The Staufen kings' table lands (Tafelgut) on the Kyffhäuser and in the Goldene Aue between Nordhausen and Sangerhausen: the great royal castle of Kyffhausen, rebuilt after 1118 and finished under Barbarossa, the old palace of Tilleda below it (Barbarossa stayed there in 1174) and the palace and royal forest of Allstedt, run since about 1150 by royal advocates named after it.
Royal ministeriales administered castle and estates from the mid-12th to the early 13th century; no king is attested there in these years. Nothing shows Otto holding any of it, so it is drawn as Philip's.
Who he is
- Name
- King Philip (individual officers not pinned)
- Title
- The king, through royal ministeriales: castellans of Kyffhausen (the family later called the lords of Mildenstein) and the advocates (Vögte) of Allstedt
- Since
- Staufen royal property since Barbarossa, who completed the rebuilding of Kyffhausen
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Reichsburg Kyffhausen; Pfalz Allstedt
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Kyffhausen royal castle (Reichsburg) on the Kyffhäuser
- Tilleda palace
- Wallhausen palace (old royal palace in the Goldene Aue; status in 1200 not pinned)
- Allstedt palace and royal forest under the advocates of Allstedt
How it was acquired
Ancient royal property (Ottonian palaces), held by the Staufen kings.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the landgrave (Sangerhausen, Nordhausen), the counts of Beichlingen and of Rothenburg, the Harz counts (Hohnstein) to the north.
How things stand that morning
In the king's hands through his ministeriales; Philip's by default, since Thuringia's lords are on his side that winter. Not pinned by any 1199-1200 document.
Wealth
Royal demesne farms of the Goldene Aue, forest, the road from Nordhausen to Sangerhausen and Halle.
Military
Kyffhausen is one of the largest castles in the Empire. Garrison not known.
Threats
- Welf raids from the Harz
- The landgrave's appetite for royal land
Places of note
- Kyffhausen: Royal castle
- Tilleda palace: Old royal palace
- Allstedt palace: Royal palace and forest under the advocates of Allstedt
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only general statements about royal ministeriales; no officer named for 1200.
On the map: The royal estates of the Goldene Aue were scattered; this is indicative only.
Primary sources for Staufen
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
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 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.