The Medieval Elbe
Slavs and Germans on the Frontier

The Deeds of Wiprecht

Henry of Meissen


Although prosperous things were thus following Wiprecht, he nevertheless could not endure prosperity and peace. Remembering the injuries once inflicted on him by the more noble men of this province, he frequently carried off not a little plunder from them, falling upon them unexpectedly. Therefore it happened that once, crossing the boundaries of the town called Belgern, he laid waste to the nearby villages by plundering and was on his way back, with everyone having suffered. When this became known to Margrave Henry of Meissen, he took his milites with him and pursued Wiprecht as he came away from Belgern. But Wiprecht steadfastly intercepted him. They came together in battle, and Margrave Henry’s standard-bearer died, transfixed by a lance from Wiprecht’s miles Hartwig. With others falling on both sides and Wiprecht’s adversaries ultimately forced to flee into the town, Wiprecht’s milites carried off their plunder.

Analysis

This paragraph is categorized under "Early Local History" because it interrupts the short narrative about Wiprecht's enemy, Betheric of Teuchern.  However, "Margrave Henry of Meissen" must refer to Henry of Eilenberg, who became margrave of Meissen only in 1089.  He was also margrave of Lusatia, more likely the region to which Belgern pertained. It is out of chronological sequence here for one of two possible reasons or, more probably, both.  First, Vratislav of Bohemia was granted Meissen and Lusatia by Henry IV, and held them from 1076 to 1089; most likely, this was controversial to many Saxons, and so for political reasons, the Deeds consistently omits all mention of it.  Second, the monks may have wished to obscure the fact that Wiprecht was in conflict with, or disloyal to Henry of Eilenberg; shifting the attack on Belgern temporally, from sometime after 1089 to vaguely in the 1070s, facilitates the impression that it was merely part of the minor skirmishes Wiprecht had with other local nobles, of lesser stature than Henry.