A house of Black Forest lords in the upper valley of the Gutach, the side valley that climbs from the Kinzig to the high plateau, with castles at Hornberg and above Triberg, clearing and settling the high forest in the twelfth century.
Who he is
- Title
- Lords of Hornberg
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- In the town of Triberg's account, Adalbert of Ellerbach, from the Ulm country, opened up the Gutach valley about 1100 and is the ancestor of the lords of Hornberg and Triberg; he built a rock castle above Gremmelsbach. The early history is mostly unknown.
- Confidence
- low
Stadt Triberg, origin story of Triberg
Overlord
Not pinned (in the Zähringen sphere).
What it holds
- Hornberg castle
- The rock castle above Gremmelsbach near Triberg
- The upper Gutach valley (extent not pinned)
How it was acquired
By clearing the forest from about 1100.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours the Zähringen in the Kinzig valley and at Villingen, the abbey of St Georgen.
How things stand that morning
Held by the house; the lord that winter is not named.
Wealth
Forest, upland farms, the road over the plateau.
Military
Two castles; no numbers.
Threats
- Zähringen claims
- The poverty of the high forest
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only a local tradition of the family's origin was found; the lordship is drawn as the valley round its two castles.
On the map: Thin evidence: the valley round the family's castles.
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.