Hildesheim Diocesan Feud

Originally just a local conflict between the Hildesheim prince-bishop John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg and his own prince-bishopric's nobility (Stiftsadel), it developed into a major dispute between various Lower Saxon territorial princes.

The cause was the attempt by Prince-Bishop John to redeem the pledged estates and their tax revenue from the nobles in his temporalities, the prince-bishopric (Hochstift, or simply das Stift).

To wit, in 1513, Henry the Middle received from Prince-Bishop John IV a large bill (Pfandsumme, i.e. pawned sum) for Everstein and thus set himself against the interests of the other Welf lines.

The Hildesheim army scored an emphatic victory against the Brunswick-Welf troops, killing some 3,500 men and capturing one of their leaders, Eric of Calenberg, as well as many of the nobles.

The Principality of Calenberg received the houses, i.e.fortified seats, and Ämter of Hunnesrück with Markoldendorf, Aerzen, Lauenstein, Grohnde, Hallerburg, Poppenburg, Ruthe and Coldingen, the towns of Dassel, Bodenwerder, Gronau, Elze, Sarstedt, half of Hameln and the abbeys of Marienau, Escherde, Wittenburg, Wülfinghausen and Derneburg.

Exceptions were the Ämter of Aerzen, Grohnde, Coldingen-Lauenberg, Lutter am Barenberge, Westerhof and Lindau, which remained with the principalities of Calenberg and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.