A free lordship on the Wurm and the Rur near the Meuse, the home of Archbishop Philip of Heinsberg's family.
Its heiress Adelheid holds it in her own right from 1190; through her marriage to Arnold of Cleves the lordship is joined to a Cleves side line, and her son Dietrich will also hold Valkenburg (the lot researcher writes Valkenburg).
Who he is
- Name
- Adelheid (Aleidis) of Heinsberg
- Title
- Lady of Heinsberg
- Since
- 1190 (attested as lady of Heinsberg 1190-1207)
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Daughter of Gottfried of Heinsberg (died before 1185 or about 1190-1191), granddaughter of Goswin II; niece of Archbishop Philip of Heinsberg (died 1191). Married Arnold of Cleves (the governor of Cleves, dead by or during 1200). Son: Dietrich, later lord of Heinsberg and Valkenburg (died 4 November 1228).
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia Herrschaft Heinsberg
Overlord
None formally named; the lords leaned on Cologne until 1288
What it holds
- Heinsberg castle and lordship
- Parts of the Selfkant
How it was acquired
Inheritance from Gottfried of Heinsberg.
Allies and rivals
Cologne (protector); Cleves (by marriage); neighbours Jülich, Wassenberg and Guelders.
How things stand that morning
Held by Adelheid; allegiance not pinned (Cologne connection suggests Welf).
Wealth
Small lordship on the Rur and the roads to the Meuse. No figures.
Military
Heinsberg castle.
Threats
- The death of her husband, leaving a young son
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Holder pinned by dated attestations; allegiance and bounds not.
On the map: Core only; Gangelt was an imperial fief withdrawn by Conrad III and its holder in 1200 is not pinned.
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.