Hartwig of Uthlede

Who was Hartwig of Uthlede?

Hartwig of Uthlede was – as Hartwig II – Prince-Archbishop of Bremen and one of the originators of the Livonian Crusade. Coming from a family of the Bremian Ministerialis at Uthlede, he was a canon of Bremen Cathedral and a clerk of Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony, House of Guelph, before becoming prince-archbishop in 1185. When the Bremian cathedral chapter elected him for prince-archbishop, due to the competitive politics within Kingdom of Germany at the time, this was regarded a Guelphic triumph.

A canon named Meinhard, originally from the Augustinian monastery at Segeberg, was active at Üxküll among the pagan Livonians, apparently attempting to gain converts through preaching. In 1186, one year into Hartwig's episcopate, the prince-archbishop intervened and gave him the status of a bishop, in effect seizing control of missionary efforts there. The historian Eric Christiansen judged this to be part of Hartwig's attempt to resurrect his see's former glory, when it "had exercised authority over the entire Northern world". Papal records of 1188 indicate that the bishopric which had been established "in Russia" by Meinhard was recognised by the papacy as subordinate to the prince-archbishopric of Bremen. In Livonia, despite a further decade of activity, Bishop Meinhard had made little progress and died in 1196.