Coat-of-arms of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen
Titles of the incumbents of the Bremian See
Not all incumbents of the Bremian See were imperially invested princely power as Prince-Archbishops and not all were papally confirmed as bishops. In 1180 part of the Bremian diocesan territory and small parts of the neighbouring Diocese of Verden were disentangled from the Duchy of Saxony and became an own territory of imperial immediacy called Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (German: Erzstift Bremen), a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. The prince-archbishopric was an elective monarchy, with the monarch being the respective archbishop usually elected by the Bremian Chapters at Bremen Cathedral and Hamburg Concathedral, with the latter enfranchised to three capitular votes, and confirmed by the Holy See, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed archbishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia, thus the title prince-archbishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, but was still invested the princely regalia. Also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed archbishop, never invested as prince. A number of incumbents, elected by the chapter, neither achieved papal confirmation nor imperial investiture, but as a matter of fact nevertheless de facto held the princely power. The respective incumbents of the see bore the following titles:
Archbishop of Hamburg and Bishop of Bremen in personal union (colloquially also Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen) from 848 to 1072
Archbishop of Bremen (colloquially also Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen) from 1072 to 1179
Prince-Archbishop of Bremen from 1180 to 1566, paralleled by the de facto rule of Catholic Administrators from 1316 to 1327 and again 1348 to 1360
Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen 1316 to 1327, 1348 to 1360, and again 1568 to 1645. Either simply de facto replacing the Prince-Archbishop or lacking canon-law prerequisites the incumbent of the see would officially only hold the title administrator (but nevertheless colloquially referred to as Prince-Archbishop). Between 1568 and 1645 all administrators were Lutherans, while else they were Roman Catholics.
The last, but only provisional incumbent of the See, Francis of Wartenberg, therefore bore the title Vicar Apostolic (1645–1648)
Archbishop Elect of Bremen, elected by the Chapter and preferred by his father Albert the Bear, Bishop of Brandenburg 1173–1179, became Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in 1180
temporarily rivalled by anti-archbishop Gerhard of Lippe, accepted only in Hamburg, a grandnephew of Gerard II and supported by his uncle Simon[de], Gerard II's coadjutor
*unknown – 24 July 1364 or 1368* killed in action near Blexen
dismissal
nephew of the former, son of John II elected prince-archbishop by the chapters in 1348, but never papally confirmed, appointed administrator by his uncle and again by Godfrey, who appointed him also coadjutor, forced to resign in 1362 by Albert II
Catholic Prince-Archbishops and Administrator of Bremen (1348–1496)
Roman Catholic Prince-Archbishops and Administrator of Bremen (1348–1496)
lacking the capitular elective mandate, only papally confirmed as archbishop, never gained power, de facto wielded by Administrator Maurice, also Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück 1321–1349
*13 November 1440 – 24 December 1496* underways to East Frisia
death
Archbishop elect, due to minority only appointed administrator, having come of age and after election and investiture as Prince-Bishop of Münster (1466–1496), where he preferently resided, he never pursued his papal appointment as archbishop any more
Catholic Prince-Archbishops of Bremen (1497–1568)
Roman Catholic Prince-Archbishops of Bremen (1497–1568)
de facto dismissal as prince by Chapter and Estates
son of Henry IV, also Prince-Bishop of Verden 1502–1558, where he usually resided, dismissed for his prodigality by Chapter and Estates of the Prince-Archbishopric
1542/1547–1549
rule by the Chapter and the Prince-Archbishopric's Estates
Emperor Charles V's threat to impose an administrator
Chapter and Estates dismissed the prince-archbishop due to his prodigality
also Prince-Bishop of Verden 1502–1558, where he usually resided, reaccepted as prince by Chapter and Estates after Charles V threatened to install an administrator of his choice, brother of the next
elected by the Chapter, dominated by Lutheran capitulars, imperially invested as prince, but never papally confirmed, also administrator of the prince-bishoprics of Osnabrück (1574–1585) and Paderborn (1577–1585)
also 1st Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck 1586–1607, after succeeding in 1590 his father as Duke regnant the Bremian Chapter enforced his resignation in favour of his brother
he never gained pastoral influence, let alone power as prince-archbishop due to the Swedish occupation of the prince-archbishopric
Pope Innocent X appointed him vicar apostolic, i.e. provisional head of see, also prince-bishop of Osnabrück (1625–1634 and again 1648–1661), of Ratisbon (1649–1661) and of Verden (1630–1631)
The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire, which after its definitive secularization in 1648, became the hereditary Duchy of Bremen. The prince-archbishopric, which was under the secular rule of the archbishop, consisted of about a third of the diocesan territory. The city of Bremen was de facto and de jure not part of the prince-archbishopric. Most of the prince-archbishopric lay rather in the area to the north of the city of Bremen, between the Weser and Elbe rivers. Even more confusingly, parts of the prince-archbishopric belonged in religious respect to the neighbouring diocese of Verden, making up 10% of its diocesan territory.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden, were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of the Archdiocese of Bremen and Bishopric of Verden.
A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church.
Jens Grand, the Firebug was a Danish archbishop of Lund (1289–1302), titular Archbishop of Riga and Terra Mariana (1304–1310), and Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, known as the central figure of the second ecclesiastical struggle in Denmark in the late 13th century. He was an outstanding jurist of canon law.
Hartwig of Uthlede was a German nobleman who – as Hartwig II – Prince-Archbishop of Bremen and one of the originators of the Livonian Crusade.
Valdemar Knudsen was a Danish clergyman and statesman. Valdemar was Bishop of Schleswig from 1188 to 1208, officiated as Steward of the Duchy of Schleswig between 1184 and 1187, and served as Prince-Archbishop of Bremen from 1192 to 1194 and again between 1206 and 1217. He held the latter office on the grounds of the archdiocesan capitular election as archbishop elect and of the royal investiture with the princely regalia, but lacked the papal confirmation.
John Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was the Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck and the Prince-Bishopric of Verden.
Albert II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in the years 1361–1395.
Siegfried of Anhalt was born as the third son of Sophie of Winzenburg and her husband Albert the Bear, then Count of Anhalt, of the House of Ascania. In 1168 he was elected Archbishop of Bremen. Afterward he became Prince-Bishop of Brandenburg (1173–1179) as Siegfried I. In 1179 he succeeded in getting it upgraded to a Prince-Archbishopric of imperial immediacy in 1180, thus becoming Prince-Archbishop of Bremen. He was a strong advocate of Ascanian clan interests.
In the Holy Roman Empire, the German term (das) Hochstift referred to the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince, as opposed to his diocese, generally much larger and over which he exercised only spiritual authority. The terms prince-bishopric and ecclesiastical principality are synonymous with Hochstift. Erzstift and Kurerzstift referred respectively to the territory (prince-archbishopric) ruled by a prince-archbishop and an elector-archbishop while Stift referred to the territory ruled by an imperial abbot or abbess, or a princely abbot or abbess. Stift was also often used to refer to any type of ecclesiastical principality.
The historic territory of Verden emerged from the Monarchs of the Frankish Diocese of Verden in the area of present-day central and northeastern Lower Saxony and existed as such until 1648. The territory managed by secular lords for the bishops was not identical with that of the bishopric, but was located within its boundaries and made up about a quarter of the diocesan area. The territory was referred to at the time as Stift Verden or Hochstift Verden, roughly equating to Prince-Bishopric of Verden. This territory described in local sources today incorrectly as Bistum Verden and, in 1648, was given the title Principality of Verden, sometimes referred to as the Duchy of Verden.
Johann Rode von Wale was a Catholic cleric, a Doctor of Canon and Civil Law, a chronicler, a long-serving government official (1468–1497) and as John III Prince-archbishop of Bremen between 1497 and 1511.
Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.
Saint Mary's Cathedral in Hamburg was the cathedral of the ancient Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg, which was merged in personal union with the Diocese of Bremen in 847, and later in real union to form the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, as of 1027.
The Diocese and Prince-bishopric of Schwerin was a Catholic diocese in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, in Germany. The first registered bishop was ordained in the diocese in 1053, and the diocese ceased to exist in 1994.
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