The advocacy of the see of Eichstätt is the lordship here: the counts of Grögling-Dollnstein hold the see's high justice and protection over its lands and town and draw their power from it.
The bishop that winter is their own kinsman, Hartwig, who was at Philip's election and coronation and signed the Speyer protest. The town history dates the counts' advocacy rights in Eichstätt and the town's role as their residence to 1205, and the name Hirschberg (from their castle above Beilngries) to the same period.
Who he is
- Name
- The count in 1200 is not pinned in what we read; the house is that of Bishop Hartwig of Eichstätt (bishop 1196-1223), son of Count Gerhard I and grandson of the advocate Hartwig III
- Title
- Counts, hereditary advocates (Hochstiftsvögte) of the church of Eichstätt
- Since
- Advocates since the 12th century
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Counts of Grögling, Dollnstein and Ottenburg, later called of Hirschberg. Bishop Hartwig's mother was Sophie of Sulzbach, through whom part of the Sulzbach inheritance (1188) came to the house.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Hartwig von Grögling-Dollnstein and Eichstätt (town).
Overlord
The see of Eichstätt for the advocacy; the king.
What it holds
- The advocacy over the church of Eichstätt and its lands
- Dollnstein castle on the Altmühl
- Grögling and Ottenburg
- Hirschberg castle above Beilngries (the later name-giving seat)
- A share of the Sulzbach inheritance in the Nordgau (east of this sheet's edge)
How it was acquired
Hereditary advocacy; Sulzbach share through Sophie of Sulzbach.
Allies and rivals
The bishop is their kinsman; neighbours the Pappenheim marshals, the Truhendingen, the Wittelsbach to the south.
How things stand that morning
The house holds the advocacy; with their kinsman bishop on Philip's side (Speyer protest 28 May 1199; present at Philip's election and coronation), they are presumably Staufen.
Wealth
Advocacy fees, Altmühl lands.
Military
Dollnstein, Hirschberg and the Altmühl castles. No figures survive.
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.
- 1205 (beyond 1200)Eichstätt becomes the residence of the counts, now called of Hirschberg (town history).Depends on: the bishop's consent Stopped by: a quarrel between bishop and advocate
Places of note
- Dollnstein castle: Castle on the Altmühl
- Hirschberg castle: Castle above Beilngries
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The family and its advocacy are clear; the count of 1200 is not named in what we read.
On the map: The advocacy covered the see's lands round Eichstätt, which are drawn under the town record; only the counts' castles are drawn here.
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.