A small free family of the Kander valley above Lake Thun, seated at the castle of Aris over the hamlet of Kien.
In the 13th century they held land and rights in Frutigland and governed the great parish of Aeschi, which takes in the valleys leading up to the Gemmi pass road. Their hold in 1200 is inferred from their 12th century castle: no charter of that winter names them.
Who he is
- Name
- The house of Kien; the head of the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
- Title
- Free lords (Freiherren) of Kien
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- A free house of the Kander valley named from Kien above Reichenbach; its rights pass to the free lords of Wädenswil before 1290.
- Confidence
- low
HLS article on Mülenen: in the 13th century the Kien held property in Frutigland and ruled the great parish of Aeschi; their presumed ancestral castle Aris ob Kien is a 12th to 13th century site.
Overlord
Not recorded; in 1200 the Oberland lies within Berthold V of Zähringen's rectorate of Burgundy.
What it holds
- The castle of Aris ob Kien (12th to 13th century) above Reichenbach
- Property and rights in Frutigland: the Kander and Engstligen valleys with Frutigen, Kandergrund, Kandersteg and Adelboden (13th century evidence)
- The rule of the great parish of Aeschi
- Mülenen castle (first named 1269) belongs to them later in the century
How it was acquired
Not pinned; the family is native to the valley.
Allies and rivals
The Strättligen on the left shore of Lake Thun and the Diemtigtal; the Zähringen as rectors; the lords of Wädenswil, who succeed them before 1290.
How things stand that morning
Held, so far as the later evidence allows; side in the throne war not recorded.
Wealth
Alpine pasture and cattle; whatever traffic uses the Kander valley towards the Gemmi.
Military
The castle of Aris; no record of war around 1200.
Threats
- Zähringen pressure in the Oberland after the campaigns of 1190-1191
Places of note
- Aris ob Kien castle: Presumed ancestral castle
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only 13th century evidence for the holdings and a 12th to 13th century date for the castle; 1200 tenure is an inference.
On the map: Holdings drawn from 13th century evidence; ground round Frutigen may already be drawn for the Zähringen rectorate.
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.