A family of Fulda's men in the northern Odenwald, seated at Lützelbach (last mentioned in 1200) and building the castle of Breuberg above the Mümling about 1200 as a Fulda fief.
Their courts at Lützelbach, Höchst and Brombach grew out of a sub-advocacy of Fulda's Umstadt advocacy.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1 January 1200 (a Reiz of Lützelbach is first documented in 1189; the name 'of Breuberg' first in 1222)
- Title
- Lords of Lützelbach (the Reiz), later named of Breuberg
- Since
- not pinned
- Family
- Followers of the abbey of Fulda. Eberhard of Breuberg will marry Mechthild of Büdingen and share the Büdingen inheritance (1239-1241).
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Herrschaft Breuberg.
Overlord
The abbey of Fulda: Breuberg is built about 1200 as a Fulda fief, and the family's courts grew out of Fulda's advocacy of Umstadt.
What it holds
- Lützelbach castle (last mentioned 1200)
- Breuberg castle, built about 1200 as a Fulda fief (whether begun by 1 January 1200 not pinned)
- The courts (Zenten) of Lützelbach, Höchst and Brombach
How it was acquired
Fulda service.
Allies and rivals
Fulda; neighbours of the lords of Erbach and the counts of Katzenelnbogen.
How things stand that morning
Hold their Odenwald courts for Fulda; head and allegiance not pinned (Fulda's abbot signed the Speyer protest for Philip).
Wealth
Odenwald farms and forest.
Military
Lützelbach; Breuberg under construction.
Threats
- None recorded
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.
- about 1200Breuberg castle is built.Depends on: Fulda's consent and means. Stopped by: Nothing likely.
Places of note
- Breuberg castle: Built about 1200.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Dates are 'about 1200' and first mentions.
On the map: Rough.
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.