Erbach

Who he is

Name

Not pinned for 1 January 1200 (Eberhard I of Erbach first named in 1148 and as Lorsch's advocate in the Odenwald about 1165/70)

Title

Lords of Erbach, the king's ministeriales and advocates for Lorsch abbey in the Odenwald

Since

not pinned

Family

They appear as the king's ministeriales (Reichsdienstmannen) about 1200. The title of Schenk (cupbearer) comes only about 1226, as hereditary cupbearers of the counts palatine, who block their attempt to stay royal ministeriales; calling them 'Schenken of Erbach' in 1200 is anachronistic.

Confidence

low

de.wikipedia Erbach (Adelsgeschlecht).

Overlord

The king (as ministeriales) and the abbey of Lorsch (as advocates); the counts palatine later.

What it holds

• Erbach castle (12th century)
• The advocacy over Lorsch's lands round Michelstadt in the Odenwald

How it was acquired

Lorsch service and royal service.

Allies and rivals

Lorsch, the Staufen; later the counts palatine and Mainz contend for them.

How things stand that morning

Hold their castle and advocacy; as royal ministeriales they presumably follow Philip, but the head and his stance are not pinned.

Wealth

Odenwald forest and farms; advocacy dues.

Military

Erbach castle.

Threats

• The count palatine's claims on Lorsch's lands

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.

1. 1200No dated event found.

Places of note

• Michelstadt (Lorsch's Odenwald cell): Einhard's gift to Lorsch.
• Lorsch abbey: Imperial abbey (Church map).

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment's 'Schenken of Erbach': the Schenk title dates from about 1226 (de.wikipedia).

Evidence: Origins disputed; no holder named for 1200.

On the map: Rough.

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.