Mainz's own places in Hesse, set like wedges in the landgrave's county: Fritzlar with the collegiate church of St Peter, Boniface's old foundation, walled in 1184-96 and the first mint in Hesse; the hill fortress of Amöneburg over the Ohm with its Mainz proprietary monastery (since about 1120) and its burgraves; and Hofgeismar in the north with the Schöneberg castle.
The rivalry is old and recent: Archbishop Conrad bought Melsungen and the Ebersburg from Hermann in 1189-90, and Mainz troops wrecked Melsungen in 1193-94 and Grünberg in 1195. Since 1196 Conrad is the landgrave's wife's uncle and no feud is known that winter.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned (a count Poppo of Reichenbach, of the Ziegenhain kin, was burgrave of Amöneburg in 1156)
- Title
- The archbishop's castellans and officers in Hesse (the burgrave of Amöneburg, the Schultheiss of Fritzlar)
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Fritzlar, Amöneburg, Hofgeismar, Melsungen
Overlord
Archbishop Conrad of Mainz, who is also overlord of the landgrave's Hessian county.
What it holds
- Fritzlar and St Peter's (lord of the town; walls of 1184-96; mint)
- Amöneburg castle and monastery
- Hofgeismar (estate and market; town rights only in 1223) and Schöneberg castle
- Overlordship of the landgrave's Hessian county (a Mainz fief since about 1120)
How it was acquired
Fritzlar and Amöneburg from Boniface's foundations; Hofgeismar by gift (first named 1082).
Allies and rivals
The landgrave (rival and vassal); the Ziegenhain kin (old burgraves of Amöneburg).
How things stand that morning
Held by Conrad's officers; quiet.
Wealth
Fritzlar's market and mint, the Frankfurt road, the Ohm valley.
Military
Walls of Fritzlar; Amöneburg; Schöneberg. No numbers.
Threats
- The landgrave's castles at Gudensberg, Grünberg and Melsungen
- A split in Mainz after October 1200
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.
- after 25 or 27 October 1200Conrad's death opens the Mainz succession; the Hessian towns are pulled between the rival archbishops and the landgrave.Depends on: Conrad's death on its date Stopped by: A single agreed successor
Places of note
- Fritzlar, St Peter's: Collegiate church and Mainz town
- Amöneburg: Mainz hill fortress
- Hofgeismar: Mainz estate and market
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Town facts from de.wikipedia; officers not pinned.
On the map: Only the three centres are drawn; the Mainz district of Amöneburg was larger later.
Primary sources for Mainz
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Register of Innocent III on the affair of the Roman Empire, Innocent III and the papal chancery (1198 to 1209, compiled as a separate register at the curia). The pope's own file on the German throne war: letters to and from Philip, Otto, the German princes and bishops, and the famous Deliberatio of late 1200 or early 1201 in which Innocent weighs the claims of Frederick, Philip and Otto before deciding for Otto. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
1 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.