The counts of Gruyère rule the upper Saane valley from its source to the Gruyère lake: the castellanies of Gruyères, Montsalvens and Vanel, the Jaun valley, and the Pays-d'Enhaut and Saanen, taken by their ancestors.
Late in the 12th century the bishops of Lausanne detached Bulle, Riaz and Albeuve from the county, and in 1196 Gruyères lost its market right. Remote, largely independent, they are among the Burgundian nobles the Zähringen rector has beaten but not absorbed.
Who he is
- Name
- Peter I and Rudolf II, both counted from 1196 (on the death of Rudolf I); who bore the title on 1 January 1200, or whether they shared it, is not pinned
- Title
- Count of Gruyère (Greyerz)
- Since
- 1196
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Sons (presumably) of Count Rudolf I (ruled 1157-1196).
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Greyerz; HLS Greyerz, von (not read).
Overlord
Nominally the king and his rector of Burgundy; the bishop of Lausanne for some lands; Savoy only from 1244-1246.
What it holds
- Gruyères castle and town
- Montsalvens castle and the Jaun valley
- Vanel castle; the Pays-d'Enhaut (Château-d'Œx, Rossinière, Rougemont) and Saanen
How it was acquired
Inheritance.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the bishop of Lausanne (Bulle), the Zähringen rector and his Fribourg.
How things stand that morning
Hold the upper Saane largely on their own; allegiance not pinned.
Wealth
Cattle and alps; no figures.
Military
Gruyères, Montsalvens, Vanel. No numbers.
Threats
- The rector at Fribourg and Thun.
- The bishop of Lausanne's Bulle.
Places of note
- Gruyères castle: Seat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The count list overlaps (two counts from 1196).
On the map: Bulle and its neighbours are the bishop of Lausanne's and are left out.
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.