The king's burgrave on the Meissen castle hill, which he shares with the margrave and the bishop.
The office had already lost ground to both when Meinher took it in 1199, after an outsider, Sterker of Wohlsbach, presumably put in during the imperial administration of 1195-97. The family therefore builds its power in the Erzgebirge forest: Meinher is the probable builder of Hartenstein castle, gave his name to Meinersdorf as its founder (locator), and helped found the little monastery of Zelle near Aue in 1173.
Who he is
- Name
- Meinher I
- Title
- Burgrave of Meissen; count of Werben
- Since
- Named burgrave of Meissen on 14 June 1199 in succession to the Franconian Sterker of Wohlsbach (the circumstances are unclear); 'praefectus' in 1171, count of Werben in 1196
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- The Meinheringer; his son Meinher II founds Grünhain abbey.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Meinheringer
Overlord
The king
What it holds
- The burgrave's castle and court on the Meissen castle hill
- The county of Werben (near Pegau)
- Hartenstein castle in the western Erzgebirge (probable builder; low confidence)
- Meinersdorf and new villages in the Erzgebirge
How it was acquired
Royal office from 1199.
Allies and rivals
Rivals of the margrave and the bishop at Meissen.
How things stand that morning
Burgrave since at least June 1199; royal officer; his side in the throne war is not attested.
Wealth
Court fees, new villages.
Military
His castle at Meissen; Hartenstein.
Threats
- The margrave's dominance at Meissen
Places of note
- Hartenstein castle: Probable foundation of Meinher I
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Dates from one article.
On the map: Only the Erzgebirge castle is drawn; the burgrave's rights at Meissen are inside the margrave's castle district.
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.