At the court of Ulm in 1157 Frederick I ruled that Chiavenna was an imperial fief belonging to the duchy of Swabia, settling a quarrel between the town's consuls and the bishop of Como.
The duke of Swabia since 1196 is Philip, Frederick's youngest son, crowned king in 1198. The bishop of Chur has claimed Chiavenna since 1194 (his troops came over the Alps as far as Piuro in 1178), and the bishop of Como keeps his old rights in the valley; in practice the commune of Chiavenna, which used its good relations with Frederick I to win privileges, runs the valley under its consuls. It guards the roads to the Splügen and the Septimer.
Who he is
- Name
- Philip of Swabia, duke of Swabia since 1196 and crowned king in 1198, is the overlord; no Swabian officer at Chiavenna is known for 1199-1200, and the consuls of 1200 are not named
- Title
- Overlord: the duke of Swabia; in practice the commune of Chiavenna under its consuls
- Since
- Swabian fief since the ruling at Ulm in 1157
- Confidence
- medium
Wikipedia (de), Chiavenna (Ulm 1157; Chur's claim from 1194; Johannes de Clera mediating for the commune in 1168 and 1193); HLS, Chiavenna (the bishop of Chur reached Piuro in 1178).
Overlord
The duke of Swabia (Philip), holding of the Empire.
What it holds
- The town and county of Chiavenna: the lower valley, the Val San Giacomo toward the Splügen, Piuro toward the Bregaglia and the Septimer, and the plain toward the lake (limits not pinned)
How it was acquired
Ruling of Ulm, 1157.
Allies and rivals
The bishops of Como and Chur both claim it; the commune of Como looks to it.
How things stand that morning
A self-governing commune under a distant Swabian overlord. North of Piuro the upper Bregaglia is the bishop of Chur's (Rhineland sheet); south the lake and the Three Pievi are Como's; east the Valtellina is the bishop of Como's.
Wealth
Transit trade and tolls on the Splügen and Septimer roads; the soapstone (pietra ollare) of Piuro and the valley [general knowledge].
Threats
- The bishop of Chur's claim
- Como's ambitions
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1157 ruling and the 1178 and 1194 Chur claims are sourced; the state of 1200 is inferred from them.
On the map: Whether Novate and Samolaco were Chiavenna's or Como's in 1200 is not pinned.
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.