The Are line that inherited Hochstaden on the Erft near Grevenbroich.
The house has Staufen ties and a rivalry with the Berg-Altena house: Lothar of Hochstaden, provost of Bonn, was Henry VI's man at Liège in 1192 and his favourite for Cologne in 1193, withdrawing under Berg pressure when Adolf of Altena was elected; and in 1205-1206 the count of Hochstaden fights with Adolf of Cologne on Philip's side and is besieged by Otto, Limburg and the city of Cologne. Its stance on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned: Dietrich, count of Hochstaden, witnesses on 5 August 1190; Lothar I (husband of Mechtild of Vianden, father of the later archbishop Konrad) is the count of the 1200s and dies after 1215
- Title
- Count of Hochstaden
- Family
- Founded by Otto of Are (died 1162), who married Adelheid, heiress of Hochstaden. Kin: Lothar of Hochstaden, provost of Bonn, Henry VI's bishop-elect of Liège in 1192; Otto of Wickrath (Wickrath); Bishop Dietrich of Utrecht.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Grafen von Are; fmg.ac
Overlord
The king; Cologne for fiefs
What it holds
- Hochstaden castle on the Erft (Frimmersdorf)
- Lands on the lower Erft
- Kin hold Wickrath (Wickrath)
How it was acquired
Marriage of Otto of Are to the Hochstaden heiress before 1162.
Allies and rivals
Kin to Utrecht's bishop; later enemies of Otto IV.
How things stand that morning
Holds Hochstaden; allegiance not pinned (Staufen-leaning house).
Wealth
Erft valley lands. No figures.
Military
Hochstaden castle (besieged in 1205-1206, later).
Threats
- Cologne's ambitions on the Erft
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Witness lists; the count's name in 1200 is uncertain.
On the map: Rough.
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
- de.wikipedia: Grafen von Are
- ADB: Wilhelm II., Graf von Jülich (the siege of Hochstaden)
- Study of Archbishop Adolf of Cologne, chapters I-II (Düsseldorf)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.