Counts · Archbishopric of Cologne · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Arnsberg

The count of Arnsberg holds the high Sauerland between the Ruhr and the Möhne from his castle above a loop of the Ruhr, with the advocacy of his family's abbey of Wedinghausen, the old church of Werl until 1197, rights at Herdringen and the Rüthen farm settlement, and the castle of Rietberg in the Ems lowlands far to the north (the separate county of Rietberg begins only in 1237).

He is the archbishop of Cologne's vassal and the Cologne castle of Hachen stands at his gate. Cologne has been weakening the county for a century, and Gottfried's doubtful loyalty in the throne war is the first test of the duchy.

Who he is

Name
Gottfried II
Title
Count of Arnsberg
Since
1185, when his father Henry I handed him the rule
Born
1157, so about 42
Family
Counts of Arnsberg (of the Cuyk-Arnsberg line). His father Henry I, who founded Wedinghausen abbey about 1170 in penance for the death in prison of his half-brother Henry of Cappenberg (1165), is still alive, living as a lay brother; he dies at Arnsberg on 4 June 1200. Gottfried's elder brother Henry (II) plays only a minor part; a sister Adelheid is abbess of Meschede. His wife Elisabeth, of unknown family, is attested only in a charter of 1198. No children of hers are known; the ten children the genealogists give him are all of a later marriage to Agnes of Rüdenberg (first named 1210).
Confidence
high

Ruled for about fifty years (1185-1235/36). Early in his rule his men beat five neighbouring counts near Neheim. In the throne war he came close to abandoning Archbishop Adolf and Otto, and the quarrel was settled only with great difficulty: for 'certain of his deeds' he made amends, swore fealty and gave hostages, and in return received half the income of the new town of Rüthen, where neither side might build a fortress or make war.

The settlement is tied to the Rüthen foundation of 29 September 1200 and its exact date is not pinned. He goes on the Damietta crusade in 1217.

Overlord

The archbishop of Cologne: Arnsberg was taken and destroyed by Cologne and the Westphalian bishops in 1166 (the duchy article says 1164) and the counts then had to accept Cologne's lordship.

What it holds

  • Arnsberg castle and the settlement below it
  • The county (Grafschaft) of Arnsberg round the upper Ruhr, the Röhr and the Möhne: Neheim, Hüsten, Sundern, Meschede and the hill country (extent rough)
  • Rietberg castle and its lands on the upper Ems (a cadet county only from 1237)
  • Advocacy of Wedinghausen abbey (Premonstratensian, founded by his father about 1170)
  • The farm settlement at Rüthen, on which Cologne will found its town
  • Manors such as Herdringen (given to Wedinghausen in 1202)

How it was acquired

Inherited; the county's dependence on Cologne dates from 1166.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: the archbishop of Cologne, whose castle of Hachen and whose ducal rights hem him in. Allies: the lords of Büren (close ties), his kin the burgraves of Stromberg (later), Wedinghausen abbey.

How things stand that morning

On 1 January 1200 Gottfried holds his county under Cologne's lordship. In the throne war he is wavering: he nearly left the archbishop's and Otto's party and is being brought back only with great difficulty; the terms (amends, fealty, hostages, half the Rüthen income) may still lie ahead that morning. Across his borders: Cologne's Soest Börde and Werl to the north, the Altena lands to the west, Cologne's Attendorn to the south-west, Wittgenstein and Siegen (mre) to the south, the Cologne castles of Hachen and Padberg.

Wealth

Forest, iron and pasture of the Sauerland; manors and church advocacies; half the future income of Rüthen. No figures.

Military

Arnsberg castle; his vassals and ministeriales; won a fight near Neheim against five neighbouring counts early in his rule. No numbers.

Threats

  • Cologne's ducal power and the castle of Hachen
  • Losing hostages and land if his defection goes further

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.

  1. 4 June 1200Count Henry I, Gottfried's father, dies at Arnsberg. No change of rule: Gottfried has ruled since 1185.Depends on: Natural death. Stopped by: Nothing in play is likely to stop it.
  2. during 1200, by 29 September (not pinned)Gottfried makes his peace with Archbishop Adolf: amends, an oath of fealty, hostages; in return half the income of the new Cologne town of Rüthen on his land, which Adolf founds on 29 September 1200.Depends on: Adolf needing peace in Westphalia and Gottfried finding no better patron. Stopped by: Gottfried going over to Philip, or Adolf's own change of side.

Places of note

  • Arnsberg castle: The count's seat above the Ruhr.
  • Wedinghausen abbey: Premonstratensian house founded by Henry I about 1170.
  • Rietberg castle: Arnsberg's castle on the upper Ems.

Where the sources disagree

  • campaign notes do not cover Arnsberg. The 'count that winter' is Gottfried II (since 1185), not his father Henry I, who is alive in retirement and dies on 4 June 1200.

Evidence: Gottfried's dates and the Rüthen settlement are well documented; the date of the settlement within 1200 and the county's extent are not.

On the map: The county's borders in 1200 are not pinned; Balve and Eslohe are given as edges of the county's hill country.

Primary sources for Cologne

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.

2 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Gottfried II. (Arnsberg), de.wikipedia
  2. Heinrich I. (Arnsberg), de.wikipedia
  3. Rüthen, de.wikipedia
  4. Study of Archbishop Adolf I of Cologne, ch. III: Adolf as author of the double election of 1198 (pp. 20-37), digitised by ULB Düsseldorf

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.