples
The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Southeast ...
(
Veleti, later
Lutici). The first Slavs were certainly in the Brandenburg area by 720, after the arrival of the
Avars in Europe. These Slavs had come via
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
, where they had arrived in the mid-seventh century. The remnants of the Germanic
Semnoni were absorbed into these Slavic groups.
The group of people who settled at the
Spree river became known as
Sprevani. They settled east of the line formed by the Havel and
Nuthe rivers, in the current
Barnim and
Teltow regions. They built their main fortification at the confluence of the Spree and the
Dahme rivers at
Köpenick. The
Hevelli lived west of that line, in the current
Havelland and
Zauche
Utrata (; ) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Izbicko, within Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Izbicko, north-west of Strzelce Opolskie, and south-east of the re ...
regions. They were named ''Habelli'' for the ancient Germanic name of the river "Habula" (
Havel
The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the States of Germany, states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. The long Havel is a right tributary of the Elbe. However, the direct distance from ...
). The name for themselves was the ''Stodoranie''. They built their main fortification at "Brenna" (modern
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 ...
). The Hevelli also built a large outpost at the current site of
Spandau Citadel in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. The Sprevani and Hevelli waged war against not only their German neighbors, but also their Slavic neighbours.
History of the Northern March
Establishment and loss, 965–983
After the
Saxon War of 808, the victorious
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
bestowed on the Slavic tribes allied with him (such as the
Obotrites) part of the Saxon lands between 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 the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. A period of quiet followed in the region. The
Bishoprics of Brandenburg and
Havelberg were established around 940 and the
Christianisation of the pagan Slavs began.
Henry I of Germany conquered Brandenburg in 928–929 and imposed tribute upon the tribes up to the
Oder. By 948 his son
Otto I had established German control over the many remaining pagans, who were collectively referred to as Slavs or
Wends by contemporaries. Slavic settlements such as Brenna (
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 ...
), Budišin (
Bautzen), and Chotebuž (
Cottbus) came under German control through the installation of
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 ...
s. The main function of the margravial office was to defend and protect the
marches (frontier districts) of the
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...
. After the death of the margrave
Gero the Great in 965, the vast collection of marches (a "super-march") was divided by Otto into five smaller commands. The Northern March was one of these. The others were the
Eastern March, the
March of Merseburg, the
March of Meissen
The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a March (territory), frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' (Sa ...
, and the
March of Zeitz.
The
rebellion of 983, initiated by the
Lutici, led to a factual disestablishment of the Northern and
Billung marches as well as the corresponding bishoprics, though titular margraves and bishops were still appointed. Until the collapse of the
Liutizi alliance in the middle of the 11th century, the German expansion in the direction of the Northern March remained at a standstill and the Wends east of the Elbe remained independent for approximately 150 years.
[
]
March of Brandenburg
In the beginning of the 12th century, the German kings re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands on the eastern borders 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 ...
. In 1134, in the wake of the Wendish Crusade of 1147, the German magnate Albert the Bear
Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.
Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...
was granted the Northern March by Emperor Lothair III. The Slavs were subsequently assimilated by German settlers during the Ostsiedlung. The church under Albert established dioceses, which with their walled towns protected the townspeople from attack. With the arrival of monks and bishops begins anew the recorded history of the town of Brandenburg, from which would develop the eponymous margraviate.
Albert's control of the region was nominal for several decades, but he engaged in a variety of military and diplomatic actions against the Wends, and saw his control become more real by the middle of the century. In 1150, Albert formally inherited Brandenburg from its last Hevelli ruler, the Christian Pribislav. Albert and his Ascanian descendants made considerable progress in Christianising the captured lands.[
]
List of margraves
The Margraves of the Nordmark were closely related to both the Counts of Stade, many holding dual titles, and the Counts of Walbeck
The Counts of Walbeck ruled a medieval territory with its capital Walbeck, Börde, Walbeck northeast of Helmstedt in the present town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen in Saxony-Anhalt. The foundation of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg established the region ...
. The early counts and margraves were discussed by Thietmar of Merseburg, a descendant of the original rulers.
Counts of Haldensleben
* Dietrich, 965–983, possibly the son of Wichman the Elder, an early Count of Stade
Counts of Walbeck
*Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
, 983–1003, the first margrave of the House of Walbeck, and son of Lothar II the Old, Count of Walbeck
* Werner, 1003–1009, son of the previous and cousin of Thietmar of Merseburg
Counts of Haldensleben
*Bernard I, 1009–1018, son of Dietrich
* Bernard II, 1018–1051, son of the previous
*William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
, 1051–1056, son of the previous
* Otto, 1056–1057, illegitimate son of Bernard
Counts of Stade
* Lothair Udo I, 1056–1057, also Count of Stade (as Lothair Udo II), first of the House of Udonids, and son of Siegfried II, Count of Stade
* Lothair Udo II, 1057–1082, also Count of Stade (as Lothair Udo III), son of the previous
* Henry I the Long, 1082–1087, also Count of Stade (as Henry III the Long), son of the previous
* Lothair Udo III, 1087–1106, also Count of Stade (as Lothair Udo IV), brother of the previous
* Rudolf I, 1106–1112, also Count of Stade, brother of the previous
Counts of Plötzkau
* Helperich von Plötzkau, 1112–1114, nondynastic, but part of the House of Walbeck as grandson of Conrad, Count of Walbeck
Counts of Stade
* Henry II, 1114–1128, son of Lothair Udo III
* Udo IV, 1128–1130, son of Rudolf I
Counts of Plötzkau
* Conrad, 1130–1133, son of Helperich
Counts of Stade
* Rudolf II, 1133–1134, son of Rudolf I and the last of the House of Udonids
Counts of Ballenstedt (Ascanians)
*Albert the Bear
Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.
Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...
, 1134–1170
Under Albert, the march was expanded with the acquisition of Slavic lands around 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 ...
in 1157. The expanded march became a hereditary possession of Albert's house, the Ascanians, and was called the March of Brandenburg.
For a lists of margravines (margrave's wives), see List of consorts of Brandenburg
Margravine of Northern March, the Nordmark, 965–1157
Margravine of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg, 1157–1356
Electress of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg, 1356–1806
Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, 1398–1791
Marg ...
.
Notes
Sources
* Reuter, Timothy. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991.
* Thompson, James Westfall. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.
*Warner, David A., ''Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
{{coord missing, Brandenburg
Marches of the Holy Roman Empire
Former states and territories of Brandenburg
States and territories established in the 960s
960s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
965 establishments
States and territories disestablished in the 980s
980s disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
983 disestablishments
Otto the Great