The free lords of Diepholz hold an allodial lordship round their castle at Diepholz on the Hunte, set among moors between the bishoprics of Osnabrück and Minden and the Welf lands.
Gottschalk appears in charters from 1177. Their growth north and south comes in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Who he is
- Name
- Gottschalk (I)
- Title
- free lord (Edelherr) of Diepholz
- Since
- in charters from 1177 (de.wikipedia Grafschaft Diepholz); Rudolf (I) follows from 1219
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Cono and William of Diepholz appear in 1160; the line is said to have followed Henry the Lion into exile in England
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Diepholz
Overlord
none: the lordship began as allod (de.wikipedia)
What it holds
- Diepholz castle and the land round it on the upper Hunte
How it was acquired
Allod.
Allies and rivals
Reputed old ties to Henry the Lion. Neighbours: the bishops of Osnabrück and Minden, the counts of Wildeshausen.
How things stand that morning
Gottschalk holds Diepholz. Allegiance not pinned.
Wealth
Small: land among the moors, the road from Bremen to Osnabrück.
Military
Diepholz castle (already old in 1160).
Places of note
- Diepholz castle: the lords' seat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia gives the lords' first charter years only.
On the map: The 1200 extent is smaller than the later county; drawn generously.
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.