Clervaux castle on its rock over the Clerve in the Luxembourg Ösling was built in the 12th century, perhaps earlier, by counts of Clervaux who were close kin of the counts of Vianden.
The holder and the bounds of the county on 1 January 1200 are not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned: a 12th-century document names a Count Gerhard of Clervaux as brother of Frederick of Vianden; who holds Clervaux on 1 January 1200 is not in the sources we read
- Title
- Count of Clervaux
- Since
- not pinned
- Family
- Close kin of the counts of Vianden, perhaps of Sponheim origin (a supposition); when the counts of Clervaux died out the castle went to the Meysenburg and then to the Brandenburg, a side line of Vianden
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia, Clerf; Grafschaft Vianden
What it holds
- Clervaux castle and the lordship round it on the Clerve
How it was acquired
Family seat.
Allies and rivals
Kin of Vianden; neighbours of the count of Luxembourg's Ösling vassals and of the abbey of Prüm.
How things stand that morning
Held by the counts of Clervaux; their side in the throne war is not recorded.
Wealth
Upland farms, forest and the Clerve valley; no figures.
Military
Clervaux castle; no numbers.
Threats
- Luxembourg's overlordship in the Ösling
Places of note
- Clervaux castle: 12th-century castle of the counts of Clervaux
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The family and its Vianden kinship are documented for the 12th century; the holder in 1200 is not.
On the map: The modern commune only.
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
- de.wikipedia: Clerf (castle and counts of Clervaux)
- de.wikipedia: Grafschaft Vianden (Frederick III 1187-1217; Gerhard of Vianden abbot of Prüm and Stavelot-Malmedy 1184-1212; Frederick I advocate of Prüm)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.