One of the five frontier counties Henry the Lion set up against the Slavs (with Holstein, Ratzeburg, Schwerin and Lüchow).
The counts hold Dannenberg on the Jeetzel and the Wendland down to the Elbe. Henry I is count. The Welf overlordship and the 1202 division put them in William's share; their side in 1200 is not directly attested.
Who he is
- Name
- Henry I
- Title
- Count of Dannenberg
- Since
- 1169 (count 1169-1209)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Son or successor of Volrad I (count about 1145-1169), of the nobles of Salzwedel. His son Henry II (count from 1203) married a daughter of Adolf III of Holstein; Volrad II follows from 1207.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Grafschaft Dannenberg).
Overlord
The Welfs (Henry the Lion founded the county as a frontier county in the Wendland; it falls to William in 1202).
What it holds
- Dannenberg castle
- The county in the Wendland between the Jeetzel and the Elbe
How it was acquired
Henry the Lion's foundation, mid-12th century.
Allies and rivals
Holstein (marriage of Henry II); the Welfs.
How things stand that morning
Henry I holds the county under Welf overlordship; side likely Welf (not attested).
Wealth
Elbe crossings and the Wendland.
Military
Dannenberg castle. No figures.
Threats
- Danish and Abodrite wars across the Elbe
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Count list pinned; allegiance inferred.
Primary sources for Welf
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 Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
- 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
- Annals of Stade, by Albert of Stade, Albert of Stade (about 1240 to 1256). A world chronicle written at Stade in the 1240s from older Stade and Bremen annals. 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
18 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.