The bishop of Basel is lord of the city on the Rhine knee, with high justice and the mint granted by Henry II, and holds in the Jura the abbey of Moutier-Grandval and its lands, given by King Rudolf III of Burgundy in 999, which is where the principality's temporal history begins.
Downstream at Breisach the church founded a merchant settlement about 1146, but the Staufen town there (1185) was pledged by Philip in 1198 to Berthold V of Zähringen, who now holds it.
Who holds it
- Name
- Lütold of Aarburg
- Title
- Bishop of Basel
- Since
- 1191
- Confidence
- medium
campaign notes: Staufen [thin]. No further biography was found in the sources consulted (the encyclopedia article on him could not be reached).
What it holds
- Basel: the city lordship with high justice and the mint (granted by Henry II to Bishop Adalbero); no recognised town council yet (Frederick II's grant of one is revoked in 1218)
- Moutier-Grandval in the Jura: the abbey and its lands, given by Rudolf III of Burgundy in 999, the start of the bishop's temporal lordship
- Breisach: the merchant settlement and church the bishop founded on the Münsterberg about 1146; the Staufen town beside it is in pledge to the Zähringer since 1198
- Rights to silver mines in the Breisgau (granted in the 11th century; not checked in the sources consulted)
How it was acquired
Moutier-Grandval from Rudolf III (999); city jurisdiction and mint from Henry II after Basel passed from Burgundy to the Empire (pledged 1006). The Jura lordships of the later principality (Delémont, Porrentruy, Biel) come in the 13th century.
How things stand that morning
Lütold holds his city and the Moutier-Grandval lands; the see is Staufen-leaning (campaign notes, thin).
Wealth
The Rhine crossing and market at Basel; the episcopal mint; Breisgau silver; the Jura valleys' fields and forests.
Threats
- The Zähringer at Breisach
- The neighbouring counts
- The citizens' wish for a council
Advocates and rivals
The Staufen and the Zähringer (Berthold V holds Breisach in pledge from Philip); the counts of Frohburg and Homberg, the Habsburgs and the counts of Ferrette around the see; the citizens of Basel.
Places of note
- Basel cathedral: Seat of the bishop
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 999 grant, the city rights and the Breisach history are attested. The bishop's biography and the Breisgau mining rights were not checked.
On the map: Swiss places are whole modern municipalities. The Moutier-Grandval lands were larger than the modern municipality of Moutier, but their 1200 extent is not pinned.
Primary sources for Empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Hochstift Basel (dewiki.de, mirror of de.wikipedia)
- Breisach am Rhein (dewiki.de, mirror of de.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.