The Merovingian abbey of Weissenburg in northern Alsace was one of the richest abbeys of the Empire, with the Mundat forest (given in 760) and even early shares in the salt of Vic.
In 985 the Salian duke Otto took 68 of its parishes in the 'Salian church robbery', and it never recovered its old wealth. In 1200 it is lord of its town and of the Mundat, its immunity district on both sides of the Lauter.
Who holds it
- Name
- Walram
- Title
- Abbot of Weissenburg
- Since
- 1197
- Confidence
- high
Abbot 1197-1224 (Walramus in the list), followed by Chuno (1222-1248). Nothing further on him was found in the sources consulted.
What it holds
- Weissenburg: the abbey and the town that grew around it
- The Mundat: the abbey's immunity district and forest (given in 760) north and west of the town
- What remains of its estates after the losses of 985
How it was acquired
Merovingian foundation (7th century); the Mundat forest in 760; shares in the Vic saltworks bought as early as 682.
How things stand that morning
Walram holds the abbey, town and Mundat in a region dominated by the Staufen.
Wealth
Forest of the Mundat; vineyards; the town market; old rents.
Threats
- The Staufen and their ministerials
- The loss of further estates
Advocates and rivals
The Salian heirs and the Staufen, who hold the royal lands of northern Alsace and the Palatinate around it; the bishop of Speyer, in whose diocese it lies.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The abbots, the Mundat grant and the 985 losses are attested; the Mundat's limits in 1200 are not, so it is drawn as the town and the nearest villages across the Lauter.
On the map: The French part is the modern commune of Wissembourg; the German side a small territory around Schweigen. The Mundat's true 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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.