The lords of Arco hold the castle on the rock above the Sarca north of Lake Garda as free lords with an imperial fief and high justice.
On 28 July 1196, at the castle, Frederick son of the late Albert acknowledged that the castle and its district belonged as an allod to the community of the parish (pieve) of Arco, keeping the jurisdiction and lordship (districtus and honor) for himself. A long quarrel with Drena over mountain pastures went from the bishop's court to imperial judges, who overturned the bishop's ruling in 1193; it is still running and will be heard again in 1210 and 1212. In 1204 an Ulrich of Arco joins Verona's podestà in forcing a treaty on the bishop at Ala; in 1210 Bishop Frederick of Wangen breaks them and makes them his ministeriales.
Who he is
- Name
- Frederick of Arco, son of the late Albert; an Ulrich of Arco also acts for the house (treaty of Ala, 1204)
- Title
- Free lords (edelfrei) of Arco, holding an imperial fief
- Since
- Frederick acts as lord by 28 July 1196
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- de.wikipedia names brothers Ulrich (1155-1196) and Frederick (1160-1196) who allied with Barbarossa, won an imperial fief and went with Henry VI to Rome in 1191; Frederick (born 1186/87, died 1237/38) is the later count. The line goes back to Riprand and Frederick, first named in 1124.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Arco (Adelsgeschlecht); the Ferrara text on episcopal government at Trent; it.wikipedia Corrado di Beseno.
Overlord
The emperor: Arco is an imperial fief until 1210. The family also holds fiefs of the bishop of Trent (documents from 1186).
What it holds
- Arco castle and its district (castellancia), held with high justice; the castle itself the allod of the community of the pieve of Arco by the act of 28 July 1196
- Castles guarding the Sarca valley (Drena to the north and Penede to the south are named for the family; their holding in 1200 is not pinned)
- Fiefs of the bishop of Trent (from 1186)
How it was acquired
Inheritance; the imperial fief from Barbarossa.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the bishop of Trent, whose justice they escape; Drena in the pasture case. Ally of convenience: Verona (1204).
How things stand that morning
Free and strong: they hold Arco with high justice under an imperial fief and are not the bishop's men. Whether Frederick, Ulrich or both lead the house that morning is not pinned.
Wealth
The Sarca valley road from the Giudicarie to Lake Garda; olives, vines and pasture; tolls. No figures.
Military
Arco castle on its rock (in the twelfth century a tower with a ring wall). No figures.
Threats
- A restored bishop of Trent (which comes in 1210)
- The Drena dispute
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1204 (beyond 1200)Ulrich of Arco and Verona's podestà force the treaty of Ala on Bishop Conrad.Depends on: Verona's pressure. Stopped by: A strong bishop.
- September 1210 (beyond 1200)Bishop Frederick of Wangen defeats the Arco, who renounce their lordly rights and become his ministeriales.Depends on: A strong bishop. Stopped by: Royal protection.
Places of note
- Arco castle: The lords' castle on the rock
Where the sources disagree
- de.wikipedia's dates for the brothers Ulrich and Frederick (both ending in 1196) cannot be life spans if an Ulrich acts in 1204; they are probably dates of attestation.
Evidence: The 1196 act, the imperial fief and the 1210 submission are attested; who headed the house in 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: Drawn as the modern comune of Arco.
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
- Arco (Adelsgeschlecht) (de.wikipedia)
- Il governo vescovile nei secoli XII e XIII: il caso di Trento (University of Ferrara)
- Corrado di Beseno (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.