One of the few free lords of Franconia who appears in Philip's entourage, seated a few kilometres north of the Staufen town of Rothenburg.
The castle above Endsee was built about 1100; it will be destroyed on royal orders in 1407.
Who he is
- Name
- Albert (II) of Endsee
- Title
- Free lord (Edelfreier) of Endsee
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Free lords of central Franconia, seated at Endsee on the Frankenhöhe north of Rothenburg (in the modern municipality of Steinsfeld).
- Confidence
- medium
The Residenzen-Kommission handbook names him among the Franconian men at Philip's court; the castle at Endsee (the 'Old Castle') dates from about 1100 according to the village history.
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- The castle of Endsee and the lands round it on the Frankenhöhe
How it was acquired
Free family holding.
Allies and rivals
Philip's court; neighbours the Rothenburg ministeriales and the Hohenlohe.
How things stand that morning
A Staufen man (in Philip's entourage per the court handbook; the date of his attendance is not pinned to 1199).
Wealth
Not recorded.
Military
Endsee castle.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One mention in a modern handbook of Philip's court; seat from the village history.
On the map: Castle district only; site approximate.
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
- Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich, B 1 Philipp (Residenzen-Kommission, Göttingen Academy)
- Endsee (Steinsfeld), de.wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.