privileges and security of city life. Doubtless Herbort or his father
had come from Bismarck, a village about twenty miles to the west, which
takes its name either from the little stream, the Biese, which runs near
it, or from the bishop in whose domain it lay. He was probably the first
to bear the name, which would have no meaning so long as he remained in
his native place, for the _von_ was still a mark of origin and had not
yet become the sign of nobility. Other emigrants from Bismarck seem also
to have assumed it; in the neighbouring town of Prenzlau the name
occurs, and it is still found among the peasants of the Mark; as the
Wends were driven back and the German invasion spread, more adventurous
colonists migrated beyond the Oder and founded a new Bismarck in
Pomerania.

Of the lineage of Herbort we know nothing[1]; his ancestors must have
been among the colonists who had been planted by the Emperors on the
northern frontier to occupy the land conquered from the heathen. He
seems himself to have been a man of substance and position; he already
used the arms, the double trefoil, which are still borne by all the
branches of his family. His descendants are often mentioned in the
records of the Guild; his son or grandson, Rudolph or Rule, represented
the town in a conflict with the neighbouring Dukes of Brunswick. It was
his son Nicolas, or Claus as he is generally called, who founded the
fortunes of the family; he attached himself closely to the cause of the
Margrave, whom he supported in his troubles with the Duke of Brunswick,
and whose interests he represented in the Town Council. He was amply
rewarded for his fidelity. After a quarrel between the city and the
Prince, Bismarck left his native home and permanently entered the
service of the Margrave. Though probably hitherto only a simple citizen,
he was enfiefed with the castle of Burgstall, an important post, for it
was situated on the borders of the Mark and the bishopric of Magdeburg;