Landgrave (Hesse)

Who he is

Name

Hermann I

Title

Landgrave of Thuringia, count in Hesse

Since

1190 (the Hessian lands had been held by his brother Henry Raspe III until 1180, then by Louis III)

Born

about 1155

Family

Ludowingian

Confidence

high

de.wikipedia Gisonen, Fritzlar, Melsungen, Grünberg, Kassel, Alsfeld, Homberg (Efze), Reichsabtei Hersfeld

Overlord

The archbishop of Mainz for the county itself (northern Hesse had been a Mainz fief since about 1120); the king for royal fiefs such as the land round Marburg, held through the advocacy of the Wetter canonry.

What it holds

• Gudensberg castle and the county court (Landgericht) at Maden
• Kassel: royal court of 913, Ludowingian residence from about 1143, walled, with town rights before 1189
• Melsungen: built up by Henry Raspe II as advocate of Hersfeld; sold to Archbishop Conrad of Mainz in 1189-90, wrecked in the Mainz feud of 1193-94 and rebuilt by the landgraves as their own
• Felsberg on the Eder (the Felsburg and Altenburg castles were later Hessian, facing Mainz's Heiligenberg; who held the Felsburg in 1200 is not pinned)
• Homberg (Efze): the Hohenburg, built before 1190 by the Homberg family and called the landgrave's about 1190
• Alsfeld: castle built 1180-90 on the road to Frankfurt
• Grünberg: castle first named 1186, founded by Louis III against Mainz, destroyed by Mainz troops 1195 and rebuilt as a planned town
• Marburg castle and its market settlement on the Lahn (first named 1138-39; a chartered town only from 1222-27)
• Biedenkopf castle on the upper Lahn
• The advocacy (Vogtei) of Hersfeld abbey (see Hersfeld advocacy)
• The advocacy of the Wetter canonry

How it was acquired

By the marriage of Landgrave Louis I with Hedwig of Gudensberg (died 1148): Giso IV inherited the Werner counts' lands and advocacies round Kassel, Fritzlar and Melsungen in 1121-22, and the Gisonen died out in 1137. Held by the cadet Henry Raspe II and III until 1180, since then by the landgraves themselves.

Allies and rivals

Rival: the archbishop of Mainz, lord of Fritzlar, Amöneburg and Hofgeismar and overlord of the county; at peace with him under Conrad of Wittelsbach, Sophia's uncle. Neighbours: the counts of Ziegenhain (Fulda's advocates) and his own brother Frederick of Wildungen; the counts of Waldeck and Schwalenberg to the north-west; the Battenberg and Wittgenstein counts to the west; the Wetterau lords to the south.

How things stand that morning

Held by Hermann (Staufen since 15 August 1199). The Mainz feud of 1193-95 is over; nothing is known of fighting in Hesse in 1199.

Wealth

The road from Frankfurt through Alsfeld and the Hessian plain to Eisenach; the Fulda and Eder crossings at Melsungen and Felsberg; Kassel's market; the advocacy dues of Hersfeld.

Military

Castles of Gudensberg, Melsungen, Homberg, Alsfeld, Grünberg, Marburg and Biedenkopf (and probably the Felsburg); Hessian ministeriales and Burgmannen (the Homberg family at the Hohenburg). No numbers.

Threats

• Mainz's rival lordship at Fritzlar and Amöneburg, and a contested Mainz succession in late 1200
• The quarrel of his brother Frederick with the Ziegenhain counts

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.

1. late 1200 or 1201 (not pinned)After Conrad of Mainz dies (25 or 27 October 1200), the two Mainz claimants each seek the Hessian towns of the see; the landgrave can profit from the split.Depends on: Conrad's death on its date and a double election Stopped by: A single agreed successor

Places of note

• Gudensberg (the Obernburg): Castle of the counts in Hesse
• Maden: Ancient county court of Hesse (the Mader Heide)
• Marburg castle: Castle over the Lahn
• Grünberg castle: Rebuilt after 1195
• The Hohenburg at Homberg: Landgrave's castle held by the Homberg family
• Biedenkopf castle: Upper Lahn

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Town and castle dates come from de.wikipedia town articles; the extent of the county in 1200 is drawn from later Hessian territory and is approximate.

On the map: Approximate: the county's 1200 extent is drawn from its castles; many villages were held by ministeriales, by Hersfeld, Fulda or Mainz, or by free lords.

Primary sources for Thuringia

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.

• 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
• 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 Pegau; Annals of Magdeburg (12th and 13th centuries; Pegau continued to 1227). The annals of the Wettin lands and of Magdeburg. Read online
• Chronicle of the Lauterberg (Petersberg near Halle), Konrad of Lauterberg (about 1225). The house chronicle of the Wettin foundation on the Lauterberg, sharp-tongued and well informed on Saxony, Meissen and Magdeburg. Read online
• Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
• The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online