Counts · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Habsburg

An Aargau house of the second rank, newly enriched.

Rudolf II succeeded his father five weeks before the game opens. He holds the Habsburg castle above the Aare with the family abbey of Muri, the advocacy (Vogtei) of the abbey of Säckingen with its Rhine lands round the Laufen rapids, the advocacy over Murbach's monastery at Lucerne (held since 1135, per de.wikipedia) and, from the Lenzburg inheritance of 1173, the count's rights in the Aargau and the western Zürichgau with the advocacy over Unterwalden and the old count's rights over the free valley men of Schwyz. Across the Rhine he is landgrave in Upper Alsace with allods in the Sundgau (France map).

Laufenburg and Bremgarten are not yet towns: Laufenburg is first named in 1207, when the castles on both banks were handed to the advocate, and Rudolf made it a town between 1207 and 1232.

Who he is

Name
Rudolf II 'the Kind' (der Gütige), later called 'the Old'
Title
Count of Habsburg; count in the Aargau and the Frickgau and in part of the Zürichgau; landgrave in Upper Alsace
Since
25 November 1199, on the death of his father Albert III 'the Rich' (France map record Habsburg); styled landgrave already in 1196
Born
not pinned (the only son of Albert III and Ita of Pfullendorf-Bregenz)
Family
Mother Ita, daughter of Count Rudolf of Pfullendorf. Wife Agnes 'of Staufen' (born about 1165-1170), daughter of a Gottfried of Staufen, probably not of the royal house. Children: Albert (IV), Rudolf (III, later of Laufenburg), Werner, Gertrude (later wife of Ludwig III of Frohburg) and Heilwig (later wife of Hermann III of Frohburg); which of them were born by 1 January 1200 is not pinned, though the sons are usually reckoned born before 1200.
Confidence
high

de.wikipedia Rudolf II. (Habsburg); HLS Habsburg; HLS Laufenburg; de.wikipedia Lenzburger and Luzern; France map Habsburg.

Overlord

The king for the counties, the landgraviate and the advocacies; the abbeys of Muri, Säckingen and Murbach for the advocacies they confer.

What it holds

  • The Habsburg castle above the Aare and the land round Windisch and Brugg (Brugg a village, later a town)
  • The advocacy of Muri abbey, founded by the family (about 1027), and its lands in the Freiamt
  • The advocacy (Kastvogtei) of Säckingen abbey since 1173: Säckingen, the Laufen rapids, the castles at Laufenburg, the salmon fishery; the abbey's Glarus advocacy is not his (see Lenzburg (Otto of Burgundy))
  • The advocacy over Murbach's monastery of St Leodegar at Lucerne and so over the young town (de.wikipedia: since 1135)
  • From the Lenzburg inheritance (1173): count's rights in the Aargau and in the Zürichgau west of the Limmat, the advocacy over Unterwalden, and count's rights over Schwyz
  • Count's rights in the Frickgau
  • Upper Alsace: the landgraviate (a jurisdiction over the king's free men) and allods in the Sundgau round Ottmarsheim (France map ground)

How it was acquired

Inherited on 25 November 1199. The Säckingen advocacy and the Lenzburg rights came to his father in 1173 by Barbarossa's grant; Muri is the family's own foundation.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours: Otto of Burgundy at Lenzburg (Philip's brother), Kyburg at Baden, the Frohburg counts at Olten and Zofingen, the Homberg and Thierstein counts in the Frickgau, the Zähringen as advocates of Zürich, the abbey of Einsiedeln (whose quarrel with Schwyz he will judge in 1217). Across the Rhine: the bishops of Basel and Strasbourg and the counts of Ferrette.

How things stand that morning

A new count who holds his castles and advocacies in peace. In the throne war he is said to have backed Otto IV 'around 1200' before going over to the Staufen (de.wikipedia, followed by the France map); no charter of 1199 fixes him with either king, so this is a lean, not a pinned allegiance, and an awkward one in a country held for Philip.

Wealth

The Aargau estates and the dues of three great advocacies (Muri, Säckingen, Lucerne), the Rhine crossing and fishery at the Laufen, the toll traffic towards the Gotthard through Lucerne, Alsatian rents. No figures.

Military

The Habsburg castle; the Laufenburg castles; the abbeys' men; vassals and ministeriales in the Aargau. No numbers.

Threats

  • Philip's anger if he keeps to Otto IV in a Staufen land.
  • Kyburg and Zähringen bidding for the Lenzburg leftovers when Otto of Burgundy dies.
  • The men of Schwyz, who resist all lordship in their quarrel with Einsiedeln.

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.

In 1200

  1. after 13 January 1200Otto of Burgundy's death leaves Lenzburg castle and its advocacies next door without a grown lord; Rudolf may press his own Lenzburg claims.Depends on: Otto's death; Philip's choice of guardian. Stopped by: Philip taking the advocacies into his own hand.

Later, on the likely course

  1. not pinned (by 1212 at the latest)Rudolf goes over to the Staufen side; in 1212 he joins the young Frederick II.Depends on: Philip's strength on the upper Rhine. Stopped by: A Welf revival in Alsace.

Places of note

  • Habsburg castle: Seat
  • Muri abbey: Family abbey and burial church
  • Laufenburg castles: Säckingen's castles at the Laufen rapids; first named 1207

Where the sources disagree

  • Allegiance for 1 January 1200 rests on de.wikipedia's 'around 1200 he first supported Otto IV'; confidence low.
  • The France map record Habsburg is kept as a linked older record; this record supersedes it for the Swiss ground.

Evidence: Succession, family and advocacies are well attested; his allegiance in the winter of 1199-1200 is thin, and the exact reach of his count's rights in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: The counties in the Aargau, Frickgau and Zürichgau were jurisdictions over others' land and are not drawn; Schwyz is drawn as its own province; Alsace is the France map's.

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.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. de.wikipedia: Rudolf II. (Habsburg)
  2. HLS: Habsburg, von
  3. HLS: Laufenburg (AG)
  4. de.wikipedia: Lenzburger
  5. de.wikipedia: Luzern

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.