Freising

Who holds it

Name

Otto II (of Berg)

Title

Bishop of Freising

Since

1184

Confidence

high

Son of Count Diepold II of Berg-Schelklingen, a Swabian house, and Gisela of Andechs-Meranien. His brothers were churchmen too: Henry and Diepold were bishops of Passau before Wolfger, and Manegold is abbot of Tegernsee and Kremsmünster. Formerly a canon of Magdeburg. In 1189 he won judicial, market and fortification rights for Freising's Austrian lands. He is on the Staufen side in 1200, later appears with Otto IV, and does homage to Frederick II in 1215.

He translated the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat into German. Dies 17 March 1220.

What it holds

• Freising: cathedral hill and town
• Isen and Burgrain (Burgrain from 808)
• Innichen (San Candido) in the Puster valley: Freising's since the 8th century (the page consulted gives 783)
• Škofja Loka (Bischoflack) in Carniola: granted by Otto II on 30 June 973; the lordship at its height covered about 500 square kilometres and some 200 villages in the Selca and Poljane valleys of the Sora; the castle is first named in 1202; the bishops brought settlers from Bavaria and Tyrol
• Waidhofen an der Ybbs and the lower Ybbs valley: Freising estates from 955, extended to the Styrian border by Conrad II in 1033; Waidhofen first named 1186, a market (forum) by 1215; Ulmerfeld and Hollenburg are further Freising holdings in Lower Austria (not drawn)
• Oberwölz and the Wölz and Katsch valleys in Upper Styria: granted by Henry II in 1007
• Judicial, market and fortification rights for the Austrian lands, won in 1189

How it was acquired

Royal gifts from the 8th to the 11th century: Innichen in the 8th century, Burgrain 808, Loka 973, the Ybbs valley 955-1033, Wölz and Katsch 1007. Werdenfels came only in 1249 and 1294.

How things stand that morning

Otto holds his scattered lordships through ministerials; he stands with Philip.

Wealth

Iron of the Ybbs valley (Waidhofen's later trade), the Alpine estates, Carniolan villages, tolls; a share in the Munich market and mint is commonly said to date from Barbarossa's award of 1158 (not checked here).

Threats

• Ducal pressure in Bavaria and Austria
• Distance: the outlying lordships are hard to defend

Advocates and rivals

The Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria at home; the Babenberg dukes in Austria and Styria; the counts of Andechs (his mother's family) and of Gorizia near the Carniolan and Pustertal lands.

Places of note

• Loka castle: Freising castle, first named in 1202 as castrum firmissimum

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder and the main outlying grants are well attested (Wikipedia on the Hochstift, Otto II, Škofja Loka, Waidhofen). The 1200 extent of each lordship is approximate, and the Munich share was not checked.

On the map: Outlying parts follow modern municipalities, which approximate the old lordships; Ulmerfeld, Hollenburg and Groß-Enzersdorf are not drawn because their municipalities would overstate them.

Primary sources for Bavaria

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 Schäftlarn and the Bavarian annals (12th and 13th centuries). Brief Bavarian annals. Read online
• The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. 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
• Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
• Bavarian monuments: the charters of the Bavarian monasteries and bishoprics (charters from the 8th century onward, published 1763 to 1916). The great charter series of Bavaria, arranged by monastery and bishopric. Read online
• Charter book of the bishops of Trent (compiled 1207 to 1218; documents from the 11th century onward; edited 1852). The cartulary of the prince-bishops of Trent. Read online