The county of Kessel on the left bank of the Meuse west of Venlo, with Brugge (Brüggen) as an allodial residence, Krickenbeck, and rights at Steyl and Tegelen across the river; the counts witness for the archbishops of Cologne and hold Grevenbroich on the Lower Rhine in the 13th century (lrh).
Who he is
- Name
- Henry (IV) of Kessel
- Title
- Count of Kessel
- Since
- Not pinned
- Born
- Not pinned; dies about 1219
- Family
- Counts of Kessel; his son William (died after 1263) follows
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Kessel
What it holds
- The Land of Kessel on the left bank of the Meuse (most but not all of its villages)
- Krickenbeck
- Brüggen (allodial residence, lrh area)
- Steyl and Tegelen east of the Meuse
- Grevenbroich (13th century; lrh area)
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
The archbishops of Cologne (the counts witness their acts); Guelders, which buys Kessel and Krickenbeck in 1279.
How things stand that morning
Held by Count Henry (IV), who dies about 1219; his side in the throne war is not pinned (the counts move in the archbishop of Cologne's circle).
Wealth
Meuse toll and land.
Military
Castle.
Threats
- Guelders
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia names Henry IV as count around 1200; the succession is admittedly loose.
On the map: Approximate.
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.