A 'very old and very strong castle' (1120) on the plain between Neuss and the Erft, the seat of the counts of the Gillgau who governed for the archbishop.
The Saffenberg counts held it from 1122; it passed to the counts of Sayn about 1175 with Agnes of Saffenberg. The Sayn counts are also the advocates of the see (the Stiftsvogtei came to them from Saffenberg): this is their Lower Rhine foothold.
Who he is
- Name
- Henry II of Sayn, with his wife Agnes of Saffenberg (the Saffenberg heiress)
- Title
- Count of Sayn, lord of Hülchrath
- Since
- About 1175, when Agnes's brother Hermann of Saffenberg died
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Henry II married Agnes of Saffenberg in 1173; their son Henry III takes Hülchrath in 1202. The count's full record is the mre researcher's (Sayn).
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia Schloss Hülchrath
Overlord
Formerly the archbishop of Cologne (the counts of the Gillgau were his appointees); a charter of 1206 calls the castle an allod of the count
What it holds
- Hülchrath castle and the county of the Gillgau
How it was acquired
Marriage of 1173 and the Saffenberg inheritance about 1175.
Allies and rivals
Cologne (advocacy, former overlordship); neighbours Neuss and Hochstaden.
How things stand that morning
Held by Henry II of Sayn (until 1202); allegiance not pinned here (see the mre record for Sayn).
Wealth
County court of the Gillgau. No figures.
Military
Strong castle; the ring wall with flanking towers is of about 1206 and later.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1202 (outside the year)Henry III of Sayn becomes lord of Hülchrath.Depends on: Henry II's death
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Castle history with dated transfers.
On the map: The Gillgau county's bounds in 1200 are unknown.
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.