The margraves of Baden, a Zähringen offshoot, hold in 1200 the Ufgau and Pfinzgau lands round their castle of Baden (Hohenbaden), the Yburg lordship with Steinbach and Sinzheim (held jointly by Hermann and Frederick), Backnang with the house's canons of St Pancras (their burial church from the early 12th century to about 1240), Besigheim, and Stuttgart.
The later Baden towns of the north are not yet theirs: Pforzheim is the count palatine's until about 1219-1227, Ettlingen comes to Hermann as a fief in 1219, Durlach and the pledges of Lauffen, Sinsheim and Eppingen only after 1219 or 1227.
Who he is
- Name
- Hermann V, with his brother Frederick (died 1217)
- Title
- Margraves of Baden
- Since
- 1190, on the death of their father Hermann IV on the crusade; probably still minors then
- Born
- Not pinned (Hermann V died 1243)
- Family
- Sons of Hermann IV and Bertha of Tübingen. A third brother, Henry, will found the Hachberg line about 1212 (swi's record). Hermann V is unmarried on 1 January 1200: about 1217 he marries Irmengard, daughter of Henry of Brunswick, count palatine of the Rhine (Otto IV's brother), who brings Pforzheim.
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia (Hermann V. (Baden), Backnang, Ettlingen, Durlach, Pforzheim).
Overlord
The duke of Swabia and the king.
What it holds
- Baden castle and the Ufgau
- The Yburg lordship (Yburg, Steinbach, Sinzheim), held jointly
- Backnang and the canons of St Pancras (Baden since about 1070; town about 1220)
- Besigheim (developed into a town under Hermann V)
- Stuttgart (under Baden control; a town only in 1219)
How it was acquired
Inheritance; Backnang by the marriage of Judith of Backnang to Margrave Hermann II (about 1070).
Allies and rivals
Kin of the Tübingen counts (their mother) and of the Zähringen; neighbours of Eberstein in the Murg valley and of the Staufen in the Pfinzgau.
How things stand that morning
Hold their lands on 1 January 1200 and back Philip (de.wikipedia: Hermann backed Philip in the throne war from 1198; after 1208 he turned to Otto).
Wealth
Rhine plain and Black Forest edge lands; Neckar vineyards at Besigheim; the house's estates on the middle Neckar.
Military
Hohenbaden and Yburg castles; vassals in the Ufgau.
Threats
- Division among three brothers
Places of note
- Hohenbaden castle: Seat of the margraves.
- Yburg: Castle of the Yburg lordship.
Where the sources disagree
- The assignment's list (Backnang, Besigheim, Pforzheim, Durlach, Ettlingen): on 1 January 1200 only Backnang and Besigheim are Baden's; Pforzheim, Durlach and Ettlingen are not (see Pforzheim, Durlach, Ettlingen).
Evidence: Acquisition dates are from de.wikipedia; the joint rule with Frederick is stated there.
On the map: Core blocks; scattered Neckar and Ufgau holdings not drawn.
Primary sources for Staufen
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
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 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.