In 1178 Frederick Barbarossa gave the bishop of Die full jurisdiction and the regalia over the city of Die and over the lands that William of Poitiers held in the diocese, except the castle of Quint, so the old counts of Diois became the bishop's vassals in name.
In 1189 the count of Toulouse granted the county of Diois to Aymar of Poitiers, count of Valentinois, and the house of Poitiers has held the comital lands ever since, beside and against the bishop-count.
Who holds it
- Name
- Humbert I
- Title
- Bishop and count of Die
- Since
- 1199
- Confidence
- medium
The list of bishops gives Humbert I for 1199-1202, followed by the Carthusian Etienne de Chatillon (1202-1208). Nothing more about him was found.
What it holds
- Die: city lordship with full jurisdiction and regalia (imperial grant of 1178)
- Overlordship of the comital lands in the diocese granted in 1178, except Quint (claimed against the counts of Poitiers-Valentinois)
How it was acquired
Barbarossa's grant of 1178, renewed by Frederick II in 1214; the bishops later styled themselves bishop and count of Die.
How things stand that morning
The bishop holds Die itself; the Poitiers count holds the comital lands and castles of the Diois. Their relationship is one of claimed overlordship and practical rivalry.
Wealth
The city and its market; the passes from the Rhone valley to the Alps; pastures and wool of the Diois.
Threats
- The house of Poitiers, which already holds Valentinois and Diois and wants Die too
Advocates and rivals
The house of Poitiers (Aymar II, count of Valentinois), holders of the county of Diois since 1189 and nominal vassals of the bishop for it; the result is repeated quarrels over jurisdiction.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1178 grant and the 1189 Poitiers acquisition are reported by en.wikipedia (Count of Diois) and geneawiki; the bishop of 1200 is a bare name.
On the map: Only the city is drawn. The bishop's later fiefs (Aouste, Aurel, Bourdeaux, the Vercors parishes) are attested in later centuries and are not drawn for 1200; the comital lands of the Diois were held by the Poitiers.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.