A great old house of the Vosges and Alsace, now ending.
Albert holds the rock-castle of Dagsburg (Dabo) and its forests in the northern Vosges, the ancestral castle of Egisheim near Colmar, Girbaden above the Bruche, the county of Metz (the count's old rights in and around the city, shrinking before the bishop and the townsmen), and Moha near Huy on the Meuse. He is reported in the anti-Staufen party of the Upper Rhine with Bishop Conrad of Strasbourg in 1198-1199; his stance after Philip's Alsace campaign of July 1199 is not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- Albert II (Albrecht)
- Title
- Count of Dagsburg (Dabo), count of Metz, count of Moha
- Since
- about 1175
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- House of Egisheim-Dagsburg, the family of Pope Leo IX. Wife: Gertrude, daughter of Margrave Hermann III of Baden. Sons not named here. Daughter and later sole heiress Gertrude (born about 1190 on the likelier reckoning; the often-given 1205 is doubtful). Dies 1212, last of his line.
- Confidence
- medium
en.wikipedia County of Metz and Gertrude of Dagsburg
Overlord
The emperor for Dagsburg; the bishop of Metz for the county of Metz and its advocacy; Moha lies in the Liege country.
What it holds
- Dagsburg (Dabo): castle and forest lordship
- Egisheim (Eguisheim): ancestral castle in Upper Alsace
- Girbaden: castle over the Bruche valley
- The county of Metz: comital rights and the old advocacy in the Metz country
- Moha: castle and county near Huy
How it was acquired
Inheritance of the Egisheim-Dagsburg house; the county of Metz by inheritance from the older counts.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the bishop of Metz and the Metz townsmen over the comital rights; the Staufen in Alsace. Ally: the bishop of Strasbourg in 1198-1199 (not pinned).
How things stand that morning
Holds Dagsburg, Egisheim, Girbaden and Moha, and what remains of the comital rights at Metz.
Wealth
Forests, castles and rents in the Vosges and Alsace; comital dues at Metz. No figures.
Military
Strong castles (Dagsburg on its rock, Girbaden). No numbers.
Threats
- The end of his line: everything turns on his heiress's marriage.
- Philip of Swabia, if Albert stays with Otto.
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.
- later courseMoha is given to the church of Liege (1204 in the usual account); Albert dies in 1212; Gertrude marries Theobald of Lorraine (1206), later Theobald IV of Champagne (1220), then Simon of Leiningen (1224).Depends on: The failure of his male line. Stopped by: Surviving sons.
Places of note
- Castle of Dagsburg: Seat
- Castle of Egisheim: Ancestral castle
- Castle of Girbaden: Castle over the Bruche
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Titles and death date attested; his allegiance in 1198-1200 and the extent of the county of Metz are not pinned.
On the map: Only the castles are drawn; the comital rights at Metz are not drawn.
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.