94 Sarnowsky
the summer of the same year.97 This tohopesate was in fact to be not much
more than an extension of the earlier Saxon-Wendish alliance, but joined by
the towns from Pomerania and the margravate of Brandenburg. It was limited
to six years, dedicated to the protection of trade and merchants and to the co-
operation against princes and lords.
But these plans only came into fruition when the threat by the princes
had become more concrete. When, during internal trouble, the municipality
and the most import crafts of the double town of Berlin-Cölln turned to the
Margrave of Brandenburg and Elector Frederick ii in 1442, the town council
gave the keys of the town to its lord and resigned its office. Frederick sepa-
rated the towns which had been united ten years ago, decreed regulations for
the election of the town councils in favour of the craftsmen and the old town
council’s enemies, demanded the confirmation of the new town councillors by
their territorial lord, and prohibited any agreements without his consent. The
citizens resisted and had to be forced to comply by a contingent of 600 horse-
men. The Elector took over high jurisdiction and placed his judge into the new
town hall on a bridge between the two towns, and in July 1443, he also started to
build his new residence in Cölln. Early in 1448, these policies led to civic unrest
and to attacks on the elector’s officials, but Berlin did not regain its autonomy.
When it was invited to an assembly in 1452, it declared that it had been left
alone in its conflict with the prince and left the Hanseatic League, though the
formal resignation only followed in 1516/18. The subjection of Berlin-Cölln was
the signal for other princes and lords also to restrict the rights of their towns.
In February 1443, Elector Frederick met with Christopher iii of Denmark and
the dukes of Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Braunschweig, and Saxony in the pil-
grimage place of Wilsnack. Only the absence of Adolf viii of Schleswig and
Holstein prevented common decisions—he had a different approach to the
towns. Though Christopher of Denmark in the aftermath in March came to
Lübeck to discuss Lübeck’s offer of a meditation with the former King Eric of
Pomerania, the towns knew about the princes’ intentions.
Early in March 1443, the Saxon towns had already discussed measures to
protect the towns, and this recurred on two assemblies together with represen-
tatives of the Wendish towns later in March and in June. They finally agreed on
a defensive alliance, i.e. not to support those who attacked the towns,98 and
they again discussed the draft for a tohopesate from 1441 and planned to put
it into force. When the Saxon towns met in August 1443 in Halberstadt, they
decided on supplementary regulations: to turn also against any other attack,
97 hr ii 2, 238.
98 hr ii 3, 38.