When the last count of Lenzburg died on 5 January 1173 he left his lands to Barbarossa, who gave part of the fiefs to Habsburg and the rest to his own son Otto: the Lenzburg castle, most of the allods, and the advocacies of the canons of Beromünster, the abbey of Engelberg, the women's house of Schänis and (through Säckingen's Glarus) the valley of Glarus.
Otto, who rules Franche-Comté as count palatine and is Philip's brother, holds them on 1 January 1200 through officers; he dies at Besançon on 13 January 1200. The advocacies of Beromünster, Glarus and Schänis went to Kyburg only in 1212.
Who he is
- Name
- Otto I of Hohenstaufen, son of Frederick Barbarossa and brother of King Philip
- Title
- Count palatine of Burgundy (France map, fcomte); count of Lenzburg (so styled by 1188)
- Since
- 1173, when Barbarossa gave him the greater part of the Lenzburg inheritance
- Born
- about 1170
- Family
- Brother of Philip of Swabia. Wife Margaret of Blois. Daughters Joan (born 1191) and Beatrice (born 1193); no son (France map County of Burgundy).
- Confidence
- high
HLS Ulrich IV of Lenzburg and Ulrich III of Kyburg; de.wikipedia Lenzburger; France map County of Burgundy.
Overlord
The king (his brother).
What it holds
- Lenzburg castle and the allods round it
- The advocacy of the canons of Beromünster
- The advocacy of Engelberg abbey (de.wikipedia Lenzburger)
- The advocacy of the women's house of Schänis in the Gaster
- The advocacy over the valley of Glarus, which belongs to the abbey of Säckingen
How it was acquired
Barbarossa's grant of 1173 after the death of Ulrich IV of Lenzburg (5 January 1173).
Allies and rivals
His brother Philip; Berthold V of Zähringen (both at Speyer). Neighbours who covet his advocacies: Habsburg, Kyburg, the Zähringen.
How things stand that morning
Held in peace through officers whose names are not pinned. Otto is named among the princes of the Speyer declaration for Philip (28 May 1199): Staufen, high confidence.
Wealth
The Lenzburg allods and the dues of four church advocacies; the Glarus valley's cattle and dues to Säckingen. No figures.
Military
Lenzburg castle; the advocacies' men. No numbers.
Threats
- His own death on 13 January 1200, leaving daughters of eight and six.
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.
In 1200
- 13 January 1200Otto dies at Besançon (the France map treats it as a murder). His daughter Joan succeeds in Burgundy under her mother Margaret of Blois; who holds Lenzburg and the advocacies after him is not pinned (Philip, or officers for the heiress).Depends on: As history has it. Stopped by: Anything in play that keeps him alive.
Later, on the likely course
- 1212 (later course)Frederick II gives the advocacies of Beromünster, Glarus and Schänis to Ulrich III of Kyburg.Depends on: The throne war ending as it did. Stopped by: Another king.
Places of note
- Lenzburg castle: Castle of the extinct counts
- Beromünster: House of canons under Otto's advocacy
Where the sources disagree
- Exactly which advocacies Otto held in 1200 is pieced together from HLS Ulrich III (Kyburg received 'the remaining parts of the Lenzburg inheritance', Beromünster, Glarus and Schänis, in 1212) and de.wikipedia Lenzburger (Otto had Lenzburg castle, Beromünster and Engelberg); HLS Lenzburg (Grafschaft) could not be read (rate limit).
Evidence: The 1173 grant and Otto's title are firm; the list of advocacies in Otto's hand in 1200 is inferred.
On the map: Advocacies are drawn over the churches' land, which is the ground the advocate protects and judges.
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.