The comital house of the Linzgau, the hill country above the north shore of the Überlinger See and Lake Constance, from its castle on the Heiligenberg ridge.
The county gives the high justice over most of the country between Konstanz, Ludwigshafen, Pfullendorf and the Schussen, round and between other men's lordships: the king's Überlingen and his abbey of Salem, the bishop of Constance's Meersburg and the lords of Markdorf.
Who he is
- Title
- Count of Heiligenberg
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Counts who received the county of the Linzgau in 1135 and held it until it passed to the counts of Werdenberg in 1277; the counts of about 1200 are not named in the source checked.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Heiligenberg
Overlord
The king, for the county.
What it holds
- Heiligenberg castle
- The high justice of the Linzgau county (since 1135)
- Lands of their own round the castle (low justice only in a small part)
How it was acquired
The county in 1135.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours the king's Überlingen and Salem, the bishop of Constance, the Welf inheritance (now Staufen) round Ravensburg.
How things stand that morning
Hold the county; no part in the throne war recorded.
Wealth
Court revenues, own estates, lake-side vineyards and orchards.
Military
Heiligenberg castle; no numbers.
Threats
- The king's and the bishop's immunities cutting into the county
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The county's extent and dates from de.wikipedia; no count named for 1200.
On the map: A jurisdiction drawn as land; other lords hold estates inside it.
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.