A small free lordship in the hills north of the Wupper: the villages of Neviges and Langenberg with twelve farming communities (Bauerschaften) such as Dilldorf, Richrath, Rottberg and Dönberg.
Its lords appear in 1145 with the title of count and hold on until they sell to Berg in 1354.
Who he is
- Title
- Lord of Hardenberg
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- First found in 1145, then with the title of count; later called dynasts or free lords. They keep the lordship until 1354, when they sell it to Gerhard of Jülich-Berg and move to Hardenstein near Witten.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia 'Herrschaft Hardenberg'.
Overlord
None pinned; squeezed between Berg and, later, the Mark.
What it holds
- Hardenberg castle at Neviges
- Neviges and Langenberg and twelve Bauerschaften
How it was acquired
An old family lordship; first named in 1145.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the count of Berg, the abbey of Werden and the Altena counts' lands to the east.
How things stand that morning
Held by the lords of Hardenberg; no holder's name or act is pinned for 1199-1200.
Wealth
Hill farms, woods and the road from the Ruhr to the Wupper.
Military
One castle.
Threats
- Berg's expansion
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One article; the 1200 holder is unknown.
On the map: Drawn as the modern Velbert, which includes the lordship's two villages.
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.