Horstmar

Who he is

Name

Bernhard 'the Good'

Title

Lord (Edelherr) of Horstmar

Since

about 1170 (his dates as lord are given as 1170-1227)

Born

not pinned

Family

Edelherren von Horstmar, probably a branch of the house of Holte, first documented in 1092 as vassals of the counts of Cappenberg. His nephew Otto succeeds him in 1227.

Confidence

medium

A crusader and the most famous of his house. Later he is one of Otto IV's leading knights (he fights for Otto at Bouvines in 1214, which the town article does not mention). Where he is on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.

Overlord

Free lords; earlier vassals of the Cappenberg counts.

What it holds

• Horstmar castle and its lordship

How it was acquired

Family lands.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours: Steinfurt, the bishop of Münster.

How things stand that morning

Holds Horstmar; his throne-war stance in 1200 is not pinned, though his later service to Otto makes a Welf leaning likely.

Wealth

Manors.

Military

Castle; his own crusading reputation.

Threats

• The bishop of Münster

Places of note

• Horstmar castle: Seat of the lords of Horstmar.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Dates from the town article; his Otto service is from general knowledge of the battle of Bouvines, not checked here.

On the map: Castle district only.

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.