The old royal palace town at the mouth of the Ruhr.
Its toll, with Kaiserswerth's, was one that Otto had to abolish in 1202 at Cologne's demand, so it was in Otto's hands. The town stays the king's until it is pledged to Cleves in 1290.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned by name: held for Otto IV
- Title
- The king's officers (Schultheiss and toll-keepers) at Duisburg
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Duisburg; Düsseldorf study (settlement of 1202)
Overlord
The king (Otto IV)
What it holds
- The royal palace and court
- The king's toll at Duisburg
How it was acquired
Royal since the Carolingians.
Allies and rivals
Cologne resents the toll.
How things stand that morning
Held for Otto IV (welf); low confidence.
Wealth
Toll and the cloth fairs. No figures.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Inferred from the 1202 settlement.
On the map: The town's land is drawn on Duisburg.
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.