Free lords named after the Schönburg on the Saale who moved the centre of their power to the Zwickau Mulde in the last quarter of the 12th century, building a lordship inside the king's Pleissenland mainly by clearing forest.
By about 1182 they held land of the Empire round Geringswalde, and about 1170 they founded the castle of Glauchau; they also had a 12th-century castle at Meerane. Lichtenstein, Waldenburg, Hartenstein and Crimmitschau come much later.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned (the first secure member of the line is Hermann I, attested 1212-1224/25)
- Title
- Lords of Schönburg (free lords)
- Since
- First named at Schönburg on the Saale in 1130 (Ulricus de Schunenberg)
- Family
- Schönburg, an old free noble family of the Saxon-Thuringian borderland; not related to the bishop of Naumburg's ministeriales of the same name who keep the castles of Schönburg and Rudelsburg.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Schönburg (Adelsgeschlecht)
Overlord
The king (they hold land directly of the Empire and pass into the royal ministeriales probably only under Hermann I)
What it holds
- Glauchau castle (founded about 1170)
- The land round Geringswalde (held of the Empire by about 1182)
- Meerane castle (12th century; date of acquisition not pinned)
- Cleared villages on the Zwickau Mulde
How it was acquired
Clearing and royal favour.
Allies and rivals
The king's officers of the Pleissenland; the Wettins.
How things stand that morning
Hold Glauchau and Geringswalde; head of the family not pinned; side in the throne war not attested.
Wealth
New villages.
Military
Glauchau castle.
Places of note
- Glauchau castle: Founded about 1170
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One family article; no member is named for 1200.
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.