Regensburg

Who holds it

Name

Konrad III (of Laichling)

Title

Bishop of Regensburg

Since

1186

Confidence

high

Went on the Third Crusade (1189-1191); joined Henry VI's crusade in 1197 and turned back on the emperor's death; then backed Philip of Swabia. He is in a ruinous quarrel with Duke Louis I of Bavaria, who is gathering the lands of the extinct burgraves of Regensburg and landgraves of Stefling; the feud badly devastated the see (its exact years are not pinned). Dies 23 April 1204.

What it holds

• Regensburg: the cathedral quarter and the bishop's rights in the city, shared with the duke of Bavaria, the citizens and the imperial abbeys of St Emmeram, Niedermünster and Obermünster
• Donaustauf: castle built by Bishop Tuto between 914 and 930 against the Hungarians; called the bishop's castle in 1132; taken and partly destroyed by the Bavarian dukes in 1132, 1146 and 1161
• Pöchlarn on the Danube in Austria: given by Louis the German in 832; by about 1100 a fortified market and transhipment place for wine, salt and iron; called a town in 1267
• Hohenburg (1256), Wörth (end of the 13th century) and full control of Donaustauf (14th century) came later and are not drawn

How it was acquired

Carolingian and Ottonian grants; Pöchlarn in 832; Donaustauf built in the early 10th century.

How things stand that morning

Konrad holds his share of the city, Donaustauf and Pöchlarn; the ducal feud is the main danger.

Wealth

Danube trade through Regensburg and Pöchlarn (wine, salt, iron); city rents; estates.

Threats

• Duke Louis I of Bavaria
• The citizens' growing autonomy

Advocates and rivals

Duke Louis I of Bavaria (the Kelheimer), who is absorbing the burgraviate and Stefling inheritance; the citizens of Regensburg; the imperial abbeys in the city with their own immunities.

Places of note

• Regensburg cathedral: Seat of the bishop, in a city shared with the duke and three imperial abbeys

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder well documented; the German Wikipedia's dating of Hohenburg, Wörth and Donaustauf shows how small the bishop's lordship still was. The year of the feud with Duke Louis is not pinned.

On the map: The city is shown only by a small disc for the cathedral quarter; Regensburg as a whole was not the bishop's.

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